The Swan Effect - Creating and Sustaining Your Financial Wellbeing
The Swan Effect - Creating and Sustaining Your Financial Wellbeing
S3 E11 Back through the looking glass
Unlock the secrets of wealth management and personal growth as Arthi and Malika take a look back at 2024, a year filled with "aha" moments that have shaped both their lives and listeners’ too. As they recount their journey and set the stage for ambitious goals in 2025, expect insights that will empower you to reflect on your own financial experiences and embrace the potential of online learning.
Some stand-out episodes to consider:
- Journey with us into the world of cryptocurrency and discover the transformative power of community-driven investment strategies. With expert guidance, we navigated the dynamic crypto market, finding clarity and purpose in our investments.
- Learn about Ubuntu, the South African concept fostering collective action, and how crowdfunding and crowdinvesting challenge traditional charity, empowering listeners to pursue personal and community wealth-building initiatives. These strategies prove that financial ventures are most powerful when shared and supported by a collective spirit.
- Gain valuable insights into the intersection of financial and mental wellness, particularly for women. The economic divide presents unique challenges, but inclusive banking can empower women to shape future generations' understanding of financial literacy.
- Hear from expert Tiaan Herselmann on South Africa's Two Pot System legislation, and
- Understand how mental health is integral to financial success, especially during Mental Health Awareness Month.
Round out the episode and season, Arthi and Malika encourage you to reflect on your achievements, learn to celebrate them wisely, and set your sights on ambitious goals for 2025. Embrace gratitude and reflection this holiday season as you chart your financial journey forward.
Take a listen to the episode and shift your mindset towards smart financial decisions.
We would love to hear your views based on the concepts covered in this episode.
Do rate, write a review, and share with others.
This episode is proudly sponsored by Old Mutual Wealth.
Arthi Rabikrisson 0:00
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Hi there. I'm Arthi Rabikrisson,
Malika Petersen 1:20
hello. I'm Malika Peterson, welcome to the swan effect podcast.
Arthi Rabikrisson 1:26
Money makes the world go round, yet it's not so easy to understand its complexities, particularly when it comes to investing.
Malika Petersen 1:35
That's why Arthi and I are using this platform to educate, inspire and help you gain confidence in your relationship with money so that you can better manage your finances and investments. We are two women in finance.
Arthi Rabikrisson 1:51
That's pretty cool, isn't it?
Malika Petersen 1:53
It certainly is. You've been in stockbroking, private wealth management, asset management, and now an award winning businesswoman who is coaching and assisting businesses with capital and strategic advice.
Arthi Rabikrisson 2:06
And Malika, you have a wealth of experience in wealth, excuse the plan, in financial planning, investments and relationship management. So you're also at the coalface when it comes to where and how people are investing both getting it right and getting it wrong and stuck in the gray areas too.
Malika Petersen 2:27
Indeed, I've seen the many phases and moods of financial cycle and how our decisions at those times impact us. So listeners and subscribers, if you are looking to get unstuck, feel empowered and make some strides in how you tackle your money.
Arthi Rabikrisson 2:45
We are here to help you, and it all starts with listening to this upcoming episode. Enjoy.
It's beginning to smell and sound a lot like Christmas. Hi, listeners, gosh, we are already at the end of 2024, I don't know about you, but it's been a really, really great ride for me, especially since Malika and I have gotten to share nuggets and hints and tips throughout this Advent Calendar season we've been having this year, which I found to be so fun to work through. Don't you agree? Malika,
Malika Petersen 3:22
hi, Arthi, hi listeners. I can honestly say that I'm having quite a bit of difficulty understanding how quickly time has been flying lately. For me, I feel like it's still April. Having said that, though, it also makes me realize how important it is to reflect on the things that life brings us, that we need to celebrate, right? I mean, we should take time to celebrate and also, obviously, those things that we maybe didn't enjoy so much, but that we can learn from and reflecting on what was, I think is the best way to plan and move forward with purpose.
Arthi Rabikrisson 4:01
I think that is so important everyone, everything that comes into our life. I mean, it's really definitely for a reason, even for a season. And I think what I really loved most about this season was that, and I don't know if you know this listeners, but we have been learning alongside you, it's not mean that we're sharing, yes, we are sharing, of course, our knowledge about certain things, but there's been certain areas where we also, for the first time, we're looking at some of these things. So we've been gaining knowledge alongside you. And I'm sure I speak for you when I say that you and I have both also had aha moments. Uh, Malika, yeah.
