Why Is Insurance Penetration Low in Nigeria?

Thank heavens, the past few weeks’ intensity has been unprecedented and totally unbearable for me, it’s been so intense that I’ve not been able to update this blog. I’m so sorry for that but in the long absence; I’ve learnt all lot from the school of hard knocks called life…that’s a story for another day.

I’ve found something amazing in the past few weeks…No, it’s not that Mr. President’s not very bright; everybody had that figured out ages ago. Super eagles failing to qualify for the Nation’s cup for the first time in 25 years is not it either; that’s hardly surprising considering the kind of commitment being a Nigerian inspires these days.  It’s what will it take to make something decent work in Nigeria. That is the golden question. What does it take to make any decent plan work in any nation? Vision, motivation, commitment, determination, persistence, focus, we can go on and on about these qualities but do we have trust?

Why don’t we or can’t we trust in the system? I did a little research and came up with an interesting finding.

• Insurance thrives better in a nation with a huge population.

The rationale behind this aggregate opinion is that in such large population the sector is able to set premium from different angles to build its pool of funds from the residents of such country.

Out of this pool of funds, insurers are able to settle claims that occur, as it is not all insured policies that suffer loses. Also, life funds are used to provide long term funds for key economic and development projects in the country.

According to statistics by African Insurers Organization, the table below shows the percentage of insurance penetration of some countries on the continent.

COUNTRY	% PENETRATION
South Africa	13.2
Namibia	8.4
Morocco	2.9
Ghana	1.6
Senegal	1.4
Cameroon	1.1
Nigeria	0.7

In the table it is observed that Nigeria came in last and that is a pointer to the sad that our economy is behind nations like Namibia and Senegal, nations without a drop of crude oil and are still turning out better economic pointers/indicators than ours. Why should this be?

The reason cited for our very low insurance penetration in Nigeria is

•  Local insurance companies often concentrate on underwriting corporate businesses giving little attention to the development of individual life policies.

In 2010, life policies accounted for just 16% of the total premiums paid in Nigeria. A mere 16%! People would give an arm and a leg to protect their businesses or property but would not consider putting some amount on the life responsible for building the business or property in the first place. Does it make any sense for anyone to safeguard property and not the owner of the property?  Is it not laughable that the premium paid on insuring property doesn’t yield any return on investment if there is no claim while that of life can make a return in the form of policy termination, policy maturity or compensation? And many people are still against that same life insurance policy that can help them put something aside for financial security purposes.

So what is the problem? Why is life insurance penetration so low in our society?

Besides the state of the economy which we shall examine later, the recurring decimal when marketing insurance is the issue of trust.

Nigerians have little or no faith in our financial system.

• Crumbling or even dead banks pretending to be sound.
• Bank directors helping themselves to depositors’ funds.
• A Central Bank with anti-small business tendencies and policies.

Our litany of woes seems to be endless but it all starts and ends with trust. Bankers and insurers alike have abused the trust of depositors and investors but my question is…don’t they have trust issues abroad? From  Bernard Madoff to Jerome Kerviel to Allen Stanford to Kweku Adoboli to the numerous the Ponzi schemes, none of them took place in Nigeria nor have Nigerian ties. You would be surprised the results you’ll see when you google the financial crimes of the world and see that the level of perpetration in Nigeria pales in comparison.

The relevance of life insurance cannot be overstated or over flogged.

• Life insurance is structured to meet different needs ranging from savings to investments, which can earn the policyholder some interest.
•  Life insurance policies are designed to proffer solution to individual’s particular needs.
•  Insurance is not only about death, it is about planning for your future ensuring that if you are there or not, dependents are taken care of and spared the pain of the extended family mess.

It is important you find someone you can trust and implement a savings plan for you and the immediate future ahead of you. 

My name is Ogungbemi Olumide, my numbers 07033588160 and 07056989820 and I’m an Insurance marketer with Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited, Ikeja, Lagos.

  

Make Your Money Work For You

"We all have a choice to spend today, or save up and be able to consume more in the future."

Do you know why the statement struck a chord with me? Because many of us live for today and what today can fetch us. Permit me to say, tomorrow never ends so long as we're breathing and living. If you're single, you'll one day get married, if you're married you'll have children and if you have children, they'll attend school...it goes on and on and on. So there's a lot more to live for than today.

While prospecting someone the other day, he said something that really got me thinking on different types of incomes and I want to dedicate this very post to passive income.

What is Passive Income?

The salary you get from work is as a direct result of your efforts at work. Passive income, on the other hand, generally includes income that is not directly related to your daily activity and which you can generate without having to actively work for it; in fact it is the other way round, your money is actually working for you with no extra effort on your part apart from the act of investing.

Passive Income in Retirement

If you are middle aged, your goal should be to use as much of your income as possible from your remaining peak earning years to create a source of passive income, which is often the only source of funds for most people during retirement. It is particularly important to create sources of passive income that will generate regular income for you in retirement or should you be unable to work for a period of time. Here are some of the most common sources of passive income:

• Buying to let

You can buy a residential or commercial property for investment purposes and rent it out to create rental income. In Nigeria where rental income is earned often two or three years in advance, landlords have a huge opportunity to invest the windfall payment derived from one property to invest in another. This can be a great investment for the long term, but usually requires significant capital.

• Dividend yielding stocks

One of the easiest ways to earn passive income is to buy shares in a publicly quoted company that regularly pays dividends to its shareholders. If you don’t have time of the inclination to carefully select stocks yourself, contact a reputable stockbroker and educate yourself on the workings of the stock market. There is a plethora of information online, in books, magazines and the media on how to invest in stocks. In the alternative you might prefer to purchase mutual funds as a good way to build a well diversified and professionally managed portfolio even if you don’t have enough money to buy individual stock.  Both stock and real estate have the ability to grow in value over time.

 Indeed, capital appreciation is one of the greatest benefits of both of these passive income sources when you sell your asset. These proceeds can then be used to create other assets. In discussing the advantages of investing in these sources of passive income, one should never ignore the ensuing risk. Bear in mind that there is the very real risk of loss as markets can be volatile and prices can go up and down. As experienced in the global meltdown of 2008, that is still very fresh in the memories of many investors.

• Interest Income

Interest is a most basic form of passive income. This recurring income stream can help finance some of your current needs, or be saved for other goals. Interest earned on savings account balance, fixed deposits, or bonds as a risk-free source of passive income.  However, do note that with current interest rates hardly keeping apace with inflation, it will be difficult for you to grow your capital in this way.

