To achieve financial independence, Parkinson’s Law needs to be violated. The law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” This saying, written in 1955 by Northcote Parkinson, is so common and natural an occurrence that all of us, at some point, have experienced the law in our lives.
Remember that Saturday you woke up bright and early to spend 3 hours cleaning the house / fixing the car / tending the garden / doing the plumbing? What was supposed to take you no more than 3 hours ended up taking you the whole day! Parkinson’s Law.
Or that assignment you were given 3 months ago at the start of term, which you tossed somewhere until 4 days before it was due? Only you know the colour of the midnight candle(s) you had to burn in order to hand in your paper by the deadline. Parkinson’s Law.
But it doesn’t stop there. Parkinson’s Law also manifests in our finances, such that no matter how much money we earn, it appears that there just isn’t enough to cover our expenses, let alone pursue our goals.
Think about it this way.
If you are working your first job, you may already be living a lifestyle noticeably different from the one you had as a student, when your finances were down. Gone are the garri, guguru and ekpa days. Levels don change!
If you have been working for some time, there is a high chance that the ratio of your expenses to your earnings has gone up over time, whether your salary has remained constant or has increased.
Parkinson’s Law says our expenses (work) will expand to fill (consume) the money (time) available for its completion (execution). Our expenses will continue to defy gravity, unless and until we pressure Parkinson’s Law.
This pressure (of the Law) is inversely related to our financial freedom. If we are determined to move our financial lives forward, we need a wedge between our earnings and our expenses. This wedge is our savings. We secure it when we lock our expenses down to a definite % of salary, and savest the rest. Over time, our earnings may grow, due to salary increases, or income from investments. As long as our expenses are under control, any additional earnings help us widen the wedge, and bring us closer to financial freedom.
A wedge enables us to achieve financial freedom. Break the law, yes Parkinson’s Law.
About the author:
Obiocha Eze-Emaeyak studied corporate finance and strategy at Manchester and IE Business Schools. She practises personal finance at Me & Myself.
Follow her @K1YUS3V3N
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I enjoyed every bit of this article. Will return for a second reading.
Whoosh!
Thank you, Edima.
Just bookmark it in your browser for easy access.?
Mobolaji no words just thank you for this beautiful piece!
The push I needed..thank you
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This was worth every minute. A real eye opener. Thank you Cowrywise!
Thanks for reading, Patience!
Thank you.
Sure doing my best to invest and save.
Wow…..I really appreciate your effort on this beautiful savings
☺️
I really enjoy reading your post. Please can you elaborate more on the design thing I do not understand it and if I want to invest for my wife or daughter, how do I go about it thank you.
Hi Oyebanji, it’s easy to invest for your wife and daughter. You can begin investment plans on their behalf with your account or use your referral code to get them to sign up. After they sign up, they can both start investment plans on the platform.
We’ll send you a comprehensive mail shortly.
Please read all about the Design Fund for women here: https://cowrywise.com/blog/investing-in-women/
Applications close on the 25th of March, 2021.
I loved every part of it. I loved how your vulnerability gave you the strength to be financially secured. Thank you so much! I took few notes I will work on.
Awesome! ??
Long but worth the read. I will spend my money better now. I will save and I have just been pushed to invest more than I ever have. Thanks for this piece.
Thanks for reading, Rhoda!
Please can you write every article on the INTERNET!!! This was so relatable yet so informative I felt like I was talking to a friend !!!! I love you already !!!
? Thank you so much, Obianuju.
Insightful!!! I enjoyed how you “gisted” the knowledge.
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Nice article.
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Just what i needed, thank you!
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Beautiful write up.
The “do not eat tomorrows yam” hit the hail harder.
Thank you cowrywise for the many beautiful contents.
Thanks for reading as well, Victoria.
Thank you so much for sharing. I especially love how you delineated the plan to create the plan. Thank you really. This has been so helpful especially at this crossroads I find myself.
So glad it helped.
Wonderful I enjoyed the article
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This is archive worthy. Something you screengrab and then go back to everytime you loose guard
Whoosh! ?
Thank you, Amal.
I tell you
This was lengthy but encompassing, thanks for writing
Thanks for reading, Faith…
Factory setting occurred in my brain. Thank you sir.
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Wow!!! Love this Piece. Truely from a reset brain.
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This is an amazing write up and yeah, an eye opener. And I love the fact that it’s so relatable with the small small vernaculars, lol, e long but e sweet.
“e sweet”!
Haha. Thanks Folajimi
This is proper financial advice. You have mapped out s lot of strategies that will benefit me financially if properly applied as a young professional. Thank you for the sound advice, Mobolaji.
Awesome content! Great push! Thank you very much ma’am ❤️❤️❤️
Nice piece. Really inspiring to me even as a man.
What a nice article .???. You did a great job ma
I want to give you loads of hugs. Your post today couldn’t have come at a more better time. This post reminded me of Andy Mineo’s quote on Vulnerability…It draws people in closer to say ‘me too’. This was certainly the energy booster I needed after running numbers today.
I really enjoyed reading this. I’ll share with the teen girls I mentor. Thank you so much.
Such an insightful piece! You’re a good writer Mobolaji!
Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Mobolaji. Thank you very much.
Thank you for providing the materials needed to build a good financial culture.
Insightful and relatable!
You rock!!!!!!!!!!
Deep stuff, useful to both men and women alike!
Thank you for sharing!
I feel like saving this write up somewhere to be reading every month…If I hear say na for women alone…Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you very much for this,
It is very relatable,
Every woman ought to be financially stable to avoid stories that touch,
Thank you once more.
I’m really touched by this guidelines and I see myself becoming greater from this piece ❤️
I enjoyed this article. Every line and wors spoke to me. Thank you so much, i really find this inspiring
I really enjoyed this article , thanks so much
Thank you so much for this❤️
I look forward to implementing what I learnt and reading more of your articles
This Uplifting article is just what I need as a Student who’s trying to be money-wise. Thanks, I’ll be sharing this.
This is really so insightful. Thanks so much, Mobolaji. I’ve got a new perspective
Thank you so much For the piece. May God help me to invest.
Thank you for this piece, I have taken a different path now to wealth creation, but do you or cowryrise offer mentoring programs?