Spending less than you earn is common sense. An average employee or income earner knows this deep down. Spending less than one earns is one of the usual suspects in many a failed New Year Resolution. We routinely give in to aimless spending in the holiday season, pay the price in the New Year as parents struggle with school fees and other mandatory expenses and become sober for a season, even start saving . Sadly, a few months down the road, the money is un-saved. It is dragged kicking and screaming from our savings account as we slip back to old comfy habits.
Knowing what to do is actually the easy part. That is why the web and libraries are awash with “How to” information and books. For every human desire, there is a “how to”. How to lose weight in 3 months or less, how to achieve financial freedom in 6 months, how to make so much within a week by putting in only two hours a week or less – make money while you watch TV. If wishes were horses, fool would ride. Actually going ahead and doing it in a sustainable basis is what separates the men from the boys.
As with any field of human endeavor, acting differently in a sustainable basis requires a change in mindset. In computer terms, it means a software upgrade.
The big question is – how can you keep what you have saved?
There are competing demands all around – your own immediate needs begging for attention – topping up your phone, fuel costs and car repairs, children’s birthday party, aso ebi (party uniform?), demands and calls for help from friends and family, the list goes on and on. How do you keep soldiering on as a valiant savings warrior amidst the cacophony of all these noises? How do you keep your long spending arms away from your precious and vulnerable savings?
You need to move your money into a witness protection program. A star witness in a crime case is protected by the police to avoid being silenced by crime warlords. The witness (in this case your money) is in danger while you are the Boss seeking to eliminate it. Put your money out of your spending reach and circulation. Invest it. If you are interested in precious metals, buy gold, silver or whatever metal you want to invest in. If you are interested in stocks, call your stockbroker. If you are interested in real estate, pay it into your real estate savings account with your mortgage banker or an account you cannot withdraw from. If you are interested in buying and selling, convert the cash to inventory. If you are clueless (you don’t know what to do yet), put the money in a fixed deposit account while you learn the ropes.
Do not leave the money to cool its heels in a savings or current account. Keep it out of reach of ATM machines, checkbook, online banking or whatever. Make it disappear from your radar.
So what happens to the sea of demands all around you?
Knowing what to do is actually the easy part. That is why the web and libraries are awash with “How to” information and books. For every human desire, there is a “how to”. How to lose weight in 3 months or less, how to achieve financial freedom in 6 months, how to make so much within a week by putting in only two hours a week or less – make money while you watch TV. If wishes were horses, fool would ride. Actually going ahead and doing it in a sustainable basis is what separates the men from the boys.
As with any field of human endeavor, acting differently in a sustainable basis requires a change in mindset. In computer terms, it means a software upgrade.
The big question is – how can you keep what you have saved?
There are competing demands all around – your own immediate needs begging for attention – topping up your phone, fuel costs and car repairs, children’s birthday party, aso ebi (party uniform?), demands and calls for help from friends and family, the list goes on and on. How do you keep soldiering on as a valiant savings warrior amidst the cacophony of all these noises? How do you keep your long spending arms away from your precious and vulnerable savings?
You need to move your money into a witness protection program. A star witness in a crime case is protected by the police to avoid being silenced by crime warlords. The witness (in this case your money) is in danger while you are the Boss seeking to eliminate it. Put your money out of your spending reach and circulation. Invest it. If you are interested in precious metals, buy gold, silver or whatever metal you want to invest in. If you are interested in stocks, call your stockbroker. If you are interested in real estate, pay it into your real estate savings account with your mortgage banker or an account you cannot withdraw from. If you are interested in buying and selling, convert the cash to inventory. If you are clueless (you don’t know what to do yet), put the money in a fixed deposit account while you learn the ropes.
Do not leave the money to cool its heels in a savings or current account. Keep it out of reach of ATM machines, checkbook, online banking or whatever. Make it disappear from your radar.
So what happens to the sea of demands all around you?
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