The Business of Balance – Our Latest Blog.

The Business of Balance – finding balance between work and play.

We welcome you to the NEST blog – the place and space for us to share words and wisdom about the topics most important to you, when thinking about insurance, health and wellness and other important things when it comes to living and leading a happy and healthy life.

This week we’ll reveal our tips for finding balance across your professional and personal life.

There’s always another level of balance and proficiency in managing your life.

Decide why you need more balance and what it means to you. What exactly would that mean to you – can you describe in detail what it would be like and feel like? Define what balance means to you and block and protect time in your life so you can achieve it.

Remove Distractions. Most people aren’t “out of balance,” they’re in distraction. TV, internet and social networks (apart from Nest 😉 take away hours of their time, which adds to hours per week and years of life wasted. So, get rid of those things that aren’t adding real value, depth or joy to your life.

Say no. Every yes tacks on time to your life’s agenda, always taking away from something else. If you lose hours of your life pleasing people or responding to people’s false emergencies, then your life quickly falls out of balance. Learn to say no to the things that aren’t moving you closer to your goals.

Hit your mark. When you say you’re going to spend an hour on the phone with someone, but you spend 75 minutes—there’s 15 minutes of bleed time. The more often you go too long on your meetings, promises or conversations, the more you lose time. Set a time and stick to it. That’s integrity and discipline, and that’s how to get your life back.

Improve your health. If you want more balance in your life, then invest in your well-being. Sleep well and introduce meditation so you can be more focused, efficient and effective during the day. If you feel more physically energized each day, you’ll have more power to stay focused, say no, and manage your time.

Try all these things and reward yourself with a renewed sense of vitality.

From Onny and the team – cheers for reading.

The Philosophy of Nest

Creating our Nest, so you can create yours – the philosophy of Nest.

 

We welcome you to the NEST blog – the place and space for us to share words and wisdom about the topics most important to you, when thinking about insurance, health and wellness and other important things when it comes to living and leading a happy and healthy life.

 

This week we’ll chat a little about the story behind our business and brand.

 

As a structure or place made or chosen for bringing new life into the world or providing shelter for young – the concept behind our business is about exactly that: to create, to choose, to promote new beginnings and provide a strong shelter for life. Because of this, we work from many angles – not just insurance. The advice we provide extends right across topics that influence and promote the idea of living and leading a happy and healthy life. That’s why you’ll see us talk about health and wellbeing, as we share our secrets to success.

 

Today, we’ll talk about the clarity that simplicity offers to our lives. By consolidating activities to calm the chaos, and minimising the multiple windows and tabs we all too often try to juggle in life – we not only gain a clearer picture of our goals, but we give ourselves the opportunity to actually enjoy the process of working towards them.

 

In many cases, the long lists of goals we create only create confusion. Juggling these goals alongside other commitments in work, life and play – and staying on track, becomes a challenge of its own. Simply put, the longer the list of to-dos and goals – when we become busier in life, we get more and more overwhelmed by them. As we know the successful outcome is often slipping away.

 

Simplicity brings clarity.

 

Here’s our own list to help you create yours – all about bringing more simplicity into your life, by replacing what we don’t need with what we do. All so you can make the most of life and enjoy the ride.

 

Replace complaint for gratitude.
Replace pessimism for optimism.
Replace worry with trust.
Replace bitterness with forgiveness.
Replace the negative with the positive.
Replace anger with patience.
Replace jealousy with trust.

 

What will you replace?

 

It’s your turn and your time, to make a difference to your day.

 

From Onny and the team – cheers for reading.

Dealing with Medical Inflation

We welcome you to the NEST blog – the place and space for us to share words and wisdom about the topics most important to you, when thinking about insurance, health and wellness and other important things when it comes to living and leading a happy and healthy life.

This week we’re focusing on the health insurance topic of Medical Inflation.

It sounds serious and it is. Simply put, medical inflation is the rising cost of medical care. In New Zealand, in recent times, this has been in the region of around 9 – 11% each year. That means the rate is significantly higher than the country’s inflation rate. In addition to this, over a five year period from 2007 – 2012, the market population of people able to afford health insurance in New Zealand dropped from 1.5 million to 1.25 million people.

The problem with the above is that when medical treatment costs are growing faster than inflation costs, insurers are then making higher claim payments, and guess what – you’re the one that’ll pick up the tab. How? Those policy renewals and annoying letters regarding increased premiums? You bet. Medical inflation impacts your base premium.

There is an alarming trend that is occurring in response to the above. In many households, they see these rising costs and simply don’t know what to do – leaving families and businesses uninsured or paying too much in case of medical concern. And it’s occurring across all ages.

We believe the rising cost of medical treatment is also a signal of its importance to a happy and healthy society – providing people with the care they deserve. To neglect this care by “winging it”, that’s a dangerous place to be. At NEST, we’re all about reducing these concerns and dangers by putting in place the best possible policies for one’s situation – be that to support a family, a business or both. Either way, we’ve got you covered.

We’ll listen, discuss and make informed decisions that consider all possible options. We can look at these rising premiums and then look at your needs, and tailor policies specific to the type of cover that’s suitable for you. It can make a big difference, paying only for what you need, so you can counter these rising costs yet remain covered.

Sound good?

We think so too. Chat to us about how medical inflation is affecting your health and your wealth. Let’s get you sorted.

From Onny and the team – cheers for reading.

 

ACC for Self Employed

We welcome you to the NEST blog – the place and space for us to share words and wisdom about the topics most important to you, when thinking about insurance, health and wellness and other important things when it comes to living and leading a happy and healthy life.

This week, we’re focusing on the insurance topic of ACC for Self Employed.

