Friday, 29 March

Money Wisdom Series

Feature Article
Jerry Afolabi

MWS 002

Personal planning for the last quarter of the year

Ghanaians across the country have varying levels of financial knowledge and differing behavioral attitudes towards money management. People seem to be more informed and confident about simple, familiar topics e.g.; savings, loans, investment but less knowledgeable, confident and unfamiliar with the types of compound interest, debt management, capital market, money market, insurance, fix income,taxes,income planning, risk management, money flow, asset creation, retirement, budget etc.

At a time where the financial sector in Ghana is going through turbulent times and people are to make more meaningful financial decisions than ever before, the financial environment in which they are making those decisions is becoming increasingly complex. Unfortunately, majority of Ghanaians are financially illiterate because the state has not equipped the people with financial knowledge. A case in point is the extent to which people, organizations and institutions fall prey to Ponzi schemes in the country.

Knowledge alone is not enough, people must engage professionals in order to be guided to make the right financial decisions for a sustainable financial freedom.

This is the more reason why Jerry J.Afolabi, and his team of experts have decided to start educating and sharing financial knowledge and insight to the people of our country, ie through social media, print, radio and TV.A crucial component necessary for the financial well-being of Ghanaians is the Money Wisdom Series.

The Money Wisdom Series has a key role to play not only to improving knowledge of personal finance but transforming the knowledge into actionable process which would inform better financial decision by Ghanaians.

The purpose of the Money Wisdom Series is to equip,share,provide,direct,guide and improve the financial capability of Ghanaians and shape the skill, knowledge and information so that they can make sound financial decisions.

The Money Wisdom Series would equip Ghanaians with the following;

·         How to Plan a personal financial year

·         How to set and meet personal financial goals

·         Plan ahead and make careful decisions about future spending and saving, particularly in anticipation of periods of low or irregular income

·         Develop strategies to protect against and manage risks

·         Manage debt responsibly and effectively

·         Identify and evaluate available financial services to determine if the services meet their needs

·         Invest for retirement and diversify assets

·         Exercise the rights and responsibilities as consumers of financial services

 

TEASER on what to expect in the Money Wisdom Series

Figure 1: Planning for the last quarter of the year

 Personal Financial Goals

1.Reduce total expenditure by 15%

Ø  Stop impulse buying

Ø  Reduce excessive usage of data

Ø  Reduce excessive family & friends outing expenditure

Ø  Cut down on personal borrowing to reduce interest payment

 

2.Start a monthly savings of 5% on monthly income

3.Start an endowment fund of 5% of monthly income for my Children’s education

4.Commit 5% of monthly income into family emergency fund

5.Committ 5% of monthly income to retirement fund

 

 

 Expected Sources of Income

Projected Expenditure

Salary                                     xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Food

Allowances                             xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Utility

Profit from other Business     xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Transportation

Side Gigs                                xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Accommodation(Mortgage/Rent/house)

 

School Fees

 

Cosmetics

 

Phone/Data Bills

 

Clothing/Wardrobe

 

Gifts/Church donations

 

Medical Bills

 

Entertainment (Recreation/sports)

 

Interest Payment/Debt Repayment

 

Hair Care/Saloon Service

 

Funerals/Wedding/Baby shower

 

For many Ghanaians, the last quarter of the year mostly comes with huge over the ceiling expenditure and little is done about it.in my thinking, it can be better is people plan and budget their lives. Some school of thought has argued that, because majority of Ghanaians are below the poverty line or more so earn very low incomes, they end up running into debt by the end of each year but I do not totally agree to that assertion. I believe that the predominant reason why people end up over spending at the end of each year is because we fail to plan and budget our lives from the beginning of the year.

Note: Personal financial plan and budget is the beginning of the financial freedom you seek.

The next series would treat the following;

Ø  Financial Planning

Ø  Person & Family Budget

©Jerry.J.AFOLABI is a Financial & Economic expert who believes that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when given opportunity. Email; [email protected], Tel; +233541238987. #MONEYTALKGH SHOW#

Source: Jerry J. Afolabi