• Invest in a Business

There are many interesting business opportunities that struggle to attract adequate funding. If you are approached by a well regarded entrepreneur to lend money or invest in their business, and are interested in providing some support, have the proposal properly analyzed by a professional before you consider lending some of those needed funds or become a silent equity partner to the business entitled to dividends should the business meet expectations. Try to envision the type of life that you want in the future. What do you want to spend your time doing? What type of house do you want to live in? It is important to ask yourself these questions.

To many of us, as we enjoy one primary source of income from one primary source of income from our jobs and occupations, we can become somewhat complacent. Yet it is very rare to find people achieving their financial goals from their salaries alone; one usually needs alternative sources of income to be able to increase one’s wealth in any significant way. We all have a choice as to whether to spend today or save up to be able to consume more in the future. It will not be easy and of course the state of your personal finances, family situation and lifestyle will determine how much you can afford to put away each month.

The usual pulls on your income and the temptation to be lured by peer pressure to spend will continue. It is only through discipline and consistency that you can commit to saving something, no matter how small, each month. Through the power of compounding, even small savings today can grow into significant sums in a few years. Start building passive income today. My name is Olumide Ogungbemi, my numbers 07056989820 and 07033588160 and I'm available to answer all you questions regarding savings and investment.

Living without insurance in present-day Lagos

“We do not remember days, we remember moments…”

There’s a truth to the statement, don’t you think? I mean, how many days do we really recall in detail? While we could launch a debate about the veracity of the quote above,  there's no way we could argue about the significance of Sunday 10^th of July, 2011. Sunday 10^th July, 2011 would remain ever green in the memories of Lagosians. Young and old, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, it was the day ‘mother nature’ decided to show us how much we’ve abused the privilege of living in one of the most beautiful and calmest weather regions in the world.

What started as a light rain shower proceeded to become a 15-hour downpour and almost the entire stated of Lagos got submerged in flood. The neglect of our environment, one of nature’s gifts to is came to the fore, the manifestation of our negligence came in the form of houses roads getting swept away, streets being attacked by water and houses getting flooded in a matter of hours. 25 unfortunate souls and billions of naira worth of property damage were lost in the avoidable water invasion simply because we didn’t take adequate care of refuse disposal and drainage blockage.  Our dear Lagos almost went entirely under sea level because of ‘our’ (in reference to a majority but not all of us Lagosians) neglect. Thank God for His little mercies, we’re still here.

What’s saddening here is the fact that many would not learn from the flood debacle we just witnessed and some others just won't. For some of us we won’t give the rains another chance, it’s clean gutters, streets and drainages from now on but for others “What’s my business, I’m safe. Abi na me cause am?” We’ve constantly exposed ourselves to all sorts of danger and not give any thought to protecting what we own, tangible or intangible. We leave things to God, chance, fate, destiny and other supernatural powers or beliefs.

How many of us give any care to protecting our businesses or livelihoods? The moment many Lagosians spot an insurance marketer, they go “See dem, dem don come again.” Instead of looking forward to taking a policy on their property, many would rather leave everything they’ve worked for and own to chance. Houses, cars, office equipment and countless other things were lost to the flood in avoidable circumstances. The pinch would have been less if the properties were insured in the first place for the losers would be in the process of indemnifying or reclaiming what they lost. It’s only human life that cannot be replaced by insurance claims. What should be chief in our minds is to protect what we own instead of watching things go bad before we start thinking of how to resolve issues. A stitch in time, they say, saves nine.

It’s a certainty some events are beyond our control but the question is, “What happens next? What’s the next line of action?” Something similar to the deluge of July 10^th took place at the in the ‘Ember’ months of 2008. The stock market crashed, the global economy took a hard hit and some of our financial institutions almost sunk in the financial quagmire. Many Lagosians went bankrupt. There was sorrow, tears and desolation. Because we’re a strong people, we managed to afloat. But for the insured, it was a matter of making some claims, partial or full withdrawals (for those who took life insurance policies) and restarting the business process. Let’s ask ourselves a very frank question at this juncture, how many more hits can we take? Isn’t it time we contemplated affirmative action?

What action am I talking about? Saving money, simple! What action would be more appropriate than saving money?  Everyone working in the state of Lagos and Nigeria in general is under obligation (legally or morally) to take care of their dependents. It’s time we found and defined our effective savings strategy and culture (if none existed to our knowledge as a people before now). The Japanese are moving on with their lives after the tsunami of March 2011 (the previous natural disasters before that for that matter) because they have financial protection. Simply put, they are insured and are financially prepared to move on with their lives no matter the magnitude of damage nature may throw their way. They have enough of a savings culture to build something they can fall back upon because they live a disaster-prone region of the world.  I’m not going to talk about the role of government to their continual existence, that’s story for another day.

Here in Lagos (and Nigeria generally) we live in a financial disaster-prone area. When the global economic meltdown took place in the recent past, the developed economies looked back and fell upon their savings and other financial instruments (and abracadabras!), developing economies, however, looked up to God. Well, thank heavens for faith…but soon enough we found out the days of manna falling from heaven were so far gone! Our financial foundation here is so shallow it’s almost like trying to walk on water and expect not to drown! We’ve little to build upon! But we still have a chance to do something, it’s never too late. We could like squirrels start building our nuts storage now, so that whatever times lie ahead of us financially, we shall have the buffer/safety net to fall unto.

The tide is ebbing now, the flood is going dry and we have another opportunity now. It’s time to sow again, let’s sow the savings culture now while we can. We have the chance to save something financially now, so we can have something to save us financially if the need ever arises… Decide to start saving today, Lagos. I rest my case.  My name is Ogungbemi Olumide, my numbers, 07033588160 and 07056989820 and I’m an Insurance marketer with Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited, Ikeja, Lagos.

Let me close with another quote I picked up while surfing last week,

“Every accomplishment begins with a decision to try.”

The Era of Transformation Begins With You…

The morning of May 29 2011, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, gave a wonderful speech (another wonderful speech? Na today? Abeg! Abeg! Abeg! Tell us something we don’t know.) What I could identify with in it, however, was we are going to into an era of transformation which I hope to God comes true because we are tired of the same old tricks. The way his kitchen cabinet looks, it seems we are getting the same old dogs that performing new tricks. For instance, I wonder what transformation that madam whom cried on Ore-Benin expressway would bring this time around after all these years at the FEC?

