I typically would start posts with a gentle entry line and a soft tone, but permit me to break the rules this one time: YO! HAVE YOU SEEN THE RATE OF INFLATION IN NIGERIA?!
No, really. I know we talk a lot about money, inflation rate and the constant decline of the naira, but I need you to really deep it.
Today, someone tweeted that 100K is the new 1K, and typically I would be optimistic and try to see things in perspective, but this time I just couldn’t.
I don’t want to bore you and get technical with the numbers. In 2016, one dollar was about N260. In 2021, it was around N530. Today in September 2022, 1 dollar to naira is N710.
Inflation is on the rise, and this is why this post is super important, especially at this time.
The one mistake you would be making right now if you’re serious about financial freedom is to keep your hard-earned money in a bank account.
That’s it.
You might as well give the money away and call it a day.
Because with every day that passes, that money loses its value. There’s no telling when you’d be left with zero at this rate.
Let’s look at it: if you had N100,000 in your bank account in 2016, it was roughly equal to $385. If you did nothing with that N100,000, and just left it there, it would be worth $140 today.
Bold of you to even assume that the N100,000 would still be intact after all the bank charges. So this $140 is me being generous. 385 to 140! Can you see?!! Inflation in Nigeria is really brutal.
Again, I’d say it in case you missed it the first time: The one mistake you’re making that is reversing all your financial efforts is saving your money in a bank account.
What should you do instead?
It’s one thing to point out what you’re doing wrong, but it’s another to present you with practical solutions to fix it. So, as usual, here are some solutions you can take up right now
Prioritize Investments
Saving is great, but investing is where the real deal is at. Wealthy people have one thing in common – their money works for them. Don’t be left out. Invest in safe instruments on secure platforms like Cowrywise. That’s how you really take control of your money, make it work for you and secure your financial freedom.
High-Interest Savings
If you must save any money you’re serious about, it should NOT be in a bank account. I’ll tell you for free – it’s counterproductive, especially with the rise of the dollar against the naira. Returns on emergency plans on Cowrywise for instance go as high as 8% which is more than 5 times the rate you get at banks – after all the heavy maintenance costs they charge of course.
Invest in dollar funds
Yes, I saved the best for last – invest in dollar funds. There is a variety of dollar mutual funds on Cowrywise you can easily start with. You don’t need a fancy domiciliary account or anything. Start investing straight from your naira account, earn returns in dollars and go to sleep every day knowing you are building financial immunity. It’s the smart thing to do.
Finally…
If you think you’re too young, that’s false. Adulthood does not announce its arrival, neither do bills and responsibilities. They just show up.
In a country that seems to be hellbent on ensuring your hard-earned money gets even more useless to you by the day, you need to take your financial future into your own hands. If you don’t, inflation in Nigeria will not show you any mercy.
Create a Cowrywise account if you don’t have one. It takes 2 minutes to set up. Reach for your card, and buy that one extra unit of dollar mutual funds. Top up your plan with the extra 2K lying in your account. Tomorrow you might wake up and it’s worth 500 naira.
Take control of your financial future now.
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