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Tuesday 5 June 2018

A Tribute to the Suffragettes!

This is not a Feminist rant...there is a property angle to this post.... honest!

Last night I was watching a documentary about the Suffragettes. Living in Epsom I'm very close to the home of the Epsom Derby where Emily Davison was killed pinning a purple, green and white rosette to the Kings horse. 
It might not surprise you to hear that I'm also a Feminist. I find the history of how women got the vote fascinating, not least because it's so recent, I mean sooooo recent... most of us probably knew women who lived before they were given the vote. My granny was born in 1901 after all... there she is, the lovely Olive Perkins.

On Sunday evening I also watched a documentary on Margret Atwood ... she who wrote The Handmaid's Tale.... she is such a quiet, dry humoured lady with a sparkle in her eye. 
The book is small and pretty bleak. It reminded me of the part that stopped me in my tracks. I had been wondering how on earth the powers that be had managed to suppress women, who had been used to a life like mine... able to vote, work, earn and own. Atwood talks about this as putting the butterflies back in the box... she took things that were happening 30 years ago to build the plot. Everything in the book was happening in the world at that time, or had been used to suppress women in the recent past. The thing that finally dis-empowered the women in the book? All their bank account were handed to their husbands, fathers or another 'suitable males' to manage. They had no rights to earn or own. They had no rights to vote or decide.... their lives and bodies were no longer theirs.
Before we roll our eyes and think this would never happen to us ... just remember it was happening just 100 years ago and we knew people born into the end of such a society.... we also live in a world with women who are living this reality too. Just to give you a bit of perspective.. In 1900 there were 2 women in the UK whose job was listed as Architect. Even in the 1950s Margret Atwood remembers being given a book listing jobs suitable for women, it had 5 jobs in it... guess which ones?!... you know you can ....
Scroll forward to this weekend's property conference with Gill Fielding... I was there on Saturday and I hope they didn't change anything for the Sunday... basically there were soo many moments that the stage and the videos were full of women. Gill kept on mentioning that she was an equal opportunity employer and we all laughed! It was funny but I'm sure I wasn't the only woman (or man) in the room who thought yay!
I know that, had I been born a few decades earlier, my life would have been very different.... I would have had to do one of those 5 jobs. My mum wanted to be a designer, a farmer or a gardener... but those were all very difficult areas for a woman to get into ...instead she was a mum and a nurse (two of the five jobs!)... at least she could work, earn and vote!... however, she couldn't have dual nationality (she was born Swedish) when she married my English dad... she also couldn't get a mortgage on her own!
When I first started in property I remember feeling very nervous about being on sites full of men, or even asking a man to paint a wall! Twenty years on there are still few of us women on sites but far more than there ever were. There is still crap to swim through... surprise that I can use a power tool for example and dodging stupid remarks from some planks... I can also claim 'Me Too' for various things that have happened to me at work 
But I'm here... I can run a business, own a mortgage, have several bank accounts, own a credit card (and the balance) and together my husband and I can create a life on an equal footing.
Thanks to the ladies before me...
Tx

Thursday 31 May 2018

Path To A Half

Earlier this year Pam and I were buying a property in Ipswich. As we were proceeding with the purchase we realised there were lots of extra costs and difficulties with the property which were mounting up, changing it from a deal into a no-deal. We eventually pulled out and whilst this is disappointing we know (because of our training) that it was the right thing to do.



We did our training with Gill Fielding at Fielding Financial and every three months we go to an event called Path to a Half. This week we got a post card through. We had filled it in at the March PtaH and one of the goals was to complete on the Ipswich deal.... it was a reminder of a failure.... which is never nice. However it got me thinking about other PtaH's and how they have been instrumental in giving Pam and I the tools and confidence required too take our first steps into property investing using other people's money..... first here is a little video where Gill explains the purpose of PtaH.