Many of our clients at NEST are self employed – young business owners taking on entire industries, on their own. It’s an incredible journey of learning, celebration, opportunity and challenge. But one thing that all too often isn’t considered on this journey is what would happen if you suffered from accident or illness and were unable to work.

 

Covered by NEST

What many people don’t realise is that ACC covers for accidents only. With NEST, we ensure that you are covered for both accident and illness, while ensuring you receive the best in market information and insights suited to your situation.

If you’re new to the self-employment game – the good news it that you don’t need to worry about paying for your ACC levies until after your first tax return has been submitted. But it pays to get the right advice early, to ensure you don’t pay too much.

NEST is ready to discuss any aspects of ACC with you – things like how to manage and reduce levies, products and health and safety discount programmes, what to do if you get injured, how we can pair the right illness cover to work alongside your ACC and so on.

It pays to know about levies.

Levies make up a big part of managing your ACC when you’re a self-employed.

We can help you to gain a clear understanding as to what your next levy invoice will be and how to potentially reduce this amount. We can help to reduce ACC levies by carefully looking at what benefits we can reduce from ACC and putting in place private disability insurance that covers accident and illness. In many situations, clients don’t end up spending any more money than they are currently spending on ACC levies alone.

Accident or illness?

When it comes to injury, if you need time off work to recover, lost earnings compensation can help you out. The type of cover you have and your income determines what your payments will be. NEST is skilled in assisting you with this process. However, it’s important to note that statistics show that only ⅓ of people off work for more than six months, are off due to an accident. Unfortunately a false sense of security is common in many clients that come to NEST, they assume ACC will look after them when they get sick. This simply isn’t the case.

We’ve got you covered.

Talk to us today about reducing your levies, gaining the right cover and living and leading the best possible journey through self-employment – ready to face any opportunities or challenges along the way.

From Onny and the team – cheers for reading.

BURNOUT

We welcome you to the NEST blog – the place and space for us to share words and wisdom about the topics most important to you, when thinking about insurance, health and wellness and other important things when it comes to living and leading a happy and healthy life.

This week, we’re focusing on the wellbeing topic of Burnout.

Life in the fast lane. We wouldn’t have it any other way.

But is this detrimental to our own drive?

What if the desire to be “killing it” all the time, was actually killing us?

The truth is the age that we have grown into, is one of pace. Our acceleration through our days is proportionate to that of technology’s – we consume more data than ever before, but unsurprisingly more calories, relationships and jobs too. To name a few.

Burnout, as described plain and simple by Urban Dictionary is this: “A state of emotional and physical exhaustion caused by a prolonged period of stress and frustration; an inevitable corporate condition characterised by frequent displays of unprofessional behaviour, a blithe refusal to do any work, and most important, a distinct aura of not giving a s**t”.

The words that are of most interest to me here are:

Prolonged and inevitable.

What interests me a lot about the use of the word prolonged is that it’s not just associated with stress, but also frustration. Think about how often we’re “frustrated”. Sometimes things aren’t so easy, but you add up the little frustrations that may appear throughout your day and how many do you have? I imagine quite a few. The thing to hold in mind here, is that you are your thoughts. And your thoughts translate to your feelings, which translate to your emotions and your emotional state. Your emotional state is represented both mentally and physically. These frustrations don’t just play on the mind, they play on the body too, and this is where the concern of health becomes apparent.

And then there’s this thought of “inevitable”. How often are people around you struck down by colds and the like? How often do you hear of someone complaining about being tired or exhausted? But more importantly, how often do you brush off these comments from others? That is the pressing question here. Unless you give yourself the adequate time to release your body and mind from the stresses of the modern day – the inevitabilities of the fast paced environment are bound to catch up.

So perhaps it’s time to ask yourself, how fast are you going?

We’d love to hear your answer. Share your thoughts in the comments below, or give us a call.

From Onny and the team – cheers for reading.

 

Insuring for Change

We welcome you to the Nest blog – the place and space for us to share words and wisdom about the topics most important to you, when thinking about insurance, health and wellness and other important things when it comes to living and leading a happy and healthy life.

This week, we’re focusing on the insurance topic of Insuring for Change.

If there’s one thing certain in our lives, it’s that change is certain. While there are things that are consistent about our days, there is nothing we can do to stop the future from arriving, and with that comes uncertainty – which isn’t something that we should fear, if we’re prepared.

There’s a wonderful quote from John Wooden, the gentleman who as a coach led UCLA’s basketball team to 10 national championships in a 12 year period. He was also a professional player himself. Wooden had these words relevant to our conversation about change:

“Failure to prepare, is preparing to fail”. He actually took those from Benjamin Franklin. But I certainly think they ring true across all kinds of conversations.

Preparation is all it takes, and that begins with a single conversation, first with yourself and your family, about the things you value most in your life. Then we can talk. My client conversations are always incredibly inspiring, and that’s why I like to talk specifics. What is it about your passion for fishing that ensures you’re out on the boat at least once a week? What is it about your job that has enabled you to continue working the hours you have been for so long? What drives you to be the best father you can be?

It’s these kinds of questions that prompt the thoughts and behaviours that set ourselves up to approach change with open arms. When we know the value of the things we love, then we know the importance of insuring for change. These are considerations and conversations that many of us tend to ignore, but that’s why for us at NEST, it’s not about instilling fear over the worst case scenarios, but rather – talking to the things you love and realising how we can best prepare yourself to enjoy these things, free from concern for what the future may hold.

If change meant you couldn’t work – how can we, together, ensure you can still live the life you intend to live? It is these types of conversations that will set you up for your best possible future. Together we can discuss topics such as career investment, health cover for adventurous activities and insuring you’re sorted for the big family trip.

It’s time to insure for change.

From Onny and the team – cheers for reading.