Speaker 1 4:40
No, those a-ha moments have actually, really, really made a difference in my life this year. And that's quite interesting, because there were little incremental things. But I'm very excited that we've used this episode to look back at our advent calendars. So this weekend, some of those with our with our listeners, and kind of review some of the key concepts that we've learned. We'll be like all those tik tokers who are opening like four advent calendars in one go, kind of like that, right?
Arthi Rabikrisson 5:07
Oh, absolutely,we absolutely are doing that. And actually, speaking of Tiktok, isn't that on our 2025 to do list? Okay? Listeners, let us know if that is something you would love to have from us, we always appreciate and love your feedback. Okay, it's exciting to think about what could come okay, but no, let me, let me get back. Let me, let me get not get ahead of myself here. Let's just actually kick off with our episode today, and let's, as you said, Let's do that recap so everyone the first advent calendar slot that we revealed, which was in February of this year, we started to talk about looking at the year ahead, 2024 exploring it, learning new things. We covered and touched on on areas such as investing in yourself and thinking about like how educational and personal growth and development can lead to opportunities for other types of growth in the workplace, opportunities from other organizations, and just kind of being open to what would be out there. You know, otherwise, you might not have even considered it. We also wanted you to think about things like skills development, and I think a big thing that we touched on in this kind of environment we find ourselves in, where so much is available online that is actually such a good way to get access to a whole host of courses and other workshops and webinars that otherwise, pre COVID would have been a little bit difficult to access, and they're not as expensive as we think.
Malika Petersen 6:44
Yeah. And I think Arthi this, this is one of the sections that I think both you and I had aha moments in, right? Because I started to explore some of the things that were available online. I did some of those courses myself on various platforms. You didn't, etc, etc, etc. And what I found is that it broadened my horizon so much in terms of opportunities that exist. So I would definitely advocate to all of our listeners, go back to that episode, listen to that episode, and please explore this. This is one of the things that I really got a lot of value from,
Arthi Rabikrisson 7:19
Absolutely Me too. Me too. I mean, I can't tell you how many different small courses I actually signed up for, and quite a few of them were free. So there was a lot of LinkedIn learning. If you go into my profile, you see all of these LinkedIn learning of really interesting topics, and then there were a few that were paid for, but it was so beneficial for me and so practical that I immediately started to apply them. So again, I love that encouragement listeners for you, because I think it can really, really make that difference for sure.
Malika Petersen 7:48
No, absolutely. And one of the courses that I actually looked at takes us to what our next advent calendar reveal was right? It was property investing. So it was one of the things that I spent some of my time on this year, and you will remember that in March, we spoke about property investing. So for those listeners that missed that episode, please go back and listen to that. And we really spoke about the opportunity to create additional sources of income with profit. We spoke about how this could be storage or sublet in your home. We considered some Airbnb type options or holiday rental options. We actually spoke about a whole host of of opportunities and options, right? I want us to just take a moment here for a second, because over the last couple of months, I've had so many conversations with various people around who just feel stuck financially, right, right? I think we talk a lot about multiple sources of income. And I mean, for some people, that's easy to go, Oh, I know how to do photography, or Oh, I know how to bake. And they can kind of quickly and easily come up with those ideas, mm, create additional sources of income. But some people just don't have that luxury or time to be able to to partake in those additional income streams property, and using to create additional income is really for those individuals who can't, don't have the time to do other things. It really is about getting additional sources from your property, and in some cases, not even your property. I mean, I met one individual, a young man who's 25 years old, who rent property from people who have massive plots, small holdings, and he sublets that to businesses who are growing fruits or veggies or different kinds of herbs, etc. And he actually submitted that way. So he's actually renting property to to be able to rent out. So, so the the idea of creating exactly the idea of creating income from different property options. There are just so many. And again, I encourage listeners to go and listen to that. And then also, we spoke about the potential of reducing your home loan term, right? We talk. About this a little bit later in our asset versus liability section, but this idea that at the end of the day to actually take the term of your home loan and how much you're actually paying in interest payments, you're paying, sometimes 234, times your property value in interest payments. And in this episode, we explored different ways to reduce those interest placements, and then also, obviously alternative property investments as well.