As I say, walking away from the Ipswich deal was the right thing to do... but it was also frustrating. Currently we are looking for the right replacement deal. We are being cautious though, when you are 'playing' with other peoples we think this is imperative. We want our deals to double stack in effect. They need a to have the right entrance price, variable exit strategies and enough security in them for us to feel we are not taking unacceptable risks with our reputations and other peoples money.
A note on money... it is easy to think that people with a pot of money got it easily. The stories behind peoples pots of money that we have heard are many and varied. Most of it is hard won. It's either earned doing a hard job, created through wise investment, achieved through making huge life changes like selling the family home or inherited after the loss of a loved one. The trust people are putting in us to use it wisely is really an honour.
A note on asking for money....When I was starting out on this journey I couldn't quite believe anyone would give me money to put into a property deal. It was a HUGE mindset change for me. Even when Pam and I were putting our first deal together and presented it at PtaH I was having palpitations. When one person challenged me I had to take myself off to a quiet place to deal with the panic lol... I'm not joking. I remember collaring a 'Fielding Friend' and discussing how shitty I was feeling. To set me straight and calmed my nerves my friend dished out a mixture of kind words and a flick on the forehead! Pam was much more confident I could only see the potential for failure! I'm glad I have the ability to feel the fear and do it anyway ... and to allow other people to lead me to success even when I'm convinced that I can't do something.
Anyway, in those days there was a sign up board at the back of the Path to a Half meeting room... Pam and I couldn't believe it when we saw over 30 people had expressed an interest in our deal. We were having a ta-da moment... At the previous PtaH we had another ta-da moment when Gill had said 'If a deal's a deal... the money will come'... we heard that and decided to just run with it ... find a deal, a real deal and see if the money would come... and it did!
I know that lots of people reading this are not in the Fielding Family and will not have experienced Path to a Half. If you want to you can find out more about joining Fielding here, starting with their award winning 3 day course.. then you too can experience those ta-da moments!


Enjoy!
Tania & Pam xx

Wednesday 23 May 2018

GDPR Compliance for Landlords





GDPR is coming!... make sure you are compliant. We are landlords in the UK, this video is all about the new legislation and how it is going to effect us. We also show you the National Landlords Association's template that we are using to become compliant.



Toodle pip!



Tania 

Tuesday 22 May 2018

My Friend had a Tortoise...

My friend had a tortoise ... and so did I ... It was the 70's so we were allowed.

You might not believe it but our little tortoises had completely different personalities. Her's was called Fred, he was a lovely little chap who plodded a long, managing to bi-pass her swimming pool (generally).... which is no mean feet when you understand he didn't know how to change direction. Honestly! On a daily basis my friend and her siblings had the job to find the tortoise and turn him around. One day he did plop into the pool, luckily the cover was on so he didn't perish, after which they fenced off the hazard. Lucky little fellow to have a family that cared so much for him!

My tortoise was called Winnie. Now Winnie had a real sense of adventure. We lived in a bungalow in Suffolk, which had a 'C' shaped layout, leaving a tree and a piece of lawn in the centre. A hallway ran along one side and had big windows so we could look onto this little haven. This became Winnie's home...We fenced off the other end to keep her in and keep her safe. .... but Winnie wasn't having any of it! Winnie was a digger and a climber... Winnie was an escapologist and a swashbuckler.
No matter what we did Winnie would go walkabout. Thankfully the word got out in our village and if ever Winnie wandered off over the fields and far away, someone would eventually call and return her to her rightful home. 

You would think that a tortoise would not wonder far, or be gone for long... not Winnie. Once she was missing for a whole winter... once she was found 2 miles away. On she would pootle, no matter what got in her way!

I hadn't thought about Winnie and Fred for a long time. Yesterday their little ways came to mind. I was going over my years worth of social media training notes and having a chat with Pam about our search for the next deal. We were both feeling that things are going too slowly for our liking.

Sometimes life feels like a plod, sometimes we need to continue on our journey, watching the scenery pass by slowly. We need to wait for the the pieces to fall in place, to meet the right person, read the right thing, put the plan together neatly. Then suddenly the pace changes and we are speeding along and we wonder if we can keep up.

Have a great day ... plodding along or speeding... whichever... so long as it's towards your goal... so long as you are on your adventure. Enjoy!

