This is one of the most interesting and inspiring books I've read in my life. It was sent to me by a friend. The caption seems to restrict it to women only but this book is very useful to men also. This book purely dissolves the issues of African women/men's financial life/freedom.
Here are some points from the book that I'll love my fellow steemians to grab;
Financial freedom is when your passive income exceeds your expenses
Passive income in simple terms is money that you make while you're sleeping. It is the income you get regularly from investments you've already made.
Ideally, the goal is to get to a point where the assets you've accumulated can pay you enough of an income to pay for your lifestyle.
Confronting our fears is always the right step towards conquering them.
What you deny or ignore, you delay; what you accept and face, you conquer
The difference between successful people and average people is that they acknowledge their fears but don't let fear overcome them or stop them from achieving their goals.
Keep track of everything you spend in a notebook which should be reviewed every week.
If you don't treat the money you earn with respect, it will leave you with no respect.
We have to learn to spend with intentions by allocating our resources to reflect the lifestyle we want and are able to sustainably afford. This starts with having a clear idea of where your money is going in the first place.
You have to give up the excuses and learn to control money instead of letting money control you.
Debt can be a useful tool to attain financial success but how you use it matters.
Wealthy people use debt as a tool to leverage their investments and grow their cash flow but poor people use debt to buy things that make people richer.
Only borrow to acquire an asset that will appreciate in value.
A smart man/woman doesn't wait for financial surprises; he or she systematically saves towards his/her emergency fund because she knows that this is the foundation of his/her financial journey.
so before you splurge, make sure you have at least six to nine months of living expenses saved up for emergencies.
An emergency fund is not there to make you but to act as a financial cushion that protects your long term investments from short term unexpected expenses.
The most successful people are the ones who are able to articulate what they want for their lives.
Success is deeply rooted in having a solid plan that is tailored to what you want.
Society and culture sells young African girls the lie that marriage is the finance security they should aspire to.
One of the biggest issues people complain about when it comes to their money is not knowing how to save or budget.
People associate the word "budget" with scarcity or a reduction in station of life.
The reality is that budget is something that tells you how to allocate your resources and it should reflect what you value.
The reason most people live paycheque to paycheque is because they don't have a full understanding of what their income can support.
SMART MONEY BUDGET
First divide your income into three parts.
- Long term financial goals
- Short term financial goals
- Living expenses.
Long term financial goals should be at minimum of 20% of your income, it represents a portion set aside towards improving your net worth i.e. buying assets that will provide you with an income. Good examples are towards purchases like land, property or a stock portfolio.
short term financial goals consists of the proportion of your income set aside for treats -chanel bag, an iPhone, or a luxury holiday; whatever tickles your fancy.
Living expenses is the proportion of your monthly contribution to your rent, health insurance, cable/satelite recharge, petrol, service charges etc.
This is the breakdown
Long term -20%
Short term -10%
Living expenses - 70%
Having extensive network allows you to maximize your potential.
A person's ability to attract wealth is tightly linked to how well they are able to grow and leverage his or her network to take advantage of opportunities.
The wealthiest people in the world make relatively simple investments. They typically invest in things that they understand and it all boils down to what your goals are.
Be careful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful -Warrent Buffet on stocks.
If you hang out with four broke people, you'll be the fifth and if you hang out with four business minded people, you'll be the fifth.
You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.
Leveraging on your skill set to maximize your earning potential doesn't have to mean starting your own business. It's more important to be entrepreneurial in your thinking and to find ways to value whatever you are.
To determine if something is your purpose, it must answer the following three questions;
- Is it big enough? (which speaks to its impact)
- Are you in a unique position to make it happen? (what skills or resources do you have or have access to execute the idea)
- Are you passionate enough about it? (does it pass the sleepless night test)
If the answer is yes to all three, then it is probably your calling.
These are few of the numerous things I got from the book. The most interesting part of it is that it's a story with a Nigerian setting and you'll be exposed to the rich culture of the Nigerian people. If you're interested to read the book, you can get me on steemchat with @maluchukwu so that I can send you the soft copy. It's written by a Nigerian Lady and I can assure that it's fun reading it.
Don't forget to drop your comments, upvote and resteem if you find this inspiring.
Follow me @maluchukwu. Good evening steemians.