How to retain your wealth

   
            By Bayo Ogunmupe

        The reason there is widespread poverty in Nigeria is that our leaders have no business sense. Some business coaches call it financial literacy. For jubilees in Europe and North America, banks have been lending at zero interest. In our politics as a mediocre people, no leader had ever proposed such a policy of non interest loans since independence. Indeed, interest free and collateral free loans became state policy during the administration of U. S. President Franklin Roosevelt in 1932.
        Moreover, there are many Venture Capital Funding companies abroad including the 68 year old nation state of Israel. As a student of economics and finance, I am not aware of such a company in Nigeria with the exception of the newly established Islamic financial institution, the Jaiz Bank of Nigeria. This is why Nigeria will remain underdeveloped for many years to come. Thus, the best way for us salary earners, artisans and traders is to control our expenditures in order to become wealthy. It goes without saying that uncontrolled spending is the recipe for poverty.
       Therefore, you must inculcate such spending habits that enable you save from your earnings. One, when you take your salary, wage or taking, you must save 10 percent of it monthly. The Americans call it, you pay yourself first. You do this before you pay your rent, light bills or debts. You pay yourself by saving a portion of your income for the rainy day.
       Two, you plan how to spend your salary over the coming month by budgeting it. When you budget your money, you are unlikely to spend on frivolities. Three, concentrate on spending on your needs rather than your wants. Four, every week, account for the money spent and review your expenses. You must always know how and why you spend your income. The current recession which will go into depression because Buhari is not doing anything on it makes it imperative for you to tighten your belt and control your expenses.
       Five, stop carrying  around your Automated Teller Machines(ATM) and unnecessary cash. For me, I do not own an ATM card. I have never had one. Which is why I don't engage in spot spending. Six, avoid going to places that forces you to spend more than necessary. I have stopped hanging out with spendthrift people. Curb your taste for new products, stop changing your car brands. Save to send your son to Oxford rather than buy a Lexus or go to Mecca. Prefer the locally produced sorghum to imported rice. You will still look good at a fraction of the cost of the most expensive gadgets and the people would not know the difference.
       Seven, stop using debt to fund a bogus lifestyle. You must live within your means. Do not take loans to buy things that do not create wealth or produce another income. Debt is meant to be deployed into activities which will yield more income or gain. Debt should not be used for things that will not produce profit. Finally, learn from your previous spending mistakes. Writing down how you spend and reviewing your spending habits enable you to curb future waste. Once you detect areas where you missed it, you then make amends.
       Mistakes are huge learning curves we must go through if we desire to control our resources. Controlling your expenditure successfully gives you a greater chance of building great wealth and thriving during these hard times. And for those who still find it hard to save money much less than retain their riches: here are five steps to riches. Courage to aim at great riches is the first step. It has been said that courage is the mother of the virtues; because it creates the others. Without courage nothing great can be achieved in life.
       Clarity of purpose is the second step. You must be clear how much riches you want and in which area of human endeavour. Commitment is the third force. Being committed to your goal means you must take action to fulfill your wishes. Action is crucial to gaining your purpose in life. Next is planning, definitive planning of where and what to do and at which time must put in place if you want to be successful. Lastly,you must learn by reading in order to get what you want. Educate yourself on personal finance, the local and global economy and how money works.