Tania xx

Friday 18 May 2018

Making Friends with your Mammoth

Do you want to be financially secure, know that your future is safe and that you can rest at night in the knowledge that you could stop work tomorrow if you wanted or needed to? Have you ever thought about what that would feel like? ... when you do, do you just roll your eyes and and think 'Yeh, in your dreams!' and then plod on in your every day way, turning your back on your dreams?
Me too. Or I did until the day the a mammoth came to visit, my job disappeared and my world changed.... for the better .... although it didn't feel like it at the time lol!

I don't know what your dream is but mine was to work, create a small business, buy a house and save for retirement and then probably downsize to add to my pension pot. I was realistic, I thought this would probably take until I was in my 60's.... WRONG!!!
Perhaps you were the same? But now you can't see the end of the tunnel... or maybe the reality is that you are sh** scared about losing your job, which you feel trapped in and only stick at because you can't afford to leave. Even worse, maybe you are running your own business and feel the same about the very thing you thought would make you really happy. Maybe, the thing you are working hardest at is only just keeping the wolves from the trees and all your future dreams are crumbling into the dust.
Before you disintegrate under the pressure of it all can I ask you to stop, reflect and then give yourself a huge pat on the back? You have been doing a great job, you have been working hard and doing the right thing. You have been making ends meet (just) against all the odds. Yes, you are great!
The problem is that the world has changed.... and it did it practically over night.
Our generation is living (and attempting to work) through a new revolutionary new world. We are working to the old industrial rules but living in the new digital world.The revolution has been like a mammoth on the run and unless we change our approach to our work and life we will be trampled... what we need to do is make friends with the mammoth... and adjust our old school work ethic, re-directing it to the new world dynamic.
Ok, so we have to make friends with the mammoth... how we do dat den?
More on that soon... for now you just need to know, there's a blooming mammoth out there!!! He's looking for friends and the good thing is he likes people who like learning, working clever ... and want to have a great life....he's looking for people to play with and he def wants retire early one day... he's looking for us :)
Written By: Tania Carson (Mammoth Hunter)

Wednesday 2 May 2018

Why Your Why Is So Important & How to Use It To Create The Life You Want

We love a TedTalk. This one was recommended by Adam Houlahan in his book 'The LinkedIn Playbook' and it really is worth a look.

Once you have we would love to hear your Why's ....

Have a great day everyone!
P&T

How great leaders inspire action | Simon Sinek



Tuesday 1 May 2018

Squeezed Middle... or Financially Free?


So which are you ... the squeezed middle or financially free?

First of all, what are these two polarised states... and which one would you prefer to be?
The Squeezed Middle are the educated, seemingly affluent, workers in our society. They have done everything right: worked hard, educated themselves, applied their knowledge, bought a house and had 2.5 kids... they pay their taxes and rarely ask for anything in return. Then one day they realize that their pension pot is close to zero, they simply can't make ends meet any more and they are probably going to have to work until they drop. They look back at their parents who retired at 60/65 (or younger) and are living a wonderful, leisurely life well into their dotage.... the squeezed middle wonder what they did wrong!?
The Financially Free are the ones that live a life knowing that the bills are all paid for and they have enough money to eat, whether they are working or not - YAY!... Basically, a while ago, they woke up to the reality that life had changed since their parents' day. They suddenly realised that they were living in a post industrial, global age and working by the old rules would leave them broke and unable to retire.
They have taken steps to ensure it doesn't happen to them and they have found out how to make the necessary changes to create a new, more tantalising and happy future. They became financial freedom fighters... and have won the battle!
So which one are you? ...
Maybe you identify with the squeezed middle but dream to be financially free, but have no idea on how to create this pipe dream? If that's you then don't despair because whilst you might feel a bit cheated  now there are plenty of opportunities these days to move yourself towards your goal and away from the old and failing way of living.
We were listening to a speaker at one of our workshops this weekend and he pointed out that  the squeezed middle are basically the transition generation. We are the middle aged workers living by the past centuries industrial model's rules of educate, work hard and you will go up the ladder and earn more, save and you will have a great pension and retire at 60'ish. Sound familiar? Sound hollow?
Over the last 15 years or so the world has become a new, digital era... this era is being run by a whole new set of rules.... and if you and I don't start learning those rules we will be the ones who watch our wealth dwindle and our lifestyles with it. Many of us are feeling that right now, Pam and I know exactly how that feels!
That said we are also the generation who have had low cost  education and been brought up on a really excellent work ethic. In addition we here at the start of the revolution... which means we have the most opportunities to take advantage of it and create new, lucrative revenues that will change our current lifestyle and our dreams for the future.
The pain of this situation is why Pam and I started looking for solutions, taking courses and learning how to create new incomes and implement new wealth strategies. We started a few short years ago and we are now both financially free ... and you can be too.
Our two main strategies have been property and social media. Firstly we started in property and with the learnings and earnings we moved into the brave new digital world. Property is the obvious one to create wealth but many people think that they have to have a fortune to make a fortune. I'm here to tell you that you don't... because I have created a portfolio without a single bean of my own money in it... time yes... money no! 
The digital business is new and it's just starting to bare fruit. The learning curve has been greater though, but that's not surprising. The journey continues and we look forward to making more progress earning our first big £3k pay out in the last week... and all from the comfort of our own sofas lol!
Of course we haven't done this alone and that's been great too. Firstly we invested in some amazing teachers and became friends with them and many of the people they have trained along side us. If you think your journey may be lonely, we are here to tell you that it won't be.
If you want to find out more about our teachers and the courses they offer then please click here for Gill Fielding's property course website:
https://as209.infusionsoft.com/app/orderForms/865a6f3c-af81-4f39-b149-33e07d5c6f3a

