A Time to Reflect, Review and Reassess – Your Best Year Yet

If you’re anything like me, you use the time between Christmas and New Year to reflect, review and reassess the year’s results. Analysing what went well, what didn’t go so well and what you learned from your success, failure, trials, and tribulations, so you can make the coming year Your Best Year Yet.

I call this the ‘3 R’s’ process.

Many years back when I first started going through this process. I remember it was a particularly painful experience which despite not wanting to do, I dd anyway because how I knew the process could improve me.

Why?

Well, this process gave me the opportunity to be completely honest with myself and not pull any punches. In other words, I allowed myself to be completely vulnerable and record my innermost thoughts.

Now, while I do not have time to go through the full 3 R’s process with you in this newsletter, I would like to give you one of the most valuable tips I have picked up during my time and I think this may help you too.

That one tip is to get yourself an accountability partner.

Choosing the right accountability partner is extremely important because they can provide you with some additional help, guidance, and support which can prove invaluable and make all the difference in you achieving Your Best year Yet.

During my time in business...

I’ve had a number of accountability partners who helped me develop in different areas of expertise. Recognising some were better than others and using the experience I gained from these relationship's I have created a guide and checklist for you on how to choose a good accountability partner and the attributes you should look for.?

To get your copy of Choosing Your Accountability Partner Guide click here. ?

So, it should come as no surprise then to discover I have been reflecting, reviewing, and reassessing the UK’s economic past performance. And staying on the subject of accountability partners. Our economy has several accountability partners which are used to help keep our government and the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee on target.

It could be said, one of the UK’s accountability partner’s is the USA and I will be looking at how the USA influences our performance in a future newsletter.

The accountability partner I wish to examine in this newsletter is Inflation: It’s impact and how it is calculated?

Staying Relevant

An important factor businesses and policy makers in an economy that is rapidly evolving must aim for is staying relevant. This must be a priority, especially when technology is regularly becoming obsolete only a few years after a global launch, and frequently shifting consumer demands push policy makers to keep up with these changes in their attempts to hold inflation to their target levels.?

Headline inflation during 2022 hit the highest peak it has been in over 40 years.

In the UK the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Retail Price Index (RPI) are the most widely adopted measures of inflation and there are differences in how these two commonly known measures are calculated.

The CPI measure accounts for the UK population’s buying habits, by measuring the price change of a basket of hundreds of goods and services that reflect longer-term trends in spending patterns. CPI is the standard measure for the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England in managing their inflation mandate.

RPI is a legacy measure of inflation, specific to the UK. Like CPI, RPI measures the price change of a basket of goods and services.

It is important to appreciate, it does not weight these based on changes in consumer spending habits.?

This measure also includes housing costs such as rent and mortgage interest payments, which CPI does not. It should be noted that RPI is no longer deemed to meet the required designation as a National Statistic though it is still published because of its use in long-term contracts and index-linked gilts.?

One may question why CPI, with a formula adopted 25 years ago, is still relevant given how much the economy has evolved since its introduction?

On an annual basis the Office for National Statistics conducts research and updates the basket of goods and services to ensure they are relevant and reflective of what consumers are spending their money on.

This year several products were added and removed from the CPI basket of goods given the recent developments in consumer tastes:

Additions:

? Frozen Yorkshire puddings and dried herbs – there is a rising trend in the number of households opting to prepare and cook meals at home.

? Meat free sausages – primarily driven by younger generations choosing to consume meat free alternatives, a reflection of changing eating habits.

? Dog/Cat collars – reflects an increase in pet ownership during the pandemic as this expense is relevant for more households.

Removed:

? Doughnuts – a marked decline in sales given an increase in employees working from home.

? Coal – sales of traditional domestic coal will be banned in 2023.

? Reference books (atlas/encyclopaedia) – ever-increasing utilisation of the internet has significantly reduced the need for paper maps, dictionaries, and encyclopaedias.

Considerable change in consumer appetites and technological change highlight the necessity for the basket of goods to be updated. Some notable items that have since been removed include CD Players, Video Rental, Linoleum and even the “Party Seven Beer Can” in the 70s. Few of which are relevant to consumers in 2022. CPI is now the preferred measure of inflation in most countries.?

How it is calculated is consistent across nations, however the basket of goods is unique to each country and demands of their consumers.

Recognising these nuances between countries and how the basket of goods has evolved over the years provide context as to how the published figures continue to be relevant to the country they are measuring and up to date with consumer demands.

Consumers and businesses have been facing common challenges this year.?

Demands change over time and differ by region. The one certainty is that energy is required by all. This year soaring energy prices have been driving higher inflation readings worldwide, resulting in Government intervention, particularly in Europe, that has resulted in a lowering of peak inflation predictions and easing pressure?

To help make the coming new year ‘Your Best Year Yet’ use the next few days to reflect, review, and reassess your previous results so you can achieve even better things in the next 12 months and beyond.

Some useful ways to help you achieve Your Best Year Yet are:

·??????Decide what you are going to do less of

·??????Decide what you are going to do more of

·??????Identify the relationships you are going to spend less time with or end

·??????Identify the relationships you are going to spend more time with and develop

·??????Set just one New Year Resolution that you want to achieve, the achieving of which will really improve your life

Fully commit to your objectives and make these so strong and embedded in your psyche that they are non-negotiable. And remember, having just one New Year resolution and sticking to achieving it is better than having several and not achieving any. Isn’t it? ??

Finally, remember to watch out for my LinkedIn live when I will share with you my personal take on what I think is likely to happen going forward?

Have a brilliant day #HABD

Joe O’Connor

PS: To bring in the new year I’m launching a new monthly programme called ‘Money Mindset and Motivation’ To discover how to start & scale any business, get focused & better financial knowledge, build an on point personal brand & create multiple streams of recurring income, then join the VIP waiting list to be kept updated on the launch date. BONUS - you’ll be entered into a prize draw for a FREE personal coaching session with me (worth ￡1995) click here to join the waiting list

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?#2023goals

#inflation

#accountability

#yourbestyearyet