Money is important and essential for a good life, with it we sustain our lives by acquiring the basic needs of life. We also pay bills for essential needs like education, information, communication, travel and exposure. With money we mitigate challenges like health, legal, domestic and communal indiscretion and with it we also make provision and secure our future and that of our offspring. Many employees however believe how much you can ever get depends on how much you’re paid by your employer, and many continue to live within this means called ‘salary’. If you really want a good life and make adequate provision for your future and that of your children, for many employees, Salary can never be enough. If we expect our salaries to solve and keep solving all our financial problems for as long as we wish, it’s an over rated expectation. Needless to say that in today’s Nigeria where living standards are quite high and economic activities are resulting in double digit inflation and purchasing power declining, meeting financial obligation for paid employees can be such a pressure. In the desperation to meet needs many employees sacrifice their marriages, attention to children and family, their social life and health conditions, their lives have become work itself because of the bait of so called huge pay by some organisations – money earned but never enjoyed. This condition naturally makes such employees irritable, grumpy, unhappy and entrapped hence their Attitude to work and passion for delivery have been truncated and sacrificed on the altar of more money. The truth is Staff salary is naturally based on company’s revenue, profitability and growth plan and not the financial challenges of members of staff. But unfortunately due to frustration and exasperation that comes with cash pressures, employees have chosen to dismiss and not comprehend this logic. To really enjoy what you do, you need to overcome cash constraints To overcome cash constraints you must be willing to embrace financial literacy. Many employees are illiterates when it comes to managing finances They assume the most reliable and secure source of income is salary so the focus 100% on it. Salary ought to be like your seed - to sow and later on harvest much more. You should learn to invest part of your salary. Not save. The Nigerian economy today doesn’t really favour savings with inflation rate at double digits. To become financially free today, begin to learn about money management. Not very many books have been written about financials in Nigeria today hence my no 1 recommendation on how to learn is to consult and expert. Talk to experts let them advice you. Secondly you need a legal adviser who can very well guide you in asset acquisition especially land and property investment. A lot of people i know in paid employment don’t have personal legal advisers. Lawyers are not just there to get you out of trouble, they are there first and foremost to avoid you getting into trouble At times, i marvel at how we see things in this part of the world, many of us build our first house and move in. But do you think there’s anything wrong in being a landlord and living in a rented apartment if the rent you get is more than the rent you pay? Living in your own house does not make you any money in fact, it costs you to maintain and you also pay tariff. Effective Cash chemistry for instance is in building a duplex in Lekki and living in a rented flat in Ikeja. With half of the rent you collect from Lekki, you can pay the rent in Ikeja. By that you have more cash than a man who lives in his own house in Lekki. But as a people, our orientation and the desire to impress or oppress informs our poor judgements and decisions on finance. Living in your first house as an employee in my opinion is tying down capital and blocking a good source of extra revenue. Life in this case is not about the opinion of people it’s a matter of cash. This is to employees earning over a million in bulk housing allowances, Why use the whole of your housing allowance and more to pay rent every year when you can use half of it for rent in a decent apartment and use the other half to buy a new piece of land every year? A piece of land purchased for half a million can in 3 years appreciate to over 2 million in value especially in some parts of Lagos and Ogun state. Imagine purchasing several plots like that. The fact that your pay is good and you’re comfortable today doesn’t mean it will keep being that way if you don’t grow your income by yourself. Your responsibilities are growing by the day and pretty soon some of you will be paying the fees of all your kids in the university maybe in Nigeria or abroad alongside other bills and caters. Hmmm. For your mind to be at rest, you have to take control of your income and not rely absolutely on your company to sort out your personal financial issues. Companies pay what they can afford not what you need. by Muyiwa.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 09:13:54 +0000
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