And here for Paul's webinar all about setting up a business on social media:
https://webinar.leftclickrightclick.com/social-media-webinar-registration?affiliate_id=747547

In addition you may want to surround yourself with like minded people ... this is where we come in, we have been there, and not so long ago that we have forgotten what it's like! If that sounds like something you would like to do then just email us on : theprosperhub@gmail.com and we will send you logins to our  financial freedom facebook group where you can join in the conversation and get tips and ideas to make your bid for freedom come true!
We hope that sounds exciting and we look forward to making it happen for you!
Over and out for now!
Tania & Pam

Friday 6 April 2018

VIP@CPM - HOW TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA IN YOUR PROPERTY BUSINESS

HARNESS THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA 
FOR YOUR PROPERTY BUSINESS!



We are so excited about this month's Crawley Property Meet, which will be a VIP event... a VIP@CPM Event no less!

This will also be our first double event and will feature not only our two hour speaking slot at CPM on 17th April... but also a follow up, exclusive half day workshop on 29th April.

Becoming financially free through multiple streams of income is our passion. Property is part of our tool kit to do this but so is harnessing the power of social media... but what if you could blend the two... how powerful would that be?

To teach you how we have asked two friends of our Paul O'Mahony and Nigel Best to team up. Paul is an international speaker, social media entrepreneur and Amazon Best Seller. Nigel is a Property Investor and Pod-Caster together they have created an exclusive workshop for us called:

 Social Media & Property!

Tickets include a copy of Paul's book 'Re-Think Social Media' ....If you would like to join us please click below or on the picture above for your tickets!



We look forward to seeing you soon.

Tania & Pam xx

PS - if you can't get to Crawley you might want to find out more about Paul... so here is a link for a free webinar (more general not property related) 




Friday 30 March 2018

Diary of a Investor-phobe - Setting up a Nest Egg


As you know, yesterday I set myself the task of starting my Cappuccino Factor Investment to create a long term nest egg..... It took me half the day but I didid it. YAAAAYYY!!!


My plan is to stop paying £80pcm into a pension plan, which I started 27 years ago (in my early 20s). I realised some time ago that there was no point in continuing to throw good money after bad. 

To illustrate the point to myself I used an online compound interest calculator. I wanted to see how much better off I would have been if I had been putting the same £80 per month into the Cappuccino Factor over the same 27year period. I've been conservative and used a 10% annual increase, which is  entirely possible with this strategy... the interest and regular payments accumulated over into the each year.

The current balance in my pension plan is £27,331.46. If I had just been putting the money under my bed it would have accumulated to £25,920.... so, what could it have been if I had put the same money into the Cappuccino Factor??...... wait for it.... be prepared to gasp..... it would have grown to..... £132,753.33!!!!!!! 

