These are dire times in Nigeria’s economy, needless to repeat. However, dire or not, as individuals, we continue to seek ways to improve our lot financially and move ahead despite these obstacles. While some succeed at doing this, others who may be in comparable or even better circumstances struggle to do so. These are 6 habits that could make it difficult to match situations with improvement.
Keeping up with the gang
Friends, family, work mates, we all want to look the best and have the best among them. The tendency to look at how they are performing outwardly, without considering how they achieve their lifestyle is high. You want to attend all the parties with them, wear the expensive collective attires and so on. Trying to match and surpass them in terms of belongings is a futile chase that could burn your finances.
Binge spending/Impulse spending
Having a budget and sticking to it is one of the foundations of financial improvement for anybody or organization. While some unexpected expenses may creep once in a while, buying things just because we feel like really does more harm than good to our finances. If the item is not in the budget in the first place, it is likely to be a luxury you can ill afford at that moment (except in emergencies) and more often than not, they are things you don’t really need. Binge spending is likely to leave you with a lot of unwanted goods and a low credit balance.
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Failure to have a plan
Nothing meaningful can be achieved without a sense of purpose. It is important to know what the goal is and more important to device a plan on how to achieve that goal. Probably most important, though, is the actual and timely implementation of that plan. If any of these steps are delayed, financial improvement may be delayed as well.
Indiscriminate lending
It’s good to be charitable, to help people out and all that. However, as with all things, when this becomes uncontrolled, you may find out that you work hard, earn more but have less. An elderly man once said “Only lend a person the amount you know you a gift the person” Why? Borrowed funds may never come back. What is more, those that you borrow have an invisible network you don’t know about. You’ll suddenly become a cash machine for them.
No savings
Life is not a bed of roses; and when the thorns come, they can cause deep wounds financially. The culture of saving is not entirely popular in Nigeria. However, if you are going to have any way forwards, you must make sure that you develop this culture. These savings are what will help you stay afloat when the tide turns. Similarly, savings help in achieving goals which leads to progress.
Lack Financial illiteracy
Now, we are not talking of having an MBA in Banking and Finance. This is simple like being able to separate your profits from earnings, developing a budget, creating a scale of preference etc. If you cannot do those tasks fairly easily, you are likely to be stuck in the same position for a long time.
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