Before credit cards, some things were really simple.

If you want to buy something, get the money together first. That could be done by earning and saving it, selling off something you already have, or stealing. The latter not recommended.

If you were unable to get the money together, then it was simple. Keep saving.

Such simplicity taught basic financial discipline.

Then along came unsecured personal credit, sold as "credit cards" and "store credit". If you didn't have the money to buy, you can just charge it. Buy now and hopefully repay later.

This small change makes a big behavioural difference where poor savings habits become rewarded. We removed the punishment for poor saving (you couldn't get what you want), and turned it into a rewarding experience of immediate gratification.

If you are a little financially loose at the moment, try out these six financial discipline steps.

Online Budget Planner.

Please watch this video right to the end. You will be rewarded! Whether you’re a fan of Ellen or not, or you don’t even know who Ellen is, this is an extremely funny interview with Accountant Keith Dickie.

Please keep in mind the technical information in this video applies in the US and not here in Australia. Remember to complete your tax planning prior to June 30 as it’ll be too late to push those deductions through after that. Read this article on tax planning.

Click here to watch a funny video on creative accounting.

If you are putting off doing your taxes click here to watch this video on procrastination.

Before credit cards, some things were really simple.

If you want to buy something, get the money together first. That could be done by earning and saving it, selling off something you already have, or stealing. The latter not recommended.

If you were unable to get the money together, then it was simple. Keep saving.

Such simplicity taught basic financial discipline.

Then along came unsecured personal credit, sold as "credit cards" and "store credit". If you didn't have the money to buy, you can just charge it. Buy now and hopefully repay later.

This small change makes a big behavioural difference where poor savings habits become rewarded. We removed the punishment for poor saving (you couldn't get what you want), and turned it into a rewarding experience of immediate gratification.

If you are a little financially loose at the moment, try out these six financial discipline steps.

Online Budget Planner.

Will Ferrell demonstrates just how we respond when we really believe in something.

In this short scene, you can see that Will's colleagues clearly don't believe in Santa as Will does.

The moral to the story is to remember what you believe in deeply will move you.

For example, if you believe you can be generous and kind without it costing a fortune, you will then find ways to give generously in a financially sensible way.

Our beliefs around money significantly influences how we feel and how we behave around money.

It seems that there is no stopping the increasing speed of life. Often Mum's feel the brunt of this increasing speed the most.

How can we be moving faster and faster, yet still feel like there is not enough time? Is it because there is more to do, or just that our priorities have been knocked around?

Putting a priority order on the things to do, and when to do them, can alleviate the sense of being ovewhelmed with "too much to do". And be realistic when setting your expectations!

One thing that seems to be down the priority list for many family's is taking care of the personal finances.

For new Mum's, make the time to review your insurances and Wills, as not doing so can have a direct, and in some cases, significant impact on your family's well-being in the case of injury or accident.

It may be difficult to sit down and review where you are up to financially, however, by finding the discipline you can save much heart-ache in the future.

What a power packed team!

They have a common purpose, they are aligned with what they say, and how they say it, which indicates at least a certain level of communication excellence, and they have trust, which grows in evidence once the jet ski comes out.

There is diversity in the team. Someone had to come up with this rather idealistic goal, most likely someone with Owl or Dolphin preferences, someone else probably explained why it couldn't be done, most likely someone with Labrador preferences, and someone else had to say "let's do it", which is most likely someone with Monkey preferences.

And there is fun. Which is one of the main reasons you are watching this clever form of advertising!

You can learn more about teams at the "Building Your Team" learning module.

A lighthearted look at an example of Leadership and the 'Second Follower'. The video quality is not great, however we think the leadership message rings loud and true.

While some of us love to lead, other's prefer to stay out of the spotlight, happily preferring the lead of others.

Regardless of your preference, we are each individually responsible to lead our personal financial circumstances. How we use debt, spend money, earn income and invest all reflect to which extent we've embraced our personal financial leadership.

It's very difficult to be an effective financial leader when you're not crystal clear of what 's going on financially in your household. Our budget planner can assist with this, as can many of our other calculators.

We all go through different phases of life. With these phases we can go through different financial cycles.

As an example, the next cycle for you may be retirement. Importantly, your capacity to retire is not based on how old you are, it is simply based on how much money you have to fund your desired lifestyle.

If retirement is the next phase, it may be time to look at consoliding debts and getting on top of interest, reviewing expenses to make sure you are cashflow positive, making additional contributions to your superannaution fund, and considering other investment opportunities. You may not be able to do all this at once, so putting a few minutes aside to develop a plan of attack can certainly help.

If you feel as though we are leaving Mum's out, check out this rendition of William Tell's Overture.

John Bird and John Fortune (the Long Johns) brilliantly, and accurately, describing the mindset of the investment banking community in this satirical interview.

Part 1: The Short and Simple Story of the Credit Crisis.

Part 2: The Short and Simple Story of the Credit Crisis.

Article - An aggressive double gearing strategy

Whether you’re into your numbers or not, you’ll get a laugh out of this short and quick look at creative accounting.

While many people claim mathematics was boring at school, there are the others who found it rather enjoyable.

Regardless of how mathematiclly advanced you are, running your numbers through our range of calculators will help you refine your goals and focus so you can positively influencing your future financial situation.

Hilarious Chicago clean comedian Tim Clue talks debt - as heard on Sirius and XM Satellite Radio! He's opened for Steven Wright and Jerry Seinfeld and is a highly sought-after corporate entertainer. Tim takes a funny look at debt and how it affects us. Good for a belly laugh.

Test your knowledge on debt and leverage

Article - What should you do if interest rates rise?

Activity - Stress test your financial situation

We often feel like everything is under control and we know how our life might unfold.  Then, BANG, something smacks us right in the face.

Hopefully you have never had this physically happen to you, however it might feel like it sometimes.

If you have kids, they are a great source of the unexpected. If you want to attempt to plan for the financial requests that children often have, then this article is for you. 'Hi mum and dad - can I have some money?'

Insurance is another area that is designed to alleviate some of the financial pressure of an unexpected event. You can read more about insurance in the Insurance Planning module.

You can also do the Insurance Planning quiz, to test your knowledge on what you do know and what you don't know about managing risk and insurance.

While Bobby’s movements are aligned to our unconscious expectations, we can hum along. But when he surprises us, we are forced into an unconscious reaction. When the surprise is not threatening, we laugh. However, when the surprise is considered threatening, we typically react defensively using denial, anger, withdrawal or some other protective technique.

When it comes to money, a poor investment performance, over-spending, loss of a job, are all events that may come as a surprise and feel threatening, and fairly so. What’s more important though is to keep cool when the unexpected arrives, and use it as an opportunity to discuss expectations and determine if your expectations were reasonable in the first place. For example, expecting an Owl to swim like a Dolphin will leave you dissapointed!