New ways of doing things

One saying that held sway during the yuletide apart from the usual ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy New Year’ was ‘there is no money’, this syndrome {as I like to call it now} was proclaimed at almost every direction one turned to during the holiday season. According to some economic analysts, the ‘no money’ syndrome is […]

One saying that held sway during the yuletide apart from the usual ‘Merry Christmas’ and ‘Happy New Year’ was ‘there is no money’, this syndrome {as I like to call it now} was proclaimed at almost every direction one turned to during the holiday season. According to some economic analysts, the ‘no money’ syndrome is the reason why prices of foodstuff did not go up during the break. Before going further, it is necessary to state that this young wig i.e the writer, was also infected with the holiday syndrome of no money due to lack of financial planning.
The fundamental question to ask is, is there really no money? To the politician, there is no money as long as anyone’s request is not geared towards his or her political ambition this 2015.  Yet most ATM machines were practically empty during the Christmas holiday due to excessive withdrawal. To the young wigs, ‘there is no money’ yet nothing less than fifty to one hundred thousand naira was spent to have fun with friends and family during the break.
I ask again, is there really no money? In one of the most inspiring books of wealth written by George S. Clason “The richest man in Babylon” one is taught that the second cure to a lean purse is to control thy expenditure, “… budget thy expenses that thou mayest have coins to pay for thy necessities, to pay for thy enjoyments and to gratify thy worthwhile desires without spending more than nine-tenth of thy earnings.”
In essence, the reason why some had no money to spend on necessities during the break and others had comfortable amounts to spare on pleasure is because, one utilised his source of income to take him through the year and the other did not. However, young wigs need not worry about which side they belong to in the scenario, if one is prudent with spending and understands the way money works, keep up the good work, if you are not, thank God it’s a new year with new opportunities of making things better.
If a young wig earns less than N30,000 (thirty thousand naira) in a month and feels it is too little to save or make long-term plans, increase thy purse. If a young wig makes more than N50,000 (fifty thousand naira) in a month and squanders all without saving, the time to “control thy expenditures and make thy gold multiply” is now.
With the uncertainties and inconsistencies that follow the flow of cash into a young lawyer’s pocket, one has to prioritise expenses during days of plenty to save up for times of lack. At the moment a young wig would feel he doesn’t have much to save due to the economic challenges and the normal January palaver, but when you assess your annual income for the year 2014, one would be surprised how much was made and how little was accomplished with the money earned.
The good thing is 2015 is still very young, a lot can be done to make it turn out better than last year. While it is true that most of us carried debts from last year into this year, it is imperative that all backlog from 2014 are cleared early, and endeavour to reduce the rate at which money is borrowed this year, use your credit facility in times of real emergency for “thy debts are thine enemies”.
This is not like every other new year resolution that we make at the beginning of the year and drop along the way as we go deep into year, this is important as it relates to the financial independence of a young wig. The idea is to grow in the legal profession as the year runs by and it is impossible to grow if we keep doing the same routine every year.
If a young wig made little income than expected last year, buckle up this year and increase thy purse, but if you are fortunate enough to earn a satisfactory income then guide thy purse against lack.

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