HAVING A FINANCIAL PLAN

Folks I must apologies for my slow start into the new year I can only attribute it to the need to retreat to re-fire if you know what I mean!

Anyway, I stated in my last write up that you  need to have a financial plan for your self this year. many of us just allow things to catch up with us without deliberately planning for our finances. the need to plan for your finances cannot be overemphasized.

in the first place you are not in absolutely in control of all the factors that will affect your life this year so it makes sense to reduce the unforeseen to the barest minimum via planning. Furthermore, planning you finances helps you to allocate resources well ahead of time preventing waste and impulsive spending.

The first step to financial planing is to have a year's budget broken down into monthly budgets. In the past I have spoken on what ought to constitute a monthly budget but suffice it to say that a repetition will not be out of place here.

In your monthly budget there are certain keys issues that must be provided for. They include but not restricted to the following:-

1. Food
2. Rent.
3. Bills (Electricity, water etc)
4. Transportation or fuel
5. Consumables - soap, sanitary items etc.
6. School fees
7. Clothing items - especially for those living in cold regions.

Every other thing will be an addendum depending on availability of funds.

Now the sum total of all the monthly budgets over 12 years constitutes your year's budget. Now the total will be the minimum amount you need to earn to cater for the needs of your family for the year. Next you need to ask yourself if your present income can match or surpass the year's budget. If it can then all well and good otherwise, you will need to find out how to augment your income by taking a second job if possible or doing what is called side hustle.

In any case your year's budget tells you immediately if the present state of your family income pooled together can meet the basic needs of the family.

If you want to embark on some project this year, then you will need to plan on how to raise the funds through savings or securing a loan. I will advise that it will be better to save up for a project than to take a loan that will further deplete the amount of money available for you to spend when ypou start repaying the loan plus interest except you and your family have decided that in other to do the project you will scale down on some essentials.

Next time will look at how to fund projects without borrowing!

God bless you.

Femiimevbore@gmail.com
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PLANNING FOR YOUR KIDS 4

“A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children…” Proverbs 13:22a

Folks last time I advocated saving up for your children before they are born as an important strategy for planning for them and today I will like take this discussion a notch further by advocating that savings should not be an end in itself but a means to an end.

What do I mean by this statement? I mean that savings alone may not give your children the required leverage they need to get ahead of their peers and fulfill their full potentials.

What will give them that edge is INVESTMENT.

There a couple of ways this can be done but the simplest and perhaps the most reliable way is to invest in stocks for your children. 

I remember in my post graduate program in 1988 (27 years ago), I was privileged to analyze Okomu Oil Stock in none of our term papers. At that time the stock price for Okomu Oil was 38K per share. Today the same stock sells for an average of N39.00 per share a capital gain of over 10,000%. 

Let’s do a bit of arithmetic here! Consider that at that time I bought 10,000 shares of Okomu Oil at 38k per share, I would have paid N3,800.00 for the shares. Let us assume that there were no bonus shares (which is unlikely) b y today the 10,000 shares will be worth N390,000.00.

Therefore in planning for your kids’ future, investment is a key factor to consider. You may wish to buy shares for each of them and hold them not necessary for capital gains but as a security or if you like a collateral for their future.

I will like to recommend that you seek professional advice in this regard or find books that will explain how this can be done. I can recommend a book written by my mentor and spiritual father, Dr. James Iruobe titled the way of the Rich as a good way to get started. For a copy of this book, please send a mail to femoreza@yahoo.co.uk to book your copy.

God bless you.

Femiimevbore@gmail.com
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www.lifebuilder.ecwid.com 
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MONEY MANAGEMENT IN THE HOME 4

Like we said last time the issue is not whether money comes into the home in terms of income or receivables, the issue is how we manage what comes in. The difference between poverty and financial freedom is based primarily on money management.

It has been proven that with diligence and discipline in money matters, one can become a millionaire over time. So when people say, they are poor or in need because of what they earn, it is actually a problem of discipline rather than cash flow.

No matter how small your income is, you can through information and diligence build for yourself surplus that will take you out of poverty.

Having said that, today I will like to set before the concept of savings as the bedrock for financial freedom. It was Dr. James Iruobe who said savings is the cornerstone of financial freedom. If you do not save money, you can never take advantage of the opportunities that will come your way to free yourself from poverty and lack.

Unfortunately, like I said last time we have been brought up to think that spending money is what brings satisfaction. We have a spending mentality that makes many of us live above our means. If you could only take a piece of paper and calculate since the beginning of the year all that you have spent on frivolous items, it will amaze you how much has gone down the drain.

The fist step is to include in your family budget savings. You must agree with your spouse that a particular percentage of your collective income must be saved. I will like to suggest a minimum of 20% following the Pareto principle.

Such savings should be in a joint account with the mandate that two of you will be joint signatories to the account. I do not for one subscribe to a joint account where any of the partners can withdraw without the other for obvious reasons except in some peculiar cases.

Every couple must as a matter of planning for their children's future open savings account for their children where monies are deposited periodically for them until they attain unto the age where they can run the accounts themselves.

Any man or woman who does not save is susceptible to financial shame or disgrace. That will not be your portion in Jesus name.

Stay blessed

Femiimevbore@gmail.com
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www.lifebuilder.ecwid.com 
www.elshaddaicovenantchurch.org