Arthi Rabikrisson 10:25
Absolutely. Malika, I mean, I love, I love those examples as well that you shared. And I mean, when I looked at the property episode, there were so many beautiful nuggets that I was able to apply as well. For example, just looking at my own investment property and being very, very critical about, is this really an investment for me, and making some key decisions around that as well. And as you were talking about, you know, the 25 year old and what he was doing. I mean, I've been involved with a couple of businesses this year who have been very, very deliberate in like, the theme of circular economy and using making effective use of space, because exactly this, if you're a startup and you're trying to circularize whatever product that you're offering, a lot of these little businesses were actually doing that with their own properties, like literally partitioning of little spaces where they could actually ensure that they were maximizing and multi purposing the use of that. It was really, really phenomenal to watch that. So that's the kind of things that we were talking about in terms of that property episode, everybody that we almost need to shift our mindset about the ways in which we can use property as an asset. And I'm glad you mentioned the episode that we did couple of months back as well, that spoke about us actually looking at assets and liabilities and property featuring as both, depending on how you actually position it properly. So, yeah, yeah. Very, very key. Very, very key. Once we spoke about property, and I remember you and I thought long and hard about that next month around cryptocurrency, and we thought something that listeners would be interested in. We were certainly interested in it.
Malika Petersen 12:04
Absolutely. We were cautious
Arthi Rabikrisson 12:07
very cautious, because listeners, this was not an area of expertise for us, but we were on a learning journey with you as well. And I mean, it turned out to be one of our most interesting episodes. We brought in somebody, a wonderful speaker, who came in and really took us through the basics of crypto, simplified it for us, and we actually took our own advice. I mean, I know I did, and we actually dipped our toe into it. I already had kind of dabbled a little bit, but, you know, guided by by our speaker, and that beautiful interview, I was able to now look at this a little bit more deliberately and actually be quite specific about what I was trying to do, how I'm going to understand looking at using crypto as well as adding it to my portfolio of investments, there was just so much of insight that, you know, even now look back at Like the decisions I've made from April to now around my crypto portfolio, it's like a bit chalk and cheese, like I felt like I was blind before. Now I have a lot more kind of, you know, purposeful investing around this, and I understand what I'm doing.
Speaker 1 13:14
yeah, and you would have benefited from, I mean, well, we benefitted, whoever listened to that episode and dipped their toes in would have benefited from the great run that cryptos had this year, right? Had a really, really good year, yeah, specifically Bitcoin. So I agree with you. It was one of those things that we were nervous, but I'm happy that we it just goes to show sometimes, if you're scared of something, you just need to face it.
Arthi Rabikrisson 13:37
Then just face it. Yes, yes, yes, yes, definitely.
Malika Petersen 13:41
Then we moved on to May. And yeah, and May. May was interesting because it was so uniquely South African for us, that little Advent slot where we spoke about the power of a Bund. And this is a very unique concept to South Africa, and we shared with our listeners, some of which are abroad. We've We've got quite a big, actually international listenership, which I'm very proud of, but basically Ubuntu in South Africa is the sense of everybody coming together. And we spoke about how we have a tradition in South Africa of stockpiles and inclusive investing. But I think for me, what really stood out, and like we said, it was a learning journey for us as well. This year, the aha moment for me in this episode was when we started to speak about investing for future generations. Right? We started to speak about how families come together, or communities come together and start these investment paths to provide for the education of the children in the family or children in the community. That was a big aha moment for me, because it's one of the things we always talk about generational wealth, and we always talk about education of generational wealth, and how it takes one person to make different decisions that could change in you know, 345, generations. Actions down the line. And this is one of those actions that people can really take to ensure a financially inclusive kind of future for kids, but also the one that was a bigger hub I went for me and Arthi, you knew, yes, you do a little bit about this, but I was kind of like, Oh, my word. This is just a whole world that I hadn't even thought about this was around crowdfunding, yeah, and crowd investing. And yes, you know, it was just, it's such a big world. And, I mean, we've met along this journey, especially you, some people that have you know, spoken to us about their great investment ideas, and to be able to tell them, there's this opportunity for you to access funding to make your investment. The idea is a reality. I think that was a big aha moment for me. So, yeah, I enjoyed that.