Talking of transformation, thank God I witnessed what happened on the night of Saturday 28^th May, 2011. What a transformation that was! Should you miss that one for any reason you should be ashamed of yourself, football fan or not! The transformation of football stars to legends, almost football deity! Viva la Barca! FC Barcelona of the 2010/2011 season booked their place in the hall of fame and perhaps the pantheon of football immortality! I would live the rest of my life knowing I’ve seen some of the greatest football artistry of all time! Men turned to gods! Xavi Hernandez! Andres Iniesta! Carlos Puyol! Sergio Busquests! Leo Messi! Leo Messi! Oh! Leo Messi!...Alright, let me get a hold of my horses and allow my readers to take a look and examine what I’m yapping my head off about.

Before now we have always heard of football greats like Pele (perhaps even see some of his footages at the world cups of ’58, 62’, ’66 and ’70). We saw footages of other greats too, like Franz “the Kaizer” Beckenbauer of Bayern Munich of the ‘70s, Johann Cruyff of Ajax FC of the ‘70s (not the sick joke of a club that sold Luis Suarez to Liverpool FC in 2011), Kenny Dalglish of Liverpool FC of the ‘80s. Not forgetting Diego ‘Hand of god’ Maradona, who held the world spellbound in his time and if not for his use of recreational drugs, (that’s the professional name for anything that can make a man high) would have done more than he did. After these god-like men, we never had other footballers stamp their authorities and names in the game in such like manner.

Lothar Matthais tried, Ronaldo ‘El Phenomenon’ Da Lima tried, Zinedine ‘The Battering Ram’ Zidane tried…So did the AC Milan and the Manchester United of the ‘90s and the 2000s (aka the noughties). Football would never see something spectacular again would it? Basketball, boxing, golf, even tennis have taken fans away from football (thanks to Women’s tennis outfits more than anything else).

Then enter that prodigious, outrageous talent from Rosario who showed up in Barcelona in 2006 (we should thank God for his growth hormone problems for that) Leo Messi from the moment he took to the Camp Nou grounds started bringing football fans back. I’m sure that whoever is doubtful of football being entertaining again is either incarcerated in Siberia or at the bottom of a bottle. Shikena!

While celebrating Leo Messi and FC Barcelona, the club to have produced the most ‘World Player of the Year’ in recent history,  we seem to have forgotten the catalyst of the present day success, the man that began FC Barcelona’s era of transformation. Let’s take a ride back in history to around 1992. The era of transformation began with the Johann Cruyff tutored Barcelona of the ‘90s. Cruyff introduced his Dutch nation’s famous ‘Total Football’ to FC Barca when he coached the team. That total football tonic became the club’s mantra and culture. Cast your mind back (if you’re old enough!) and you would realize (if you’re a true follower and not just a fan of a particular club) that Barcelona had since the ‘90s, regardless of the nationality of the coach and the players, showcased wonderful football.

From Johann Cruyff to the Englishman, Bobby Robson, to the Dutchman, Louis Van Gaal, to the Serbian, Radomir Antic, to the Dutchman, Frank Rijkaard, to the Spainard, Pep Guardiola, it’s been that culture of flair, colourful, aesthetically wonderful and pleasant total football. In between these periods the results have varied but the culture of beautiful football was always there, even when they weren’t winning

.

If in doubt, count the number of the world’s best footballers from ’92 till date and you’ll be amazed at the percentage Barca players produced. Superstars such as Romario, Hristo Stoichkov, Patrick Kluivert, Luis Enrique, Rivaldo, Sonny Anderson, Luis Figo, Samuel Etoo, Ronaldinho, had the best years of their careers at Barcelona. And all these began with the vision of a few great men led by Johann ‘The Catalyst’ Cruyff!

Where am I going with this? How many of you want to be the catalyst of financial success of your era? How many of you  want to be the catalyst of the financial success of your homes, families and communities? Who would want to begin the era of financial transformation through his endearvours? The success FC Barcelona are enjoying and celebrating now is not an overnight success. It took time. It was a gradual, time-tested process, full of ups and downs, a cultured approach to the game till they arrived where they are today. And Johann Cruyff is being credited by football pundits the world over with starting that era of football transformation.

To be successful in any endearvour is not a sudden thing. Neither is it luck. It takes the planning and implementation of processes, substituting and eliminating some elements, restructuring and replacing some processes, additional investment of time and effort and most importantly, sticking to a plan that works and believing you would arrive at your destination. And nothing tests you over a period of time more than trying to arrive at the pinnacle of financial success. Keep in mind, you are competing daily, weekly, monthly and yearly with others and factors such as inflation, opportunity cost, government policies, bullish capital markets and myriad of other fiscal policies. The only thing that is certain is the journey would reach a conclusion some day and the question is, “Where do you want to find yourself?”  Where do you want to position your family financially?

Many of you, young people, are waiting to be pressed before taking some major financial decisions. You would love for someone close, a friend or relative, to persuade or even sometimes coerce you into buying that piece of land, investing in those stocks, begin that savings plan, while the chief beneficiary in the long run would be you, the hesitant investor. Have you forgotten the famous saying, “The early bird gets the worm” It’s not like the other birds don’t get worms at all. They do, they get the left-over of the early bird. Simply because the early bird gets “the worm”,  the juiciest, most succulent and scrumptious of the worms.

The head start is important, you need the head start. It’s a certainty that at a period in life, the youth would have interest in savings and investments but don’t wait till you are boxed in a corner. Just like homecoming or high school reunions, you don’t want to be far behind your mates when sharing stories of years gone by after graduating 10-15 years ago. Regardless of your marital status and other aspects of life, your financial status is of great importance because of how it holds your ego erect and high. The earlier you start the better and the best part being, you could become the financial catalyst of your home. The culture of planning and implementing well would be ingrained in the family and you would save yourself the stress of running from pillar to post anytime a financial obligation or crisis arises.

Right now, there’s nothing I would want more than to become the financial catalyst of my own time and the beginner of the era of financial transformation. S.A Life has all it takes to handle all your financial needs. Imagine how peaceful your life would be when someone is handling all your tangible and intangible needs. Don’t fight it nor hesitate anymore, it’s time for your own financial transformation. My name is Ogungbemi Olumide, my numbers 07033588160 and 07056989820 and I’m an Insurance marketer with Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited, Ikeja, Lagos.

