admin“YOU must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you.”[Dave Ramsey]. A story is often told about the Ancient Egyptian Pharaoh who had two dreams which in essence were one dream but thoroughly troubled him. In the first one, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, and there came up out of the Nile seven cows attractive and plump, and they fed in the reed grass. Seven other cows, ugly and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.
The ugly, thin cows ate up the seven attractive, plump cows. He was surprised and he woke amazed, as to what it meant.
In the second dream, Pharaoh saw seven ears of grain, plump and good, which were growing on one stalk. After them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind.
The thin ears then swallowed up the seven plump, full ears. The two dreams perplexed the king, and the services of young man Joseph had to be enlisted. He gave a solution to the dream by telling the Pharaoh that the dream meant that there was going to be a bumper harvest for seven years, and then a serious famine for seven years, and there was need for a serious strategy of saving during the time of the good harvest.
Quite interesting!
The mistake that many people make about this story is to think it is one of those religious stories, but it is actually a solution to the woes that many people are facing today; a culture of saving.
There are two fundamental mistakes that people make today, they earn little, and they expend of all of their earnings.
The other mistake is that people earn a lot, and forget to make savings.
Many people get stuck many of the times because they do not have any fall back positions when crisis hits.
This is not only applying to individuals but to some corporate organisations as well. We do not have a culture of saving.
In times of plenty, plan and prepare for times of lack
The mistake many people make is that they think that bumper harvests will always be there.
At least in Zimbabwe we have had our fair portion of droughts, and financial challenges.
Certain people who are in financial “mess” now, might even had a time when they had serious financial overflows, and the best they did was to invest in more clothes, their stomachs, and some even invest in “small houses”. Some people will even tell you that they once made loads of cash in yesteryears yet they are stuck today.
There was even a time in Zimbabwe when there was massive illegal panning of diamonds, and the term “gweja” was famed. Some people found themselves with hoards of money, and they bought cars they could not even drive because they were incapacitated, and some even risked driving without licences.
Many of the people who did these are today broke, stranded or even dead from misuse of the money.
There are exceptions of course; some might have made meaningful use of the proceeds. The same applies to business as well; you can even experience times of serious liquidity even in this economy.
That is not the time, to celebrate; it is the time to plan ahead. Do the same even for your personal finances. Times of plenty call for discipline in preparation for times of lack. This is no way being negative, but being practical. Storms are real.
Let go of quick fixes
For some unaccounted reasons, many people have started to believe in overnight financial breakthroughs. You did not get into financial woes overnight, it was a process.
Your financial freedom will therefore never come overnight. Some churches in a way have even popularised the concept of “overnight” breakthroughs. I do not necessarily want to indict the beliefs of people, but the reality is that prayer alone does not make money. If prayer made money, all prayer warriors in Zimbabwe and the world over will be millionaires. Whatever your beliefs are, you can never fail when you develop the culture of saving. Financial success comes from saving among other strategies. Our finances will change the moment we change our attitudes towards them. Success in life depends on your attitude towards your life.
Discipline yourself to save
What separates successful people from unsuccessful people is discipline. You will not be successful by accident. Even accidental discoveries (e.g. microwave, dried chips, and cornflakes, among other discoveries) demand discipline for them to be successfully managed. We will cover this in future editions. Discipline is developed; you have to force yourself until it becomes a part of you. It only takes 21 days to create a habit.
The same way negative habits are created (by continuous repetition) that is the same way positive habits are created. Why don’t you commit to start making savings even for a dollar for the next 21days, if that is the model that you want to use.
You will see that at the end of the day it is not so much about the amount involved, but the discipline created.
If you are struggling to save, take advantage of a person you trust to keep money for you. You can even take advantage of savings accounts opportunities which do not deplete your savings through bank charges. Other banks have facilities which do not permit you to make any withdrawals until a certain period.
Look for a period which suits your saving goals, and take it. Eliminate opportunities that cause you to spend money unplanned. Discipline yourself to a strict budget, and commit to savings. “Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship”. [Benjamin Franklin]
Save from where you are
You do not need to be a millionaire to start saving. Start from where you are. Greatness is in beginning. Once you have started, you will always find a way of staying on course. Change is not easy, it is painful, but it becomes easy when you are already in motion.
Look at your current financial situation, and make a decision to start saving even from the little that you have.
The Develop your own model: The 52 Week Money Challenge
The year is beginning, and you have a fresh opportunity to make things right. I want to challenge you to develop a saving model which works best for you. For those who do not have models, I am going to give you the 52 Week Money Challenge, if you are ready for it.
A picture has been inserted for ease of understanding, and planning.
The essence of this challenge is for you to make small steps every week of the year.
You have to set aside and save money that corresponds to the week, e.g. Week 1- $1, Week 2 – $2.00 and you do this up to Week 52. At the end of the year, you will discover that you have saved US$1.378.00.
You can even use the same model in $5, 10, 20, 50, $100 per week for the rest of the 52 weeks depending with your means and your goals. Look beyond your salary, and start making money to commit towards the savings. Small consistent steps, will add up to big results for you in the near future.
It is impossible to fail.
With the drive, and determination, you can make a decision to start saving a dollar from today. Let the greatness in you shine!
Arthur Marara is an Attorney, Author and Speaker. He is also the author of the Personal Development Toolkit, Keys to Financial Freedom, The Power Within, and Keys to Effective Time Management. Send your feedback to [email protected] or Like his page on Facebook, or Whatsapp: +263 772 467 255 or visit www.arthurmarara.com.
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