Money Tips » Mouldy Oldies

Mouldy Oldies are not a past-its-sell-by-date cereal. Nor are they distant elderly relatives you might inherit some wonga from. Unless you're an enlightened being (in which case, what are you doing reading this?) you're very familiar with Mouldy Oldies already.

They're those irritating things-you-gotta-do. Things that make your heart sink a bit whenever you think of them – they're small things and easy to do…and equally easy not to do. Mouldy Oldies get in the way. They sap your energy and cloud up headspace that's much needed for sorting out your cash and your life. As soon as you start looking at the content on this site and thinking about majorly taking on your money, whaddaya know but a cloud of Mouldy Oldies will spring up at you.

• Oh I can't, my paperwork's disorganised, I can't even find my bank statements
• That lightbulb needs changing above my desk, I can't read financial stuff in the dark
• I've gotta call that old friend who keeps ringing me, I keep meaning to and it makes me feel guilty but I can never get round to it.
• I don't actually know what I really owe or what to sort out first till I call that Credit Card company and check my credit rating with Equifax…
• That dripping tap is driving me nuts, and I need to fix my i-Pod yet again to drown the noise out.
• My ex owes me £50 which'd really help but I keep putting off calling them
• I should set up online banking and have a butchers at my Net Worth, I'll do it later.

Think of zapping Mouldy Oldies as Feng Shui for your finances and your sunny willpower. Create a list and just do it – cross one off at a time. The more you do, the more you'll want to do – because just as Mouldy Oldies sap your energy, tackling them creates it. You can get addicted to crossing them off and wonder what on earth you were procrastinating about for so long. Keep crossing off your list and you'll find you've got more energy, time and mental space. Treat it like metaphorically doing repetitions down the gym, and cultivating extra bits of steely will and whippet-like self-discipline, all of which will add extra firepower, courage and determination to your Mission to Sort Your Money and cultivate financial freedom.

Some points to remember:

• Don't go crazy and get carried away now. Procrastination is a sneaky little goblin that can masquerade as efficiency. None of the "It's time to open that bill…ooh, I really must dust behind the fridge first," nonsense. We're not at home to that.
• Get clever with yourself; use reverse psychology. If you're feeling particularly mulish, only allow yourself a strict 10 minutes in which to do a task. The human mind loves completing things so if it takes longer than that your rebellious streak may find itself going "Unnnnnngh! I want to finish the job! Let me finish it! I'm going to take 20 minutes and do it properly, see if I don't! Ner!" etc.
• Break it down into micro-actions – everything is do-able if you just turn it into small enough chunks.
• Think of your Mouldy Ouldies as little gremlins out to thwart your Money Sorting mission, and get angry with them. Take them out one by one.
• Plan yourself a nice fat reward every time you've crossed, say, five off your list. If this stuff was easy, you'd have done it already. Dangle a carrot in front of your nose, pat yourself on the back. Managing your own psychology when taking on your finances can be like dealing with a four-year-old child – be kind but firm, like a primary school teacher, and use every trick in the book. You're the boss here!