This post is a dedication to every follower and fan of the world’s most popular and beautiful game, la jogo bonito, football.

ARE YOU PREPARED FOR RETIREMENT?

How would you like to spend your retirement years? Will your nest egg be able to provide the kind of lifestyle that you have become accustomed to and how much will it cost? 

Sadly, many people end up impoverished in their later lives or are totally dependent on their children or other family members. Yet other retirees are redefining retirement as an exciting time to explore new interests. No longer the end of work life, it has become a new beginning, often the start of a new career, world travel, going back to school, starting a new business venture, spending more time with family, or engaging in high-impact philanthropic ventures that change lives.

How much money will you need?

Thanks to the Pensions Reforms Act 2004, most of us are aware of the importance of pensions and retirement planning. Pensions, while they are an important part of retirement income, will very rarely cover all your retirement needs if you wish to maintain a certain standard of living during your retirement years. Your retirement income should be supplemented with income from other personal savings and investments.

Everyone’s retirement goals are unique and a function of their own age, stage, and financial situation. As life spans get longer, it is not unusual nowadays to spend over 20 years in retirement, so you need to be sure that your financial resources can last as long as you do. If you were to retire at 60 and then live for at least another 20 years, how much income would you need for each year of your retirement and how much do you have to save now to generate that kind of income to afford the lifestyle you desire?

Your current income is a good starting point for calculating your retirement saving needs. Experts estimate that most people will need between 65% and 80% of current income to maintain their current lifestyle when they retire. Online retirement calculators are available at several websites including those of Pension Fund Administrators.  These are useful tools to help you to estimate how much you will need in retirement.

Start early

In your 20s and 30s, retirement seems lifetime away, but it’s never too early to start planning for it right from your first job. Those who start planning for retirement in their 20s have a better chance of building a large nest egg and achieving sustained financial success.

Educate yourself

Financial security and knowledge are closely linked. It is important to have a broad understanding of the basic investment principles; how you save is just as important as how much you save. Educate yourself on the different savings options available and what might work for you.

How much risk can you afford to take?

Your investment portfolio should be tailored to reflect your age, the amount of money you have and will need, and your risk tolerance. Inflation and market volatility have forced investors to face the reality of their financial position. With the spectre of inflation always lurking, and the possibility of spending more than two decades in retirement, your investment earnings will have to keep pace in order for you to have any chance of maintaining your current standard of living.

The type of investments you make play an important role in how much you would have saved at retirement. A diversified portfolio of cash, bonds, stocks and real estate will help protect you from investment risk. You don’t want all your retirement funds invested in high-risk investments; in spite of the higher yields this might generate, you need to balance risk and return in order to achieve your goals. The asset allocation will largely depend on your risk tolerance and how long you have until your retirement.

Health is wealth

The reality of declining health as we age should be addressed seriously in retirement planning. Even as the most elaborate retirement savings can be decimated if you find yourself with health challenges and without adequate health insurance in place. No matter how healthy you currently are, build a financial cushion that allows for unexpected expenses and do not ignore your health insurance.

Enjoy your retirement

After several years of hard work, your retirement years should be one of the most rewarding of life’s stages and an opportunity to fulfill the dreams that you finally have time to pursue, free from routine constraints. Make saving for retirement a priority and start now.

All credits for this blog goes to Nimi Akinkugbe of Next234 for her wonderful article, personal finance. I could not find something else that gives life to what I've been talking about all these months that I started my blog.I remain, Olumide Ogungbemi,  07033588160 and 07056989820 are my numbers and I'm an Insurance marketer with Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited.

Going to the next level? Take this way…

The elections have come and are almost done and most of our politicians at the Federal level know their fates already for the next four years. Money, both public and private have been spent, sleep and peace of mind have been taken through rigour, for the unlucky, it’s back to the trenches and for the lucky, it’s party time!

Foreign embassies and airlines would be besieged like the wall of Troy by countless politicians of all shades and caliber trying to get on the next available flight abroad, it’s time to relax, it’s time to party. Foreign hotels and travel/tour agencies are already smiling to the banks because their suites are partly or fully reserved to our dear public servants. Town homes, condominiums, flats, chalets, cottages, beachfront homes have all been booked in various parts of the globe for our people’s relaxation and pleasure for at least 3 weeks. For the fortunate politician, the next four years are assured. The foundation for the next level has been laid.

What, ladies and gentlemen, are you doing about the next level? Your job or business pays you well enough, for all your know and care, everything’s going quite well. I’m happy for you and what I have for you will keep you on the right track for as long as you want. When you’re looking towards the future, you think generally in the area of investments right? So, let me ask you…What do you have in the pipeline of investments and dreams?

Have you started saving towards actualizing your dreams? Let’s not kid ourselves, the foreign trips, the villa in the village, the Escalade or Maybach would drop from the skies into your laps, you need money to buy them. And mind you, for guys that work in the private sector, hustling daily for that income…the good things of life don’t come cheap. As a young man or lady, your major pre-occupation is how to secure your own future. It’s up to you not the government, not unless you’re a political affiliate or acolyte of someone in the rock. One thing is certain, unlike those who have unfettered access to free-flowing money; serious people cannot afford to be sybaritic, extravagant and wasteful.

In as much as you’d love to junket around the world, shop till your feet hurt, sip rosey from the finest flute glasses and wash your hands with Dom Perignon, that’s not securing your future. That’s building castles in the air. Here’s what can help you secure the future and assure you of the next level.

A SUMMARY OF IPP

Money was made to work for you. While the importance of work is not lost on you, your savings and investments ought to make money for you. What you need is a plan designed to make your savings act as a valued added pension plan and at the same time a long term investment.  You can achieve that with IPP.

IPP is an acronym for S.A Life’s Income Protection Plan. This is a life assurance policy designed by Standard Alliance Life Assurance (S.A Life) for young people who are at the beginning of the productive and professional years. This plan allows for you to make the most of these years and in the process set up a target plan which can at the same time act as retirement plan not leaving out guaranteed value and return on investment.

