Dec 03 2006
How to Grow your Money.
Back in the days, when we bagged our first jobs, we were always excited to share the information with our friends, and well wishers. As if to say, I’m off the professional applicant list, getting a job was a major sigh of relief. With pictures of the crowd of unemployement in mind, getting a good job certainly was a big progression. For some people, the fear of ever getting a job was the greatest fear they had until they had it, and now that they do, it’s the fear of loosinig it! One of the interesting things however about getting a job back then, was the critical question, or so we thought it was -”What are they offering?” Don’t get the question wrong, it wasn’t a question of the job description or title, it’s a question of cash (ego, kudi, owo)! We were eager to know how much each company paid, if the company had an unknown name, but paid extremely well, it had made it into the biggies. Recently, I got thinking about it, and it dawned on me, that the best question ought not to have been how much we were earning.
The best question is “How much are you saving?” How much you were earning won’t matter a dime after you leave the job, how much you were earning won’t make things happen for your inevitable future. What matters most, is how much of what you earned you saved.
Saving is a very regular word, but a very irregular practice. We all have different stories for why we have not been able to develop a culture of saving. Is it really too much to put away 10% every month? If you have denied yourself of 10% of your salary, should it not be easy to deny every other person from your village that demands for it? Hear me clearly, it is extremely important that no matter how much you earn, you put away some for your future.
Many of us have learnt a lot of principles about sowing and reaping, I’m about to burst your bubble. Your seed that will give you financial abundance is not the one you dashed away, gave to a religious course or a charitable event! Your real seed that is capable of giving you a financial breakthrough is the one that you have saved! Everything else plays a multiplier role to the seed. Your seed is your savings!
Imagine you existed many hundred years ago, then the world did not spend cash, business was trade by barter. The predominant and only existing business was agriculture. Imagine that in that day, you were a maize farmer. You tilled your ground, planted your maize, weeded the farm, fertilized and tended your farm until harvest time. Your corn responds and grows into a healthy harvest. From a few grains of maize, you have reaped thousands of bags. You use some to feed your family, give a few away to your family, friends and neighbours, you give some to your local church or mosque, and you keep some of the grains to plant the next season. Tell me, which is your seed? Clearly it’s the one that has potentials to grow. Stop kidding yourself, whatever you have in savings has potentials of being multiplied, if you have nothing in savings, nothing will be multiplied. Just imagine a good year, where the weather was fantastic, and the soil excellent. All these will not atone for the lack of seed.
A financial habit that you must be quick to form, is saving 10% monthly. Saving doesn’t mean putting it in a savings account (you can start from there), but what will invariably happen is that a time will come for you to take the seed that you have put away and invest it in the right business or scheme. Many people are looking for money, looking at this site alone and the fact that the most viewed posts are about money proves the same. But it doesn’t respond to looking for, it responds to action based on understanding.
Here are a few quick tips -
Save a minimum of 10% of everything you earn
Put 20% of your increases in savings additionally
Diversify your funds – Don’t put all your eggs in one basket (except you are willing to guard the basket with your life – literally)
Financial literacy is the cure for poverty – Read! (What the poor man needs is not bread, it’s “How to”.
Be accountable, give to caesar what is caesars and to God what is God’s.
It doesn’t matter how much you earn, it matters how much of what you earn you are putting away to invest. It doesn’t matter how much you have to invest, it matters that you have to invest. Some of the biggest companies in the world today started with the owner having less than you have today! If you put the little you have in the right soil, your harvest will not be little.
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Saving is definitely the first step to financial freedom. You cant keep on spending everything and expect to be rich. God is ready to bless us any day any time but are we ready for HIS blessing.
My pastor always says that 1 million times 0 is 0. No matter the level of anointing on your head for prosperity, if you plant a seed, you should not expect to reap anything. A farmer can not plan corn and expect to reap cassava. What you put in the ground is what you would get.
Start today to take charge of your financial destiny. Read a book (especially “the richest man in the world” by George Clason). Borrow if you do not have the money to buy one now but ensure that you return so that you can be able to borrow another one.
This is another ‘cracking’ of the ice blocks that freezes the minds of many.
Your giving plays a multiplier role to your savings (investment). In my opinion, giving without saving will eventually lead you to calling God a liar.
I made a commitment many months ago to save and invest at least 10% of my income – Today, I know that was the best financial decision I have ever made in my life apart from paying my tithe.
No matter how little one earns, he must ensure to save, else, even that little will diminish with time.
Many investment and business opportunities are knocking even so are spending opportunities, the choice is yours.
Deolu can I ‘tire’ to say thanks?
Nice article.
Saving is the habit of the rich. Go and investigate – All rich men are good savers. They understand that what you save is what ensures that your remain a lender and not a borrower.
