By Ladi Ayodeji
Poverty can never be eradicated; no matter the efforts governments or institutions make, poor folks will always be with us. This position is supported by the declaration of Jesus in Mark 14:7, “For ye have the poor always, and when so ever ye will, ye may do them good.” We are advised to help them as best as we can.
That is why you only get to hear about “Poverty Alleviation” schemes, but hardly do you see any project or philosophy that attempts to eliminate poverty outright. It just cannot work. Many people are naturally burdened by a poverty mentality; a mindset that locks them in a vicious circle of low self-esteem, lack of ambition, inability to think big or aspire for the best. These folks are afraid of success. So they cannot be rich.
However, with proper motivation and financial education, someone with a poverty mentality can be healed of this affliction. Many who hit a big break or good fortune and become suddenly rich often find it difficult to sustain such wealth. They are up today, down tomorrow. They, too, need financial education.
The ability to make money, grow incomes and sustain wealth is not predicated on hard work as such, but on smart work, wise investments, bold moves, good sense and sound reasoning. If hard work is what makes riches, blue-collar workers would be the millionaires, instead of the white-collar workers or blue-chip investors. My concern here is for you to realise that, no matter how poor you are, you can still be rich; and no matter how rich you are, you can still be poor. What guarantees you steady financial growth and stability is sound financial education. I am not talking about taking a degree in business administration or related courses. What I am talking about is the systematic knowledge of how to manage money. Management of money requires discipline and good knowledge of how it can be invested or increased, perpetually, with minimum risk. That knowledge does not come from being taught how to grow incomes by financial experts.
If a poor man stumbles on N1 million, he is likely to spend it on needs. Whereas, a rich man naturally thinks of how to increase it by investing it. That is because he knows by his experience of wealth creation that if you do not invest money, you spend it.
Financial education is acquired through knowledge of all the key financial instruments in both the capital (stock) market and money markets (banking system). These are the two primary platforms in the formal sector on which investment is made. Of course, you have real estate, precious stones (diamond, gold, etc) and trading in merchandise, which most Nigerians do because we are a nation of traders. How do you get to know the rudiments of investing in the formal sector? All you need do is to seek out honest, competent and seasoned portfolio managers who can help you manage your fortune. There are many smart folks out there who can give you quality advise on where and how to place your funds for high yields.
No matter how much money you have in the bank, if you don’t increase it, it would finish. You must be very conscious of the fact that your income must grow faster than your expenses, if you are to stay strong. If your expenses grow faster than your income, you would be broke in no time. That is the first rule of cash flow. Never spend more than you make. You don’t have to be a millionaire before you start investing in shares and stocks. In fact, it is the poor man that needs to invest his little funds so that, over time, he could reap from high returns. Investment is a habit everyone should develop to stay out of poverty. Any surplus you have, look for where to invest it.
You can begin to plan to be rich from any age. All you need is a good realistic plan. Above all, you must jettison a poverty mentality, it is defeatist. One of the safest, time-tested investments is real estate. Landed property, especially. If you have some reasonable amount of money like a pay-off after a job loss, retirement benefits, lottery jackpot, money from inheritance of a property, I would advise you invest a portion of it in real estate. Contact property lawyers to do a search and get you property or land that have no encumbrances that you can buy cheap. In a few years this kind of investment appreciates substantially in value.
When you are about 40, begin to plan your retirement. You must know that you are likely to be confronted by age-related sicknesses, so you take health insurance; put money in a good pension scheme and secure your old age so that you don’t die in poverty. We can’t exhaust this topic. Let’s do it again some other time.
Weekend Spice: Get ready to step out, because, until you step out, you never stand out – Dr. David Oyedepo
Ok folks, have a nice day. Stay motivated.
•Ladi Ayodeji is an author, rights activist, pastor and life coach. He can be reached on 09059243004 (SMS & WhatsApp only)
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