Arthi Rabikrisson 15:46
I love that. I mean this, this whole spirit of Ubuntu, which is so second nature. I think in Africa, I'm going to reach it across the continent, because it comes up in different communities. But oftentimes, you know, we think of it more as something more charitable. And I think what we were positioning with the listeners that, yeah, you know, you could, like, think of the Santa shoe box project. I mean, that's actually a form of crowdfunding, if you think about it, right, because you're collecting things, you're sharing it with, with children who may not necessarily have an opportunity to be spoiled by Santa because of their circumstances, and at the end of the day, people are just pooling together to create a really, really beautiful gift that this child who receives it is going to love and remember and can completely change the axis. So we kind of like know about crowdfunding in that sort of a way. Yeah. So we never termed it that, but now, when we positioned it as crowdfunding for investment like this, could actually launch my investment idea. I mean, that was like, I think a lot of a-ha moments, for a lot of people, we did get feedback on that, and I've been, I'm so so pleased, and to say that I'm privileged to have seen so many beautiful entrepreneurs undertake and dip their toe into crowdfunding this year and seeing and seeing the benefits of it. Malika, I mean, there's nothing more powerful than kind of undertaking this process and knowing that people are willing to believe in my idea and willing to put money in so you know, everyone, I just want to encourage you. Go back to this episode. Listen in to all of these things that we have been doing, even stokvels. I mean, we've been doing this for jonks/ages, but recalibrate your mind and your mindset to think about, how could I actually position this for a potential side hustle I've been thinking of, or some other kind of investment or assets that I've been trying to acquire? I don't have to go it alone. That was a key message in that particular episode, that even for an asset you could crowdfund, you could actually pull together money and get that asset that you're looking for.
Malika Petersen 17:47
Yeah, that, and that's such a nice segway into our next Advent, like, right? Because our next episode, yeah, over to you to talk about our next episode.
Arthi Rabikrisson 17:56
So that one was, we were thinking, okay, in South Africa, we've got a huge focus in June for our youth. We celebrate Youth Day on the 16th of June every year, everyone, and this was really one of my favorite episodes Malika, because our youth are our future. They are present. They our future. And you know, when we're sharing our tips and our tricks, we're really wanting to set them up for that bright, bright future, financial future, especially so we were, I think, so deliberate in that episode, sharing ideas about, how do you navigate your first job, why it's so important to save the power of compounding, investing that money. We also wanted, and a big one, I thought, we also wanted to empower our youth to have different and important conversations in their family sphere, specifically with parents. I mean, we know that there's a huge generational gap around the money mindset, and oftentimes our narratives around finances is based on what we've seen our parents do, and especially now, if there's this kind of narrative that kind of holds you or stops you in this kind of day and age to move forward, you almost want to be able to say, but you know what, Mom, Dad, granddad, grandmom, I'm learning a lot more about finances and how to plan for finances, and I just want to share and have a conversation about, how can I bring the present knowledge and still align it with how you're also thinking? So we thought those are really crucial conversations, huh Malika.
Malika Petersen 19:28
Absolutely and I think you make a very key point, right? Because, yeah, I mean, I've shared with you that I'm blessed to have kids that that span different ages, and some exposed to how their friends talk and think, and I'm so intrigued by the amazing ideas that these youngsters have, because they the ideas are brilliant, right? They really, really, really have great things that we didn't even think about, right? Yeah, but I mean you and I. Of that we are almost the ironies now, right? Yes, we're not quite the old parents, but we kind of like and this bridge between those very amazing ideas and traditional sound financial advice is a very important bridge, because I think you and I are both kind of in the generation where we can see that the coming together of those two thought processes is magic. We can see that, you know, that that traditional kind of thought, thought process with these great, amazing ideas, is going to result in a huge amount of success. And I think that's why this episode was so exciting for me, because to be able to bridge that gap, Wow, can you imagine what our community, our country, our the world, will look like economic if we are just able able to reach that gap.
Arthi Rabikrisson 20:53
It's such a big, such a big unlock. Malika. Yeah, you know, and, and we always talk about the youth being our future, and they're the economic engines, and here we are wanting to empower our youth to go and do exactly that, and to find a way, as you said, to bridge that gap. And I think, you know, following that episode, we then moved into July, and I'm gonna, I'm gonna leave it to you to expand, but our thinking process around this was okay, but if you're wanting to take that action. Before you do that, you kind of have to do the internal work a little bit. So, yeah, share with us Malika.
