POWERFUL REASONS YOU SHOULD SAVE MONEY AS A STUDENT

    

       If you cannot save money, you cannot build wealth. I don't care how old you are or how much you earn. As a student, you are probably struggling with not having enough money to meet important needs and still invest in your financial future. You may have seen the need to save money to be able to invest in a business or even a project. Money enters your hands "onww and off", but you end up not saving anything at all with the excuse that is was not enough. But when you look back, you will find that huge amount of money have actually passed through your hands with no savings or investment to show for it. Another fact against you is that there are several other people (am sure you know one or two of them) who receive far less money than you do from there parents or Guardians who live off the little money they have and still have good savings. Some of them have gone ahead to do great things with the accumulated little savings they have put away over time while you were still making excuses.

      First, you must understand that nobody has enough money. Even the rich have more financial problems to handle, such that your meager amount needed to solve need your needs will go nowhere into solving there's. There will hardly come a time when you will have all the money you want so that you will save some. If you do not start saving from the little money that enters your hands now in d midst of needs, you will never save at all. Because that time will never come.

    Saving money is the first law of wealth creation. If you want to overcome poverty and never have lack of money detect how you live your life like majority of people, You must take responsibility for your financial life. It all starts by saving money. If you cannot save money then forget about building wealth. It is the least thing you can do about your current financial position. Even when you earn alot but you are not  able to
Save, you will end up poor no matter how much it is you earn. You will always spend up all and live from pay check to pay check. It is said that a dollar saved is a dollar earn. This is because, entrepreneurs understand that their are two major ways to get money either you earn  it or you save it, and it is far more easier to save #100 than to earn it.

       From the little monthly upkeep coming into your hands as a student in school, you have the opportunity of to build a financial fortune. Even if you do not earn money right now from any job or business ( but I advise you as much as possible to earn read Businesses students can do in school). If you receive as little as #10,000 in a month, with that you can build a financial money tree. Make a commitment to save only 10% of that monthly income. That is one thousand naira, which will amount to #12,000 In a year. In 4 years that is 48k, if you never invested it in any thing or a high interest savings account. If you will be consistent in stalking away only #1000. Of course many of you can afford to save more than 1k in a whole month that is #250
A week which is less than #50 daily.            The truth is that the more you can save the faster the process and bigger the outcome. You can choose to save #100 a day or a week or 1-5k a month, that depends on your income and how fast you want to accomplish your goal.

    There is serious unemployment problem in Nigeria, that every student or graduate should find something do do to make money and not depend on the government to provide jobs. They too can create jobs. That is a million dollar advice. If you go the way of everyone else: graduate, get your CV and start applying for jobs everywhere, you will be like everyone else-Jobless. You need to take proactive steps in securing your financial future by starting a business or investing in something.

   It takes money to start up a profitable business or to invest in anything worthwhile. And the best way to get start up capital is always from your own savings. Getting money from elsewhere even from family and friends for most persons is not a possibility. It takes people who believe in you to give you there money and most people who would help you may not also have to give.
     Getting money from Banks in Nigeria is almost a no go area, first is the requirements to qualify for a loan and then the collateral issue then the fact that it's not long term the longest term you can probably get is 2 years loan(if you see a place to get long term 5-10 years loan in Nigeria please I will be interested). We have not talked about the outrageous interest rate of about 24%.
    Even when you are borrowing money from family and friends, it is best you already have part or better still much of the money so that they will only be contributing a little to what you have and you don't run into problems about ownership tomorrow.

    In saving, the most important thing is consistency. If you have decided on the amount to save and the frequency, it is advised that you stick to it. You must develop that self discipline knowing that you are building your future. If for any reason you skip, make sure you replace it the next time. If you keep skipping without replacement, the purpose will be defeated, you will soon stop altogether. Put that pressure on yourself to always be faithful to this business.

     The idea of asking you to save is never so that you can accumulate money and buy a new phone or a new dress or shoe. That would be a waste of the savings energy. People of course save to buy this things which is okay, But that is far from the idea here. Saving is in order to build financial assets. Like you may have heard as credited to Roberts kiyosaki the author of the Book: Rich dad Poor dad. " an asset  is whatever puts money into your pockets. and any thing that takes money away from you is a liability". This may conflict with your prior knowledge about assets and liabilities. But while you think your phone, personal cars or dress are assets. They do not provide you any extra income, rather they keep taking money from you in the name of maintenance. Your savings therefore is to build an asset base. Invest in Stock exchange, mutual funds, real estate, start a business, or fund an idea, a song, a book etc.

       Saving money and then spending it frivolously or buying liabilities when you have not built a strong assets base can be seen as eating your future today. This is one thing you must guard against with all diligence. Many a people start saving money with you plans and intentions, but once they money accumulates a little, they cannot resist the temptation to spend it on other things relevant or not. This leads to many people giving up on saving all the beautiful the it can offer. When they try and fail, the resign to a life of pay cheque to pay cheque, With the excuse that it doesn't work for them. If you must read from the benefits of saving money, you must guard against this tragedy.

     You should put structures in place that will prevent you from touching your savings anyhow and anytime. Out it in a separate bank account without ATM card,  give it to a trusted person to keep, even the ancient wooden save box is very good as it prevents you from taking money from there except you destroy the box. Just figure out the best method that works for you but the main idea is that you should protect your savings from yourself or risk spending it on unintended things. That will defeat the purpose of the savings.

  

  There is a Brilliant idea of "paying yourself first"  which is the central truth of the book: The richest man in Babylon". This idea is about putting away your own savings  which is called paying yourself first before ever spending on anything once you receive your money income  be it allowance or salary. Before your spending begins on  other things, which is termed paying other people, you must understand that no matter how legitimate other expenses are, eg rent, food, transport, Internet etc. The only money you actually earn from your earnings is your savings. That is the only part of the income that is going directly into building for you a financial freedom that will ensure money keeps coming in and you don't have to work all your life for money.

   Pay yourself first. It's the first and the best financial advise you can ever get. If you wait to finish spending on all your needs then save the remaining, you will never get to save at all. Because, the money will always not be enough until you start saving and building wealth. Even if you manage to save after haven spent. The amount will be so small it will be insignificant to the goal of financial freedom. Paying yourself first enables you to decide what you want to save and then live on the remaining. As much as you think your income is not enough to allow savings, it will shock you how many people with more needs than you and less income are saving money for their financial future. Any argument you put up against savings is an excuse to remind in poverty. You will not die living on a few naira less than the amount you normally live on per month.

  Stay in touch, in subsequent post as we x-ray the various things you can do with your savings and where to invest them for whenever you need to. For businesses you can do in school. Like us on Facebook. And Twitter @ Naija youths arena. See you at the top.

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