Emmanuel, I will have to disagree with you. Personally, I don’t encourage borrowing. Why? You see, borrowers never stop borrowing. The guys who lends out would have at some point denied himself of some pleasure or luxury in order to build some form of financial security for himself. He saved (had a seed) and probably invested (planted his seed).
Even as a christain, I think it is against kingdom principles to borrow. It is written, ‘You shall be lenders and not borrowers.’
Knowledge transfer should be free at least to some extent. Borrowing to buy a book or to acquire knowledge may not be profitable if there isn’t an established means of generating income and the right mind of paying back.
Really its not how many years you spend on your current job/how much you get paid,but what really matters is what you make[save] out of the yeras you spend on current job especially when you decide leave that really counts.
always plan of getting out of employment,because no one can have much liberty and freedom like being self employed or running your own biz.
my motto: “spend less than you earn” if we cannot do any other thing we should be able to do that.
Personally, I consider it sound principle to save a minimum of 10% of whatever you earn. I try to stretch it to as much as 25% because I realize that I can still do ALL of the things I need to do with what’s left.
I also have this funny attitude to it. Once my cheque comes in, I take out my savings, tithe, and all other financial commitments, and make my budgets based on what’s left, for me it’s very practical, I don’t budget on money that isn’t mine for the sake that it still resides in my account waiting for the owner to present his cheque.
If you don’t have any savings, you will bite your fingers when other around you are cashing in on investment propositions that even you know in your gut to be sound. Your savings could also bail you out of an unexpected tight spot.
I think more than anyone else I need this stuff. It’s very easy to say these things but the practise has always been the difficult thing, even though we all read ” The richest Man in Babylon.
Every succesful company anywhere in the world have budgets, and you’ll be shocked at how hard they keep track of it, if its not budgeted for (except in extra-ordinary circumstances), they dont spend money on it, i think individuals should be that ruthless as well to spending, the reasons those companies declare huge profits and pay their share holders massive dividends is bcos they spend less than they generate as revenue, thats the beginning of wisdom, i heard a quote once from Jim Rohn, it goes thus, “economic disasters start with a philosophy of doing less and expecting more, very true.
That’s the way to go! I’d embraced a savings culture ever since uni days, even before whilst in sec sch but for a long time, the money just sat in my savings account, depreciating no thanx to our “growing” economy. Now, I’ve discovered other channels of making my savings work for me. The important thing is to mentally separate the % one wants to save (no less than 10% I agree) and then, it’s a lot easier to remove it in the physical. The seed saved is what will bring the harvest, I totally agree..
I dont see anything wrong in one borrowing money,especially when it is petinent that one start off that way.besides debo emmanuel was stressing the need for one to read that book. Not like am encouraging borrowing but i think we shouldnt shy away from it when the need arises. I will like to meet u emmanue,my id is-dannycares_4u@yahoo.com
Hmmm all, what happens when you put all your savings in a business deal and it goes agog? Just asking…I’ve seen this happen.
Deolu, in your quick tips you mentioned diversifying one’s fund and anyone who chooses to put all his eggs in one basket should literally guard the basket with his life.
So if one still decide’s to puts his life savings in a business deal and loses it hmmmm…I think thats a hard experience.
But all the same its not the end of life, he should make sure he falls looking up because if he can look up, he can get up.
Hmm…well said.
I think though that if one wants to put all his savings in a business deal, he should make sure that he is also actively engaged in that business deal (a.k.a guard it with his life)
Deolu, I feel that. It’s not enough to just throw money at it. If you’re actively involved in the said business, you’ll be a part of the decision making force and having at the back of your mind that your life is tied to it, you’ll think twice, thrice even about stuff before you go out and do it.
Funny though how the issue of borrowing crept into this ‘cos I think Emmanuel was talking about borrowing the book not about borrowing money…lol.
SAVING! is the first step to achieving one’s financial goals. I have heard a lot about saving at least 10% of one’s income, i wonder where it originated from? (my guess is one of those numerous books we read!)
BORROWING! Hmmm! I don’t entirely agree with it unless its of a necessity (eg an emergency)
Losing all your savings in a deal gone sour! Hmmm! that’s disastrous. It could be life changing, well whatever one will be brave enough to throw in one’s savings must have been thoroughly researched to be sound & watertight, tho’ in bizness nothing ever is.
beatiful, it is just a summary of the richest man in babylon, i recommend that to everyone who wants to know the value of savings.
financila literacy is really the cure to poverty. this is one area that our curriculum do not cover. what we were taught in school is get a good grade,get a job and work buit we werent taught how to make money work for us. we werent taught how to be independent. financially.this is a nice work sir. keep the fllag flying.