Speaker 1 21:26
Yes, I think I mean Arthi for me, when we started to talk about July and this particular topic, it was very key that we understood what many of our listeners are feeling. Many of our listeners are feeling like, I'm at a certain age. I what you speak about Arthi and Malika is great. But can I actually do I have the energy to even deal with this? Do I you know, work is stressful, the kids are stressful. Life is stressful. Electricity is expensive. Waters, crazy, etcetera, etcetera, yeah. And we really then decided to choose to focus on yourself as an asset in July, and again, Arthi and I were learning, we're learning along the journey, because I don't think we'd ever considered when we we finance, right? Arthi, both of us have a heavy financial bank. We think in financial and economic terms, right? Yes. So you in your career, think about financial and economic terms. And then there's the other side of you that thinks about the mind and and, you know, emotions and thinking processes, etc. But I don't think we've ever considered the two together in the way that we did here, where investing in yourself. You know, your health, your education, your mental health, you are your greatest assets, yeah, and there's been so many record levels of burnout, especially post COVID, and I think that it's important that we manage our mental health and mindset and we kind of Curb stress levels, right? We touched a little bit on physical health, yeah, which is extremely important, and kind of works hand in hand. And then we also looked at holistically, right? How are we taking care of ourselves? How are we replenishing where the areas of our lives that are being depleted? And I think all of that will kind of create a solid foundation for us to be able to handle our financial decisions. Clearly, I think both you and I spoke about how we want to normalize this topic a bit more, because definitely I think that's part of getting to success in this sphere.
Arthi Rabikrisson 23:29
I almost feel it's so important. But as you said, like underweighted, because at the end of the day, we're talking about listeners, you making, like, key financial decisions and taking steps and making actions. But the reality is is, if you're not in a position to do that, physically, mentally, emotionally, none of those lovely ideas can actually get off the ground. So it's almost like we assume that all of that is fine in order for you to take those actions and tips. And I think we just wanted to bring this as a stark reminder everybody that how you are showing up and how you're feeling is actually a very, very huge precursor to the types of behaviors and actions that you would take moving forward. So we almost, I think you're right, Malika, you know, in in the New Year as well, I think we're going to be pressing this point even more deliberately that you do need to take care of yourself, because the more you strengthen that foundation, as you said, the better quality decision making and actions and steps you're going to take going forward. And that's and, you know, we finished off that, and then we went into the month of August, and I mean you and I, we celebrate the month of August. It's really in our part of the world, everybody in South Africa, it's women's month. There's a particular day in that month that we celebrate and acknowledge the power that force that we as women are and think the biggest thing for me around. That episode was just this reminder of how brilliant we are as ecosystem building Malika, right that truly, you know, we empower women. We're not just empowering her everyone. We're empowering an entire community around her. Because, you know, I'll speak, I'll speak selfishly on behalf of everybody that is a female. And I know that typically, when I'm looking at growing myself and growing my pot, I'm also thinking about, but who else can benefit from this? How do I make impact? And it's just such a natural tendency to be able to do that. So, you know, we're empowering our communities. This ripple effect just goes across so many different households. And in the episode, we talked about more inclusive banking, you know, almost like a call to action in that way. About, you know, we know that there's these Kasi economies that are flourishing, but only up to a point because we don't have enough sort of an entire ecosystem around that that can help that to flourish and meet the needs of those that that are wanting to drive that as well. So we, we were actually calling on better kind of financial products and services that could speak to that, very deliberate. And we also, I think, with some of those stats that you provided, which were just shocking in that episode Malika, shocking in the sense of that economic divide to actually ensuring that women grow on their own, women grow in their communities, and actually that is such a stumbling block to then growing the wealth, right? So those are some really powerful things that I think we wanted to showcase. We have looked at. We have experienced it Malika as well. Yeah. And we're, in some small way, through our podcast, through other things, trying to elevate from there.
Speaker 1 26:46
yeah. So I think Arthi, I mean, firstly, listeners, I must tell you Arthi, and I milk August and women's month, for all it's worth. But yes, in South Africa, it really is. I mean, I know we have a public holiday around it, or day around it. But really holiday is in South Africa, August as a whole, is really celebrated as a woman celebration month and Arthi and I both spoke about the influences that our maternal like our our grandmothers, our great grandmothers, our our mothers, had on us, that the influence that they had from not only a nurturing, caring, loving perspective, but from a financial creation and financial management perspective. And I think this is so key, because I want to speak to our female listeners out there and say your role and responsibility when it comes to the next generation and how much you can influence and how far reaching that influence is, please don't underestimate it. Now, actually, had this one lady coming up to me, but and saying to me, you know, I'm a single mom. I've made all the wrong financial decisions. I've created debt, I've done this, I've done that. And I want to encourage women out there, regardless of whether you believe you've made mistakes or not, you have a message. You learnt a lesson out of those things, a lesson that you can can carry on to others. So I do want to encourage the women out there started to not only be nurturing from a let me take care of you being ill, let me feed you, etcetera, perspective, start to nurture the financial need and understanding of other generations. You really do have a message to to share, no and then talking about feeding. You see our segway there?
Arthi Rabikrisson 28:28
Definitely.
