Riches through multiple streams of income

             By Bayo Ogunmupe
     Every naira is a money seed. Just as a tiny acorn contains power to grow into a mighty oak, each kobo has the power to grow into a mighty money tree. Rich men have always known, if one stream dries up, they have many more to tap into for support. Which is why ordinary people are much more vulnerable. If they lose their one and only stream it wipes them out. Now you need a portfolio of income streams, not one, not two, but many streams from completely different and diverse sources-so that if one stream dries, you will barely notice. You will be safe. You will be able to have time to adjust your finances. The prosperous do not depend on only one source of income but grow orchards of money trees.
     In the 20th century, and before the onset of the 2014 recession in Nigeria, most families could survive on one income. Today, most families need more sources of income. Now we need multiple streams of income to be truly prosperous. People think that having a good job means security, but ever so often it happens, with one job, prosperity can turn to poverty with amazing speed. Widening your sources of income provides peace of mind, because if one source dries up, you not only have others but have the time to find more.
     Robert G. Allen is famous for his 'creative financing' real estate books; so you would expect his: Multiple Streams of Income: How to Generate a Lifetime of Unlimited Wealth, to focus on the flashier, high- growth ways to wealth. Allen taught conservative investment strategies such as having a survival account containing three month's emergency cash; making sure that 10 percent of your income is always channeled into investments. Then, if you go to the stock market you must stick mainly to index funds. Allen is big on the power of compound interest. The richest man of his time Baron de Rothschild described Allen's advocacy as the eighth wonder of the world" noting that in a span of a lifetime, a dollar a day will grow into $1 million.
     Most people will be looking to make money at a faster rate than that over a lifetime. However, this is where Allen showed incredible creativity: he identified three money mountains- investing, real estate and marketing. From here the average person should, with a little knowledge and effort be able to obtain at least 10 streams of income that keep ever flowing. In the process creating freedom from a single employer. For the concept of multiple streams of income to work for you, you must stop the leaks. One leak is taxes. That is why wealthy people are not afraid to spend money on getting the best tax advice available.
     Another leak is spending. Prosperous people do things differently. They make sure that most of their purchases are planned. The longer the time frame before a purchase, the less you will pay. As oil magnate Jean Paul Getty put it, "I buy my straw hats in the fall". That means he buys his Christmas groceries in September. Rich people ask for and get discounts. They never pay retail. They balance their accounts regularly.