It’s happened again. It’s a new year and you’re dying to improve your finances and learn about generating and growing wealth. But every time you open a business paper or magazine, you start yawning and notice some cracks in your walls that you’ve never seen before. How does one achieve this level of dullness?

Try and be as stuffy as you can

Did the greyness enter when financial service providers starting branding themselves as serious businesses – believing that a little lightness and informality will lead clients to believe that they can’t be trusted with money?

Complicate things

Shall we blame the various financial professions: accountants, actuaries and financial industry lawyers? Did they consciously exclude clients from the inner circle of financial power by wrapping the industry in so much jargon and convoluted sentences? So that clients in the end could not make out head or tails of the products that were being offered.

Don’t give enough background information

Context keeps clients awake while they are reading about your new product or service. But there’s another reason why enough background information is important. The grey and seemingly stable austere of the financial industry hides a lively and unpredictable place. Things can change overnight and the more familiar clients are with the risks of their investment or insurance product, the less likely they are to do a bank-run or cancel a product when financial turmoil strikes. Institutions that realise this, will provide potential clients with plenty of background information, written in client-friendly language.

Steer clear of colour and beauty

At large, the financial media has been an aesthetic desert – not catering for more creative clients, or for those attracted by beauty. (Unless of course you count the long-legged blondes that have been used to attract a predominantly male clientele.)

Don’t bother with stories – they’re for children

Even adults are drawn to (and remember) entertaining stories that gives them more insight into the business, its philosophy and values.

Build no relationship with your client

Many global businesses attribute their success to their move towards not only strong and reliable brands, but brands that enter in a pseudo-personal relationship with the client – what Saatchi & Saatchi has coined ‘lovemarks’. (Think Apple, Mini Cooper and Levi’s). Financial institutions are slow to follow.

Think that money solves all problems

As in any other industry with lots of money going around, financial companies are sometimes guilty of thinking that just sourcing the most expensive leaders, consultants, or partners will give the best results, instead of searching for the people who are most passionate about the product and the company’s target market.

Mercifully, the industry is slowly changing. Many local financial service providers are following the UK, US and Australian trend of presenting all their documentation in clear, easy-to-read English. Allan Gray has used strong narratives in all their ads of the past few years to explain how they approach investment. Coronation’s creative ‘Vincent’ production grabbed the attention – maybe because it is exactly the opposite from what you expect from a financial services ad. Old Mutual’s has added some light-hearted illustrations to their handy online financial planning tools.

We may soon run out of sleep-inducing literature.

Life is too short for being little – Benjamin Disraeli

It’s a pity so many people confuse a simple life with a small life. A recession may be looming and worldwide consumers are tightening the belt, but you can simplify your finances without cramping your style:

Be more focused

Do you really want to start a new business, train for the Argus, write a book, learn to tango in Buenos Aires, climb Kilimanjaro, fly to India to find yourself, take French cooking lessons and qualify as a dive master all in one year? Sometimes really focusing on one aspiration at a time, with mindfulness and gratitude, can be the greatest experience of your life.

Determine which dreams and desires are yours

Is it really you wanting that 5-bedroom house with the swimming pool or are you perhaps trying too hard to fit in with colleagues and acquaintances?

Cut the clutter

Get rid of everything that doesn’t give you joy anymore, but requires maintenance, insurance and storage space. To allow new experiences into your life, you need to create the mental and physical space.

Examine your expenses

Which costs can you cut in half without feeling deprived? Love sushi? Use one of the several 50% off midweek-specials. Don’t have a time switch on your geyser yet? Using one, you can easily halve your electricity bill. Planning your annual holiday? Why not take a winter break this year and enjoy huge discounts on accommodation.

Use all the free stuff to enlarge your world

From Skype’s free instant messaging and telephone calls to Google’s free email and storage space, it’s never been cheaper to chat with friends from all over the world, or run a business from home.

Consolidate and simplify your debt

Not only will one loan repayment every month feel less overwhelming than settling several accounts, but it could also save you a small fortune in interest. Check which of your loans or accounts charges the lowest interest. (It’s very likely to be your home loan.) Then apply for just enough extra credit on that low-interest account to settle all the debt of your higher-interest accounts.

But most importantly, don’t let the recession mentality bully you into thinking small. Money has an uncanny way of following big plans, executed simply and elegantly.