If I'd had that money now I could have paid off most of my personal mortgage .. I feel like asking Friends Life where their friend has put my money, but I think I wouldn't get the answer I want!
Anyway, if you want to check out how compounding will effect your money here is the link for the calculator I used.
https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/finance/calculators/compoundinterestcalculator.php

Strangely, just as I was writing this, my 83 year old Dad called to wish me happy Easter... I mentioned what I had been doing and he said he had exactly the same experience with his Friends Life policy... that's two houses we could have got! Thankfully this did not stop him from taking early retirement from his job at the civil service on a full final salary pension at 58 years old - phew! But you can see how many people could be completely scuppered if they don't start taking action and NOW!

Are you like me and still procrastinating over using the magic of compounding to set up your nest egg? If you are then please get going now! To help, next week I'm going to do a top up video to add to Pam's because I had a really nice short cut experience that I would like to share with you.

Until then have a fabulous Easter/Passover/Bank Holiday weekend!
Tx

Thursday 29 March 2018

Become an Millionaire Today with The Cappuccino Factor



Today Tania will be finally be taking action to set up a SIP and redirect her coffee and cake money into a low risk/ high performing mutual fund. This idea comes from our mentor Gill Fielding and  Pam has created a video for you to make it easy for us all to put the strategy into action.

The Cappuccino Factor is a long term strategy to take advantage of Compounding. It allows you to invest small amounts of money for a long term gain.... Pam explains more in the video.

When you retire a Millionaire you will look back on the day Pam introduced you to this idea and thank her and Gill for their generosity of sharing how to do it.

Enjoy!

Monday 26 March 2018

Inspiring Journey of Two Young Property Investors



Inspirational Talk at Crawley Property Meet
We run a fabulous monthly meeting near Gatwick, for property investors and financial freedom fighters. Oli and Alicia are two members and here they share their amazing property journey. It's completely inspiring and must be watched... if you want to be inspired that is... enjoy!!

Wednesday 14 March 2018


The Trials & Tribulations of Becoming Financially Free ~ Part II


Following our article ‘The Trials & Tribulations of Becoming Financially Free’ we thought I’d better give you an update on what happened next….

Pam and I are writing a daily online diary for our Property Investor friends. It's tracking the purchase of our property investment journey.… 

So, I put a post about the problems of letting go of my past world and embracing the new life full time. You know, the power of network is an amazing thing and I am eternally grateful to the friends I have made via the ones Pam and I have started and joined. The feedback was truly inspirational… here are a few of the gems that people took their time to share:

Kerry said…‘Jump. You will not regret it and that £15k hole you describe will get filled with a larger than £15k plug. That's what happened for me’ 

Beaufort advised…‘Step up to that door of opportunity and it will open as it's done countless times for me before. Incidentally I had to leave fear at the door and take a step of courage or (step change) to follow my bliss. Follow your bliss, providence will come! Think of the benefits to your Reticular activating system!’ 

Ama shared…‘Nobody can tell you when to jump, but I must say I can't wait to jump off the hamster wheel. I hate my job it is very stressful and is impacting negatively on my personal life.’

Our mate Phil mentioned….‘Funny you should raise this issue Tania, Nick and I were talking after a great Tuesday with you both… and we have a plan for an extra £700 an month . And You get to redevelop you home and pay for it at the same time , £700 cash flow after.’

Now that’s interesting… they have shown me what’s right under my nose and I’m looking into it now!

Julie offered….‘What a great problem to have! I say, get yourself a coach, who will help you think this through on a higher level... hey.  I'm a coach. Would you like to have a chat?

So… what did I do??
Firstly, I jumped at Julie’s offer to coach me through the issue, she’s an amazing person and has a spooky ability to help you dig deep and get to the nub of the issue. The main thing I discovered is, for me, not all money is equal. We have all heard of tainted ‘blood-money’, which can leave the possessor wracked with guilt because of the way it was acquired. For me I have ‘sunshine money’ and ‘ball and chain money’…. One makes me feel happy and fulfilled, the other drags me down and leaves me feeling uninspired and drained.

So, I’ve decided to pursue the ‘Sunshine Money’… tomorrow I’m having a meeting with my ‘Boss’ and by the end of it I will either be leaving the ‘job’ straight away or… either-way I will be following my sunshine money!