 FEATURES OF IPP

·         Minimum investment of 20,000.00 naira monthly

·         Premium payment could be monthly, quarterly or in bulk one installment

·         Return on investment of 5.5% annually (compound interest)

·         No administration or hidden charges

·         Tenor : 7-year minimum term

BENEFITS OF IPP

·         Guaranteed value and regular return on investment

·         Provision of financial security as it is designed to make your fund grow as you do not make frequent withdrawal like the regular bank account

·         The policy is flexible as there is chance for partial withdrawal after a period of time

·         Compensation on the policy in the occurrence of death of the holder of the policy is the sum assured

CUSTOMER BENEFITS

·         The policy can be used for building a pool of money for future purposes such as financing a business, buying property or financing children’s future education plans

·         In the absence of a pension plan, it works excellently as it stands in for the medium term or long term savings plan for the policy holder

·         You could use it to save for a particular project or business you have in mind after retiring from the present job or career one is currently holding on to

·         It could act as a financial will or financial legacy to the holder’s family as the compensation package would be in bulk and quite substantial enough to ensure the holder’s dependents do not lack financial support

This plan can help you buy that landed property you’ve always wanted to buy. Have you bought the landed property before now? Congratulations…but remember you need money to build it. What of those that already have the cars and the homes? Are you married or about to? This plan is for you. Quality education in Nigeria is no beans! Quality education costs more than peanuts, forget government’s plans of remodeling public schools; you wouldn’t want your children there. I don’t see how one could give his children quality education without money. For this reason, you have to save.

There no dream or idea you cannot pursue if you have money. The only way out of the financial logjam is to plan and follow up a savings plan with a reputable and solid company in the hands and care of a reliable person. My name is Ogungbemi Olumide, my numbers 07033588160 and 07056989820, and I’m an insurance marketer and blogger with Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited.

Think of what it’ll cost you before you reach for that snooze button…

If you’re a late sleeper like me, you cannot afford to live without the alarm clock or the one on your phone. I set mine to go off 5.30am every day. Unfortunately, weekend mornings are included in my alarm schedule, so Saturday and Sunday mornings I reach for the snooze button to catch some extra sleep. It works beautifully and blissfully…most times. What I failed to realize, however, was the snooze button would cause me to attend church late most Sunday mornings (Lord forgive me for I know not what I do.)

I’m sure I’m not the only one abusing the snooze button. I’m not the only one wanting to have extra sleep and not wanting to get to church or some other appointments late. Shame on us! Thank God for his little mercies. But here’s a heads-up…Real life as we know it may not be as kind as our heavenly father.

How many people are biting their fingers in regret over that financial decision they failed to take 15 years ago? There are many Lagosians out there that are lamenting not taking advantage of the advice that came their way years ago. Some many rhetorical statements like, “I’d have become my own landlord now had I taken that mortgage 12 years ago.” “I’d have saved enough money by now if I’ve taken that insurance policy that agent brought me back then.”

When financial advisors and insurance marketers prospect clients, we tell them the advantages of starting policies early, people sneer at us. Many give the usual objections,

“I’m just 3 years into my job, and I’ve more than 20 years to go, let me start later.” 

“I’ll start when I get married.”

 “I don’t have children yet, there’s nothing for me to cover or save for.” 

“Let me look at the documentation and get back to you later.” 

Yada, yada, yada…

All the excuses, all the objections are like pressing the snooze button. Asking for more time, sleeping on it, dozing on a financial matter…very much like that extra sleep. And very much like that extra sleep could cost you something big; postponing the start of those savings/investments could lead to a monumental failure.

Humans being what we are could be very indecisive some times. We would want to take time to scrutinize financial issues and decisions. There’s wisdom in that but when we take too much time it could cost us big. When I say big, I’m not even talking about dying, that’s beyond our control. I’m talking about missing out in big financial gains, deals or dividends.

Let me share the story of a friend that stayed too long on the financial snooze button. When South Africa won the hosting rights to the 2010 world cup in 2006, my friend who happens to be financially well-off, vowed to be part of the biggest soccer fiesta when it lands in Africa. He made his calculations for accommodation, traveling, feeding and souvenirs and the figure he came up with was 2 million naira (not unreachable to him as he told me.)  But unfortunately he missed out. Why? Because he had no financial plan to back his dream, spending 2million naira in one fell swoop (by his own estimates to have an unforgettable experience) was too much even for a guy of his caliber!

What my friend failed to realize was he could have raised his 2 million naira in 48 months. Breaking it down, he could have done it like this…

Projected travel expense savings plan
Target amount	Monthly premium	Weekly savings
2,000,0000	42,000	10,500

The whole thing went down to about 42,000 naira monthly and 10,500 naira savings weekly! For a big boy like my friend and many more people like him, that’s more than affordable! What makes it sweeter is the fact that he could start this savings plan and earn a handsome profit in the process when other benefits still exist such as

• ·         Compound interest rate that no bank here can match
• ·         The ability to raise funds on a regular basis
• ·         Tax rebate and others are added to the mix

 All these and more just for saving some money. The next soccer fiesta is in Brazil in 2014 and I hope he’s not pressing the snooze button again.

At one point or the other, we’re all guilty of pressing the snooze button, what’s important, however, is not getting our fingers burnt in the process. That indecision that extra time could lead to a big difference much later in life. For my good friend pressing the snooze button means missing the world cup (thank God, that’s not so huge, for some it’s like waking up late on a Saturday morning with nowhere or pressing matters to go to.) For some other poor unfortunate soul, pressing the button mean be delaying on future mortgage or building plans, sending your son or daughter abroad for further studies, starting your own or expanding your business.

To delay could be dangerous, if not outright financially deadly. Professional and reliable financial advice is available out there. For a little cost/premium, you could leave your financial worries at the doorstep of companies like S.A Life. It’s our job to carry that load. It’s all in your hands, I just hope you won’t reach for that snooze button when next you’re taking that financial decision. My name is Olumide Ogungbemi, my numbers 07033588160 and 07056989820, and I’m an insurance marketer with Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited.

the rookie blogger: Let's Talk About Fear...

the rookie blogger: Let's Talk About Fear...: "Fear…There is a lot of that in our lives as Nigerians in recent times. Many would wish no one would awaken them from their blissful night re..."

Let's Talk About Fear...

Fear…There is a lot of that in our lives as Nigerians in recent times. Many would wish no one would awaken them from their blissful night rest because they are afraid of what’s in stock for them in reality. To be a Nigerian is now beginning to be a rather fearsome endearvour, rich or poor alike. But is our fear unfounded in this nation? Not really…not if you are attending a political rally somewhere in this nation.