We used September to speak about the two new two pot legislation in South Africa. So in September, this very important piece of legislation came into effect in South Africa. So it was a piece of legislation that has been worked on for many, many months building up to that girl love and and there was quite a lot of uncertainty. There was a lot of fear about retirement savings people had. There's a lot of misunderstanding and misbeliefs. With regards to this piece piece of legislation, we invited the awesome Tiaan, someone who came to chat to us and shares knowledge on that, on this particular subject, and you really helped us to simplify what two pot system actually is, right? It was actually three pots. For those of you that haven't listened to that episode, go back and listen to that. You understand why it's actually three pots. They're not two pots. But I think it was an interesting episode for me, because it debunked a lot of myths and mistruths about the legislation, especially around tax, and I think we were able to share information that helped people make informed decision when it came to the two pots. I think I don't know how you felt about that episode, Arthi, but I thought it was very, very informative.
So informative. I mean, Tiaan knew so much. I mean, we squeezed in so much, you know, I actually went back and I listened again, just to make sure that I caught everything. And that was an episode that generated, again, a lot of interest, because it was so topical at the time. I mean, it's to do with your retirement savings, right? So there was a lot of uncertainty, and, you know, I think it was beneficial, or for so many people, to just kind of, again, put your retirement savings in focus. Be very deliberate. I found a lot of listeners coming through to say, often, I just, especially if you're employed in formal employment, and you've got the benefit of a company pension fund or something that, like that, that that assists you towards planning for for your retirement. Many of them kind of like just left it, never looked at it. And with the legislation coming on board, people suddenly got really interested about, how does this affect me now, and started to need to make key decisions around it. So, yeah, I think it was very topical, very timely. And you know, when we then thought about coming into the October episode from that, because people had already had this kind of awareness of, Okay, where am I in the situation? Where am I I'm in situation? We thought, all right, let's drive this point home about kind of knowing yourself, knowing your mental state. So you know we were pigging backing off the previous episode that we spoke about around you being your greatest asset. It was also October is also mental health awareness month. So we thought, why not position this very, very deliberately around how your mental health can actually help you generate wealth? So I wanted to be very specific about that in that episode and Malika, I think you shared, if I recall, this beautiful reciprocity about how your mental well being makes you create a good sense of financial well being, but then also, financial wellness also impacts your mental health and well being too. So it is this two way kind of a street, and it's based on beliefs we have about money. So we really did delve in a little bit more into those narratives that we mentioned earlier. We wanted you to get a sense of, Well, where am I being triggered? What's triggering me, for example, to be suddenly spending a hell of a lot in a really bad way. And how do we then think about switching those triggers into investing habits. And I remember this was one thing that stood out for me in this world of social media and just sitting on our phones and scrolling, yeah, and finding all of these things like, you know, all these ads for things that you want to consume and spend. Gosh, it really does put a massive, massive dent on not only the finances, but also the sense of, I need to compare myself to others, I need to compete with others. It actually does bring a huge mental toll onto us. So I think we were quite deliberate in bringing that into the episode as well. And one of the key things that we encourage everybody to have was an accountability partner, wasn't it? Malika
Speaker 1 32:41
Absolutley and I think Arthi, we were quite cognizant of the fact that all the talk around two pot or three pots was kind of because it was so topical. Yep, lots of people had to face the reality of their retirement position or retirement planning position. Yes, and that did lead to some mental health crises. In some senses, is people being very concerned about, am I actually going to be able to retire? Right? It was. I mean, I think all these questions came up for people. So from a timing perspective, we you know, it really was. But I think the bigger and, I mean, you spoke about about this almost, well, it could be a vicious cycle, or non vicious cycle, where your financial position impacts your mental health, but your mental health also impacts your financial position. So if it's a positive cycle, it's awesome, because if you're in a good financial position, you tend to have better mental health, which leads to a better financial position. But if you're not in a good financial position, it can impact your mental health. Mm, hmm, definitely. And I think it was interesting to me. I was speaking to you. Yeah, I like speaking to young people, maybe because I consider myself to be a lot younger than I am. But I'm speaking to this, this gentleman who was explaining that what he's done is he's taken his day and he's created minutes. So to say, like, I've got 24 hours time, 60 minutes, right? That's the amount of minutes that I have per day, right? And he's basically taken those minutes and said, Okay, I've got 1440 let's say dollars. He's created his own currency. He's like, I just created a fake currency, but let's call it dollars. So I've got $1,440 in the day. If I'm scrolling for two hours as an example, I've wasted $120
Arthi Rabikrisson 34:22
Oh, wow!