Eeek! … That’s the sound of a Hamster leaving her wheel!




Wednesday 7 March 2018

The Trials & Tribulations of Becoming Financially Free

At some point this financial freedom journey will present you with the dilemma... when to complete your jump off the hamster wheel??

Having spent a wonderful day in Brighton with some of my favourite people in the world (talking property, life, death and love) 
THEN
I made the mistake of listening to my phone messages  and found one from my 'boss'.

I'm still holding on to part of my old life as an Interior Designer and have a little one day a week, commission only sales job for a curtain shop. It's a family business and there are lots of changes a foot as the designer/sister, who has been in charge for 35 years, plans to leave in October.... for the past 5 years I have been her backup designer and I've covered the one day a week and her ever increasing holidays (12 weeks worth last year!). It's been clear to me that she has been preparing to leave for years... with all my financial freedom activities I'm close to being able to decide what I do with my time, as opposed to what my time does to me. 

Her brother/finance director, is now trying to make his mark and in the last 3 months this mark has resulted in a divide and conquer situation. Urgh... I hate politics and generally I have managed to not get involved.. I am, after all a one day a week, commission only, sales person! But now he has put me slap bang in the middle of a 'situation'.

Although I have been grateful for the work to date but  after this phone message I'm wondering if I should just bow out and take the leap and leave now rather than later?? If I leave now there is a possible £15k hole in my bank balance.... if I stay I know I will become increasingly unhappy, which will impact what I really want to do.... but if I go it will be my last connection to the past... heavy stuff!

I've dealt with this before in my life and taken the leap of faith into the unknown...survived... and grown... but at the moment I just feel sick, worried and peed off... not to mention tired because I fell asleep worrying about this and and woke up at 4am doing the same... humph!

What to do? Stick it out until I've replaced the £15k ... or jump now and have faith that as one door closes another will open??

Tania
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Wednesday 31 January 2018

Six Steps to Financial Freedom: 

Part 1... What is Financial Freedom?


At The Prosper Hub we are all about financial freedom... if you don't know what that is then you really need to find out and start making the changes you need to create your own. Everyone needs to be financially free, if they don't want to be stuck in the J.O.B and you want to make sure you can live the life you want to.

We are so dedicated to your financial freedom we have written a guide to get you started. If you look at the top of the blog you can request a copy and we will send it to you straight away.

This week Tania is going through the book in a series of videos. Click here to find out more!








Know your life purpose in 7 minutes | Neale Donald Walsch | Motivational...


Thought provoking, motivational Clip on Being Human!

Wednesday 24 January 2018

Britain's Youngest Millionaire: 'How I Made My Fortune at 17' | This Mor...

The Definitive List of Good Reads ..

For The Financial Freedom Fighter!

So, we have asked around all our Guru's and financially free friends... we have read and re-read their suggestions and added a few of our own... to bring you THE DEFINITIVE LIST OF GOOD READS... here it is:


But if you have already read all of those here are a few more to add to your shopping basket.. 

  • The Subtle art of not Giving a F**k  ~ Mark Manson
  • Start with Why ~ Simon Sinik
  • The Magic of Thinking Big ~ David J Schwartz
  • Solving the Financial Success Puzzle ~ Gill Fielding
  • The Chimp Paradox ~ Professor Steve Peters
  • Thrive ~ Arian Huffington
  • David & Goliath ~ Malcolm Gladwell
  • Sapiens ~ Noah Yval Harrari
  • You are a Badass ~ Jen Sincero
  • How to be a Productivity Ninja ~ Graham Allcott
  • It's Rising Time, a call for Women ~ Kim Kiyosaki
Has anyone else got any suggestions?
Tania & Pam xx

Monday 8 January 2018

Little things that Rich People do and don't do.




Rich people watch minimal TV
Rich people don't buy things 'on sale'
Rich people don't eat fast food
Rich people do wake up early
Rich people have regular medical checks
Rich people only spend money once it is in the bank
Rich people surround themselves with other successful people

Rich people shower often and have good personal hygiene
Rich people take responsibility and don't blame others for 'luck'
Rich people follow through on their ideas
Rich people save money
 Rich people don't use credit cards or loans for 'things' - only on things to make money