The real problem for us, however, is not fear but understanding what we are afraid of. The problem is that we are often afraid of the wrong things. That in itself is due to no fault of ours really….separating fact from rumour is hard work, especially for busy people like Lagosians. Being human, we are driven by fear. We are so afraid of so many things that there is a fear of fears aptly named Phobophobia. That is fact, not fiction!

Check out this scenario…If you are the Senate President and are charged with funding one of two proven killers: Terrorist attacks and heart disease. Which cause would you root for? Which would you push for the most? The terrorist attacks of course. 9 out of 10 persons would vote for the terrorist act bill but the likelihood of being killed by a terrorist act in Lagos is infinitesimally smaller than being killed by clogging up your arteries with fatty and fried foods at your favourite fast food joint and dying of heart disease! Fact not fiction! Terrorist acts lie beyond or control, fried and fatty foods do not!

The question is, why are we driven by fear? It’s due in part to the familiarity factor. Terrorist acts, bombings and insecurity of lives have made the news more than any other news item in the past 5 months of our national history than the past 50 years put together! We are more familiar with terrorist acts and bombings much more than any other fear in our poor great nation. To be fair to us, nobody would love to live or die mangled by some twisted mind’s weapon of mass destruction.  

The same unfortunately applies to our financial decision making. Lagosians are afraid of investing in anything. Rightly so too! We are much too familiar with financial failures than successes, financial demise of big institutions than financial achievements! Who would forget quickly the financial demise of several defunct banks, the wonder banks, the microfinance banks and other institutions? Lagos Island still bears testament to what were once host to financial operations of the big banks of yore, the skeletal remains of what used to be beautiful headquarters of many giant financial institutions. Thank God the place is not totally the graveyard of the financial dreams of billions of hard-earned naira.

But we seem to be forgetting one thing…The financial institutions are not all dead. The strong ones survived the harsh blow of the global meltdown. The reliable ones still hold their heads high. The dependable and reputable ones remain faithful to their clients. We are not dead yet! Life as humanity knows it still remains unpredictable and a huge risk. So what should we be afraid of? We simply should be afraid of making wrong decisions.

For the benefit of the young, I would like to repeat, the only ways to be filthily-‘stinkingly’ rich in modern day Naija remain;

·         Winning the lottery

·         Falling upon a huge inheritance or

·         Becoming a politician

Thank God we seem to have to put money-making rituals behind us in this society, nobody wants to soil his hands with another’s blood anymore (at least so says everyone I’ve come across.)

The way to live a comfortable life in the nearest future simply is to plan and save for it! Shikena! No two ways about it. Fact not fiction! The question is, how does one do it in this seemingly unsafe financial ambience as it exists today? The answer is to simply make use of technology. Take a good look at that marketer (by a good look I mean a beneath the surface look,) that young man/woman wearing that crisp charcoal suit, with shoes shined to military precision, assaulting your senses with that pleasant cologne/perfume, and ask yourself the all important question, how well do I know this guy/lady?

Instead of being afraid to invest, prospective investors should be interested in knowing in the shortest time possible,

•  The marketer, financial analyst, planner trying to sell them
• His/her names
• His/her number(s), e-mail(s), facebook id/profile name
• His/her company

After getting this background information, thanks to the internet, carry out your own background investigation on the person trying to sell to you. Be objective about your search on this person not personal; don’t try to mix business with pleasure. Look for the usual things that will help authenticate or put the marketer’s claims in the right perspective. Be on the look-out for such things as

·         Does he/she have pictures on his profile confirming his identity?

·         Does the company exist on google or other search portals?

·         What do you think of their web-presence?

It is time to be informed not to be scared. Rome was not built in a day. It was built brick by brick, stone by stone. It is time to start laying a solid financial foundation for the future. Imagine if 7 generations ago Africans had been saving and building for the future, it would have been part of our lives to plan to leave a positive story for unborn generations to tell about our era.

History is beckoning upon us; upon our generation…Let’s heed that call. Let’s rewrite history so our children would remember us as the shambolic, wastrel generation that squandered the commonwealth and paid no attention to the future as we are witnessing right before our very eyes…The time is now. I remain Ogungbemi Olumide, phone numbers 07033588160 and 07056989820 and am an Insurance marketer with Standard Alliance Life Assurance.

Where Religion stands on Insurance

Oh, how the world has changed since my last blog. President Goodluck threw verbal stones in Ibadan and shortly after PDP rallies became unapproachable unless one is tired of living. Mubarak’s stepped down in Egypt and Libya’s on the brink of civil war because Ghaddafi refused to budge. Julian Assange’s weird ‘gift’ to the world in the form of 4 love children in Australia has been leaked, the hunter becoming the hunted.

Esparanza Spalding (I still don’t know who that is anyways and I don’t care!) won the best New Artiste at the Grammys at the expense of artistes far more popular the world over, Drake and Justin Bieber! (I never knew the academy hated Drake and Justin Bieber  that much.) The Roman bought Fernando Torres from Liverpool FC for 50m pounds without the operations’ manual and had the cheek to throw Torres into the fray against the same Liverpool less than a week later at the bridge…needless to say that's an absolute disaster.  Chelsea FC’s resurgence in the League and the F.A Cup is in the hands of the Almighty and ‘the Blues are not smiling’.

One thing remained unchanged though, Arsenal FC’s inconsistency! Beating the best club in the world right now in FC Barcelona in a breath-taking match in the Champions’ League, only to give a replay to League One side, Leyton Orient! Only Arsenal FC can seem to manage that feat. Up Gunners! They’re so contradictory!

Speaking of contradictions, this reminds me of Lagosians, their religious beliefs and what they think of insurance. Funny how Lagosians try to use religion to make insurance look irrelevant.  Every young man and woman marketing insurance out there has encountered this particular objection more times than they can count.  When prospecting Christians in Lagos (and I want to believe this applies to the majority of Nigerians) the commonest objection is the infamous, “The Lord is my insurance.” While it is undeniable that the life we live belongs to our creator, it is equally undeniable that we are responsible for our choices and making our lives count for something! God owns us and we own our choices.

Guess what I came across over the weekend on this important yet controversial issue. While going through the daily spiritual devotional written by the renowned General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) on Saturday 19^th February 2011, the man of God talked about security measures. Even he, the G.O was surprised some people think it is a sin to take a few steps in securing themselves. Just because the Lord is our fortress, the true guard of our lives and watcher over us, many Christians in Lagos and Nigeria at large, have taken the issue of religion to the extreme. 

