One of the fundamental principles of managing money is that time and money are inextricably linked. People who are successful at creating wealth are those who understand the connection between time and money and use it to their advantage.

One of the key lessons we learn in life is that it is important to save. There is a big difference though, between what we learn and what we do and many people find saving difficult.

Retirement is seen to be the ultimate but somewhat elusive goal that we all aspire to and for which financial planners chide us that we must be well prepared.

There’s an old saying – ‘the higher you go, the harder you fall’. If you are following a strategy to build your wealth quickly, you have a much higher risk of things going wrong and potentially of losing everything.

Wherever you look these days you find promoters of ‘get rich quick’ schemes or motivational courses aimed at changing your mindset in a way that will supposedly, as if by magic, attract wealth into your life.

So you didn’t win millions in the big lottery, but then neither did several million other people who during the last week poured enough money into the prize pool for retailers to notice a dip in their sales.

Many beliefs and attitudes were developed when people were very young. They watch and learn lessons from parents, other family members, friends and teachers.

With every economic crisis the first to suffer financially are usually those whose situation has been weakened by debt. Low levels of debt provide immunity to adverse conditions so that personal financial crisis can be averted.

It’s interesting how wedding fashions go in cycles. In my day, it was quite sufficient to put on your kaftan and roman sandals, arrange a few flowers in your hair and exchange shell rings on a beautiful sandy beach.