Malika Petersen 34:25
Or if I stress about something, if somebody says something to me and I'm angry and worried about it, and I'm walking away thinking about it, I might be spending $30 on that moment of stress and anger, which is never to be recovered. And I thought that was a that was a very interesting way of doing things, because he said what it forces him to do is to make sure that his dollar spend for the day is in the positive, that he spends more more minutes or more dollars on doing positive things than a negative thing, too. I know me too. I. For those that are trying to break that cycle, please consider using that that technique to do so definitely,
Arthi Rabikrisson 35:06
I was just going tosay that example. It's such a brilliant way to then talk about the next episode that we did around Black Friday strategies. Tell us
Malika Petersen 35:16
speaking of spending, yeah. So so we spoke about Black Friday strategies, which is the episode that we had last episode. And here we spoke about the importance of understanding. We actually unveiled two for one, right? We had two ones and then admin slots, which we are building one episode. But it really was about the importance of understanding assets versus liabilities. Now this was by far my favorite. I mean, I did, I've, I have spoken about this. We have lots of favorites, yeah, yeah, but this particular one was my favorite answer, because we really spoke about the importance of understanding what an asset is versus a liability. We were a little bit controversial in that we said the house you're living in is actually not an asset. You'll remember that very controversial statement, yes, um, go back and listen to that episode if you want to understand why we should get what we remember. So yeah, so this is a big episode for us, right? We were deliberate in in helping you to understand practically what our assets are, and we illustrated how you could turn a liability into an asset. And that was kind of really key for me. We looked at the second part of the or the second slot that we revealed was how you can use Black Friday, which is, you know, which has just happened, so that you can either delay your spending or spend a little bit more worthy, or spend on things that is going to unlock future wealth for you. So spend on things that are going to create additional income, like investing in yourself, some of the education stuff we spoke about earlier, it's like investing in equipment on your business. So all of these things later are teaching you how to create additional streams of income use back Friday to be able to do so, and then consider your asset and liability position so that you are able to create,
Arthi Rabikrisson 37:12
well, I can't tell you how much I benefited from Black Friday just by investing in the future. For me, I mean, there were some really, really good discounts on things that I was looking for that's going to help me in my little business, Malika, things that are going to help my family as well. So I saw my purchases as investments for sure, for for Black Friday. And I think, yeah, it was just, it was timely, it was topical. And listeners, I hope you also made some really, really courageous choices in the sense that it wasn't all about consumption and just enjoyment, but it was actually thinking a little bit more deliberately about the future and how that could be a really, really key investment for you. I'm loving that we've done this Malika, because it's been an absolute smorgasbord of investing ideas of tips this entire season. And listeners, I hope you've really gotten a good sense of direction, things that are going to help you on this path towards, well, creation, not just for this year, but also into the new year. So, you know, we try to give you a really holistic perspective in the sense that, as I said earlier, it's not just about these particular actions that you need to take. It's also that internal work that needs to be done to put you in that position so that you can take that step. Malika, it's been lovely. Would you like to sum up this season for our listeners, any specific call to action or things that we should be mindful of that you want to share?
Speaker 1 38:35
Yeah, I think my parting shot. Arthi, I am very proud of the amount of times that I've heard myself in conversation where people came to me to ask for my opinion on things, or gave me some stuff that was happening in their lives that I've actually you really should listen to my podcast, right? Yeah, might have started those words have come out of my mouth. This year has really been, I'm really proud of it, because it means that the stuff that we are covering here are topical. They're relevant, and they they're it's information that really, really work. So I think for me, the parting shot is that while we are looking back, and while I want our listeners to have an amazing holiday, this whole recipe of creating additional sources of income in order to buy assets so that you are able to create the lifestyle that you want from those assets. That recipe is tried and tested. I think it's one of those we do, and I have spoken about this before with things where things feel unknown or difficult to start, because it just feels like there's so much information out there, and I don't know where to start. What our podcast really does is that it allows our listeners we break up those three key ingredients of that recipe into simple, practical steps and. And that makes me really, really proud. And I think next year we're going to do a little bit more of that. But I think the call to action for our listeners, for me, yes, have an amazing holiday. Yes, look back and enjoy the previous year, but start to think about how you use some of our tips to be able to create, create those additional sources of income so that you can start to buy assets. You Arthi, what's your parting shot?