Do we for a second think God would do for us what we should do for ourselves? Why don’t we stop working at all and sit at home believing in God’s abundance? Why do we believe faith without works is dead as in James 2:20? Why do we quote the bible out of context or only where it suits or favours our argument or situation? While it is wrong to put our faith in the works of our hands alone, it is equally unwise to let our vision get clouded by religion or our beliefs.

I am not in any way taking anybody on in this blog because I’m a Christian myself; I just think we should be objective about things. While I can speak on the issue on Christianity, the aversion to insurance isn’t a Christian issue only. In the course of doing my job, I discovered that Muslims have their version too and ironically it follows the same line of thought as the Christians. Lagosians, let’s not fool ourselves, faith and beliefs have their place in our lives, but being extreme about it won’t help our cause. 

Where does religion stand on insurance? Religion or faith does not tell us not to protect ourselves or the ones we love from physical, emotional and financial harm. Religion and faith doesn't teach nor preach magic, it places us on the path of responsibility. Abraham didn't get God's blessing by believing alone, he played his part by accepting to sacrifice Isaac! We are responsible for our loved ones, their upkeep, education and preventing them from coming to physical harm. Just because we are under the anointing and the canopy of grace doesn't mean we could stand in the expressway and no vehicle would harm us!

Would faith cook, dish the food and put it in our stomachs or do we just get up and play our part? We should stop abusing our faiths and religious values, it is just ludicrous.

Security as a chief benefit in insurance policies is meant to build some financial estate for the future. As Nigerians and to a great extent Africans, families believe the estate of a man belongs to his entire family, nuclear and extended alike. Everything a man worked for on one day would become the exclusive preserve and property of his entire clan, not just his children’s. Do not tell me that you’ve not heard stories of women and children thrown out into the streets because some people are exercising the traditional beliefs of their clan or community. Let’s not even go into that, for even in my own personal experience, it evokes sad memories and emotions.

Securing one’s future family and children is not against the word of God, setting something aside is not going against the laws of our creator. It is just sad when learned people say things like, “The Lord is my insurance,” only to leave all their hard-earned estate in the hands of unpredictable and unreliable human beings. An insurance policy would bestow upon the beneficiary something to hold on to in case the family or the clan flipped the scripts on us. This is Africa and we are traditional in some areas of life that is our culture! That is a cold fact of life! We can, however, spare our future such pain by taking steps to lay something aside for those dear to our hearts. Now is the time to get our facts right and set in motion a financial plan that will give us peace of mind as the years begin to catch up on us. 

Plant the seed of that great oak tree today. Get financial advice today from the nearest and reliable financial firms in the business of financial security and protection. My name is Olumide Ogungbemi, my numbers 07033588160 and 07056989820, and I’m an insurance marketer with Standard Alliance Life Assurance. 

For the youth, the time is now...

One indisputable fact of life is the importance of money. We all say, “Money cannot buy happiness.”  But how many of us want to be happy and in penury? Any volunteers? I don’t think so. No one can be in penury and be happy anyway. Who are you trying to fool then when you say money is not all that important? I thank God for my generation that the importance of money is not lost on us. While making heaven is the ultimate goal to most of us, living comfortably here on earth is not an option for us, it’s a must.

This brings me to youths’ attitude towards saving money. I have a bone to pick with the youth owing to their responses to the savings question. When asked about savings many a youth would say, “There’s time on my side.” “I’ll start when I get married.” “There’s no rush, I’ll begin when I start having children.” Yada, yada, yada…All these answers are quite tenable in the face of our national economic realities, the harshness of it seems to be biting deeper every day. With a lot of things to do with money and our best days ahead of us, young people can think there’s time to play with. That assumption may be true but while you can play with time, you cannot play with money, not even if you have tons of it. If in doubt, google ‘Iron Mike Tyson’, the most ferocious fighter of his time. He’s so broke now; he’d fight a lizard for coins these days.

‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, one-time owner of a lavish mansion and many state of the art vehicles of the late 1980s, youngest heavyweight boxing champion of the world at 21, he had everything. Money, houses, parties, girls...Oh! lots of girls, and everything…the only problem was he didn’t see money stop coming his way. Financial planning or advice never mattered to him, he was young, successful and owned the hottest pair of fists in the world of boxing, nothing could go wrong and the party could never ever end. Well it did. Inexplicably the party ended and it ended because the money ended. The money ceased coming. Court cases, drugs, bad company, more fights outside the ring than inside of it, name it…The allure of success and never seeing things changing was Tyson’s undoing. Refusal to see change coming was Tyson’s hubris. Refusal to save for rainy days...

This hubris, unfortunately, is not the exclusive preserve of Tyson only but of every successful young man and woman. He’s in good company when one starts compiling the list of ‘the young, the restless and the bankrupt’. Many NBA stars, Scotty Pippen of the famous Chicago bulls of the 1990’s, unbelievably was one of them, NFL stars, rock stars, rappers, singers, amongst which was Toni Braxton. Toni Braxton, who would have imagined that 5 foot 2 beauty, would be having money issues after those commercially successful albums. Well, she is.  

What about back home in Lagos, Nigeria? A visit to Ojez, the popular celebrity haunt and hangout at the National Stadium would expose you to the stars of yester-years, but sadly, not all of them reflect style and grace. What they reflect, what they project, what you see about some of them is far from okay. Many of them are not good-looking anymore, and why is that? Simply because they are broke! While many have stories of investment schemes gone wrong, others simply frittered their wealth away, thinking they would never go out of circulation. How wrong they were and how unkind life can get! These erstwhile stars are barely living off their past earned fame. They are not in demand anymore and so…poof! Their money making days are gone, right before their eyes.

The undeniable fact of life is everyone has his time. At a point, you’re the sun, the center of the stage, the one hugging the spotlight, the one whom is being spoken off. A time would come when the curtains would drop not to be raised again, the final applause, the final ovation, and there would be no encore. The next time you’re seen, you’re an antiquity; there to be acclaimed, appraised, appreciated or even praised but you’re not the center of attraction anymore, or even worse…you may be banished to oblivion.  When the curtains don’t open for you anymore, the stage belongs to another youngster, it isn’t yours anymore. And that’s when it dawns on you that your shine time is up.  And at that time where do you turn but to what you’ve left, what do you fall back on but your savings and investments?

