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by EK Wills The Simpsons© unhappy family “…. every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” – Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina All groups work in different ways and everyone has their own perspective within that group whether it is a family or at work. But when things get difficult it can often be traced back to the dynamics in the way the people relate to each other. I joined a team recently where I experienced issues in group dynamics and become one of the contributors myself.

By EK Wills Travelling with children who are now opinionated and have their own tastes requires a different type of planning than for little ones that need entertaining. Our trip to New Zealand (NZ) provided the opportunity to get our teen and pre teen and primary aged boy together in a confined space for 10 days to visit the North Island of New Zealand in preparation of my sister’s wedding to a Kiwi. How to carry money We looked at options such as travel card, traveller’s ch

By EK Wills I am sitting in a vineyard bach (villa) in New Zealand after having gone out for dinner and can look forward to a swim in the pool after breakfast. But it is tainted. The day before, the family sat on the beach talking about meal plans: not because we were budgeting (although we do that too) but because my teen was stressed about her weight. Her distress centres around confidence or lack thereof. She tells me that if her weight were better then she would feel more

By EK Wills Many people struggle with finances their whole lives. And many feel they don’t know enough about how to manage their money. It’s too hard and too complicated so why bother? But given how expensive today’s economy is for housing, the idea of owning your own home seems to slip from more people’s grasp at an alarming rate. I grew up in the excess of the 80’s so always thought at a windfall of success would enable the lifestyle I wanted. But the crash that came after

by EK Wills When your heart skips a beat for a prospective partner, all you care about is your feelings for each other. You probably think a little further to what it would be like to have a baby together and even what sort of parent they would make. But do you both share common goals for the future? Are you both prepared to make sacrifices to achieve those goals? And what are those goals? How many children do you want to have? Do you want to raise your family in the city?

by EK Wills Do you lavish each other with praise and gifts? Or are you restrained, aiming to teach about saving for the future? And how does this affect the next generation? Do they grow up with the same values as the parents: a learned habit that is handed on to the next generation? Does that affect your amount of monetary success? Our family had a modern split so step-parents were involved in complicating the level of family influence. The result was polar opposite approa