Arthi Rabikrisson 40:23
Oh, okay, yeah. I mean, I love that we've called this episode back through the looking glass, because it really is that time of the year where we can do that. Certainly in our part of the world, it's coming up to summer holidays and summer breaks, and a lot of people are going to be taking down time. And of course, there's going to be another large portion of people that are going to be going to be really busy, especially if you're in the retail sector, it's going to be one of your busiest periods. But I think we're still all in a position to be quite reflective. You know, especially around Christmas and around New Year, we are with family. We are with friends, and potentially, so it's something that I want you to think about as you're entering this kind of a period, there's three things potentially, Monica, I'd like our listeners and subscribers to think about. So firstly, I'd want you to look and find gratitude in the financial wins and the losses that you've experienced this year, and actually find a way to give thanks for all that is happening to you. Because guess what? These are the things that are shaping you for the present and also for the year and years to come. So let me, let me just use a simple example. If you actually made it through listening to all of the episodes in our season, I count that as a big win. That's a huge Yeah, again, share with us and also others in your circle, like, what are you grateful for learning about the insight that you may have gotten from our different episodes. And of course, I mean, if you're a little bit sheepish and you haven't really listened to our episodes, maybe you're catching this one, maybe one or two others that you're able to get. Well, you might consider that a bit of a loss, because there's certain information, as we're saying, ideas and tips and steps that we've shared that you've missed out. So there's an opportunity cost. So perhaps what you could do is just feel a little bit of gratitude that in order for one to be found, you have to be a little bit lost first. And this could be a way of actually finding yourself again. And there could be a lot of learning in that again. We do not want to berate ourselves, but we just want to acknowledge where we're at, and that's the good and the bad. So the second piece everyone that I'd want to encourage you to do is also reward yourself for your wins, the big and also the little, the tiny wins as well. And when I say reward, I mean this is something just for you that you would really enjoy. But again, be reasonable, allocate a fair amount, one that doesn't destabilize your financial situation or the goals that you have. So if I look at myself, for example, I really did invest smartly this year. I really did experience some good returns with my investment choices. So I'm going to actually celebrate with a lovely meal at a restaurant that I've been wanting to try for ages, and I haven't had a chance to do so so and now that I'm saying it, I'm actually thinking I'm literally eating my reward! But that's something that I feel it's a little bit for me. It's something I've been wanting to do. And you know what? It's not going to break the bank for me to go and do that, so it doesn't destabilize me in any way. So that's just an example, everyone. And then the third thing I want to encourage all of you, so everyone write out your BHAG for 2025 and BHAG, if you've not heard that acronym before, it's your big, hairy, audacious goal. That's what it is for 2025 and specifically, I want you to consider what is the number that is attached to that goal. So for example, I'm busy working on a book at the moment. I want to publish it. I want to market it. And I can be quite specific and say I want to generate a profit of, let's just say, 10,000 Rand on this book. I don't know about you everybody, but if I've not put this number in my head, I become quite razor focused to figure out what are the steps that I need to do to get to ensuring I get to a 10,000 Rand profit. So I'm gonna think about, like, what are the things I need to be very specific on in my marketing campaigns? What are some of the costs that I'm gonna incur and be very deliberate to ensure it doesn't eat into my profit? Like, that's the kind of space I go into when I do so, yeah, I feel like when you do this everybody, it really just helps you get that pathway right about the decisions you're going to make. So yeah, I think if we do this holistic approach, where you're looking at yourself, as you said, Malika, that reflective back, looking at your present, giving yourself that reward, but then also, let's look into the future, I think it's going to set us up so that you can aspire towards something quite definitive in the new year.
Speaker 1 44:44
Yeah, I absolutely love this Arthi, and I think we are setting our subscribers and listeners up for success already.
Arthi Rabikrisson 44:52
Oh, yes.
Malika Petersen 44:52
And with that, I want to offer thanks for joining us this season, listeners.
Arthi Rabikrisson 44:57
Yes, I echo those sentiments. Malik. The have a wonderful festive season. Everybody be financially savvy while you're also having fun, and we will see you in 2025!
Swanning out for now!
sharing is caring and knowledge is power.
Malika Petersen 45:24
Timefor you to be daring
Arthi Rabikrisson 45:25
and let your money confidence bloom like a sunflower!
Malika Petersen 45:31
Thanks for joining us. We hope you found these ideas and guidance useful.
Arthi Rabikrisson 45:35
Do subscribe, share and write a review or send us comments. We would love to hear from you. Catch you on the next episode
of the swan effect podcast.
Malika Petersen 45:46
Bye for now.
Arthi Rabikrisson 45:47
Ciao.