That’s just life for you, young folks. Our time is now. The stage belongs to us now; let’s make the most of it while we can before another star is born. Let’s think like the ancient Egyptians a little. Back in their time, when a Pharaoh is crowned, he starts building his tomb almost immediately. They believe in an after-life, the transition from the living to the dead, that even while dead, Pharaohs must still live like royalty. Based on such beliefs, they start stashing the Pharaoh’s mausoleum, the Pyramids, with treasure for his passage into the after-life. They prepare for his transition to comfort and riches even in the after-life! King Tutankhamen , one of the richest of that era died after a mere 6-year reign at the ripe age of 18! Imagine what he would have made of his life had ‘bad belle’ allowed him be!

The time is now, young folks…At Standard Alliance Life Assurance, we have policies tailored to meet financial needs of the immediate future and far more. The train is one the roll again, ladies and gentlemen, hurry up and don’t get left behind. Don’t spend your future regretting what might have been had you done the right thing 15-25 years ago. The time is now…

Financial Mistakes to Avoid in 2011

We've arrived in 2011...Praise the Lord! We made it! Hope we did it without casualties. We've lots of reasons to thank God, that's an undeniable fact. Right from the moment the clock struck 12am on January 1, 2011 ushered in a lot of promises and good news, we just have to position ourselves to take advantage of what the year has to offer.

As we enter the promises and potentials of 2011, what do we intend to achieve in the year? What goals and targets are we looking at? Thankfully, the year's just started, we have time to figure things out but we should never forget that time waits for no man. Let's make hay while the sun shines.

Talking of making hay, I sent a new year message to a friend and in it I reminded him of the need to start saving and other benefits of being insured. I said, "Get ready to be insured." to which he replied "By God, you mean." What a cracker! We are in a new year and the beginning of another decade, a time which we cannot afford to make many mistakes, if any at all. What my friend fails to realize is that God being our insurance doesn't mean we should go to bed with fire on our rooftop! It would be fallacious if we let our faith prevent us from playing our part. After all, the bible even said in James 2:26, "faith without works is dead!" Let's not begin to make mistakes in the year, it's just to early.

It's imperative that we know what mistakes to avoid in our financial lives in 2011. Here are some financial mistakes we should avoid in  2011.

Not Having A Financial Plan

Like I said in my previous blogs, besides winning the lottery or inheriting a fortune or being born rich outright, financial success doesn't just happen. You work for it. Most people live from day to day adopting a "let's conquer each day as it comes" attitude with no clear plan in place to save for specific future events or protect their families from unforeseen circumstances. If you don't plan for events like buying a house, paying the children's school fees or getting married, you might not have the outcome you imagined. You can't just sit back and expect things to fall into place, if you're proactive about your finances, nobody will do it for you. You can't predict the future but you can be prepared for it if you plan ahead.

Not Paying Back The Money You Owe

One of the worse mistakes you can make is not paying back that you owe. This might be a large financial loan or a small personal loan from a relative or friend. Ideally, you should not get into the habit of borrowing but worse still is getting into the habit of not paying it back on time or even at all. Eventually, it all comes back to haunt you as no one will want to lend you money, even if it just to tide you over a difficult patch.

Investing In What You Don't Understand

What works for one person may not work for another as each person's risk profile, goals and circumstances, differ. In 2008, many people heard about the possibility of borrowing to buy the latest "hot" stocks; many un-informed investors jumped on the bandwagon without really understanding margin investing and were left in debt. Putting your money in investment vehicles that you do not understand or getting involved in some of those "get-rich-quick" scams can have devastating consequences. Invest only in what you understand and try to make financial decisions based on adequate research and advice from experienced and tested professionals.

Borrowing On Behalf Of Someone Else

A good friend asks you to help them get a loan from their bank. You then accede to the offer and borrow in your name on their behalf and sign off on the dotted line. Your friend may have very good intentions at the time of borrowing but if they should run into financial difficulty and fail to pay you back, you're liable to pay the loan back in full. If your friend or relation couldn't get a loan through a bank or other lender, there may have been a good reason for the decline. Be very careful in considering such a request if you're approached.

Ignoring The Stock Market

Even if you're one of the thousands of people that got burnt during the stock market crash, it's a big mistake to ignore it completely. With some blue chip stocks still selling at considerable discounts, it is an ideal time to invest. If you have been scared away from the markets, at least consider buying into a mutual fund. This way, your portfolio would be more diversified than buying individual stocks and this reduces your risk. Be careful not to speculate; consider your risk appetite, your time horizon, and your goals before investing.

Not Having Adequate Insurance

Most Nigerians are under-insured. Imagine the number of people who do not have even third party insurance for their cars.Not having adequate insurance in place can have devastating effect on your finances should you hit an expensive car when you are at fault. The bill could run into hundreds of thousands of naira. Yet, the simple payment of the annual premium could help one avoid this. Accidents do happen. Nobody wants to be left paying expensive hospital bills or witnessing a family unable to make ends meet because of the untimely death of its primary breadwinner. Make sure your health insurance is up to date and that you have adequate life insurance particularly if you are the bread-winner of a young family.

Borrowing To Buy A Car That You Can't Afford

borrowing money to buy a car, you're paying interest on an asset that starts to lose value from the moment you leave the car showroom. Of course, many people have no choice but to take out a loan to buy a car. Some vehicles are very expensive to buy, insure, fuel and maintain. If you need to buy a car and must borrow to do so, consider buying one that is fuel-efficient and with reasonable maintenance costs. Likewise, avoid buying a house you can barely afford. That way, your payments will be manageable and you can continue to build your savings and financial security.

Living Above Your Means

Living above your means can put you into a precarious financial position. Trying to have some-else's lifestyle is a big mistake. Living like an overnight celebrity could kill you financially! Many young people believe they should be able to move straight into a perfect apartment in a nice area with all the latest gadgets. The 3D LED tvs, the home theater systems, the cable systems and all that...This is a lifestyle you build up and strive to achieve usually through the dint of several years of hard work and savings, not an overnight achievement, I tell you.

Putting Money Above Everything Else

While most people don't do enough towards achieving financial success, there are others whose priorities have become so warped that money takes the first position in their lives. Remember that money is simply a tool, a means to an end, and should never be considered the end in itself. You can't just keep cash without doing anything with it, it's useful when invested, not just locked away in some airtight safe (considering if you have a safe in the house)

Let's make 2011 count folks, let it be a year of landmark financial achievements for you. My name is Olumide Ogungbemi, 07056989820 and 07033588160, and I'm with Standard Alliance Life Assurance Limited.