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Hello!

In the time since the last Sara Makes Sense, a lot has happened. In my business, in your financials, in the global space that we share.

My new podcast, I've Heard Worse, focuses on how and why you would develop a financial plan. I talk about the situations clients have faced, conversations I've had, why I plan the way I do and how to make confident decisions in your own best interest.

Listen to the first episode here, then hop over to the I've Heard Worse feed to listen to the remaining episodes in the season.

I would love to hear your comments and questions. Join me on Substack at Financial Foundations.

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This is a wide-ranging conversation with Paul McIntyre Royston, CEO of the Grand River Hospital Foundation. We talk about that specific foundation does, what governments in Canada pay for and what they don't when it comes to health care, what the term 'health care' encompasses.

The conversation also moves into what could it mean if we were contributing to a stronger health care system for everyone? That securing our own potential, future, maybe- health needs might be done by giving to build a stronger system today. For everyone. What if we, as donors, saw giving that way? What if we had a better understanding of what motivated organizations? Would we give more? Give differently? Get better outcomes? Actually change the world?

Links that are mentioned in the conversation:
General GRHF page: https://grhf.ca/
Paul talks about the meaning of the lotus and it's petals, explanation and pic found here: https://grhf.ca/blogs/grand-ideas/hospital-pins
Paul talks about the foundation values, found here: https://grhf.ca/pages/ourteam
Grand River coffee tokens: https://grhf.ca/products/buy-a-coffee-for-a-healthcare-worker

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How do you untangle your money when you've tried and failed before? When you can't figure out what's going where and so many things are out of your control?

In this episode of Sara makes Sense, I talk about how to talk about your money, including specific steps to take to figure out what's going where, how to control what you can and how to work with the things you can't.

I use the example of Season 2 of this podcast- it didn't go the way I wanted, it felt like a public failure, and I had to decide what to do. Similar to how many of us feel about our money situations, ignoring it, sweeping it under the rug and moving on wouldn't have had any benefits to me, given the goals that I have. I chose to re-group and continue with the podcast.

Getting control of your money includes knowing how much is coming in and when, what's scheduled to go out (this is money you've already spent) and what's left over to handle the rest of your expenses for every pay period.

Managing in an environment of high inflation, economic slowdowns and job uncertainty takes planning. It's possible and it's important. I recommend that you include your biggest asset when you think about how to manage the 'uncontrollables': your earning potential. Including your earning potential in your financial discussions is important when you're looking at the big-picture of what's possible. It can help you regain control.

A few links for the benefits of telling your story, or witnessing:

https://news.berkeley.edu/berkeley_blog/the-science-of-the-story/ A long read, but hang in there; the section titled "How stories bring people together" gets into why telling our money stories is beneficial to us and others.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-web-violence/201309/resilience-and-4-benefits-sharing-your-story The 3rd point here, Re-Affirming your Values is important. In the day-to-day busy-ness, we can lose sight of what we value and where we're spending our money. Re-focusing through telling our money story can motivate change.

2 books by Shannon Lee Simmons contain great stories about how Shannon works with her clients and how to manage your money with less stress
Worry-Free Money
Living Debt Free
You can find Shannon's books in a variety of places- choose your favourite purchasing method!