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.
No comments:
Post a Comment