₦airaland Forum

Will Your Salary Ever be Enough? By Usiere Uko

he author of ‘Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence,’ Usiere Uko, writes that earning more may not be the solution to financial difficulties

There is one question on the lips of most employees towards the end of the month, from the civil service up to banks, telecoms, multinational companies and anywhere employees are found – “Has the salary entered our account?” This has been upgraded to “have you received the alert.” The similarity does not end there. All workers have another thing in common – the salary is not enough. It has never been enough, it is not enough now and chances are it will never be enough. Generations of workers come and go but the quest remains the same.

Climbing the salary ladder
When I joined the job market in the early nineties, my monthly salary was in the three figures bracket. I had to save up for months to buy my first mattress. Over the years, for many workers, this has grown to six and seven figures and for a few at the top, eight figures. Wherever you happen to fall in the digits spectrum, we all seem to have something in common – it is not enough. We want more. Someone joked that the moment the label ‘salary’ is placed on any amount of money, it automatically becomes insufficient. It takes on a mysterious quality of vanishing without trace before the next pay day.
Many employees have the habit of spending more than they earn, perpetually owing irrespective of series of pay increases. Bank officers swoop on ‘high net worth’ employees like predators, offering mouth watering loans with no collateral except domiciliation of salaries with the bank, so that they can make deductions from source. For many, by the time the bank is done, a six to seven figures monthly salary shrinks to four to five figures after deductions. Some banks are merciful – they peg maximum deductions to a percentage of net pay, typically 50 per cent. Others don’t care a hoot. They can pocket everything if it comes to that. Even for those that don’t owe, their take home salary hardly takes them home. It abandons them three quarters of the way home, somewhere around 20th of each month. Someone has labelled it twenty-hungry. For some, pay day is not a happy day. Most of the money has been spent before it was earned, another reminder that more money is needed.

More money is not the answer
Many have come to the conclusion that more money is the answer, that if they can get a salary increase or a better job, their financial struggles will be over. History has proved over and over again that more money is not the answer. As a matter of fact, more money can become a problem. We all have a comfort zone when it comes to handling money. There is a way we habitually handle money whenever it comes into our hands. It is habitual. It happens without thinking. This is known as money reflex. For most, when extra money comes into their hands, the reflex is to spend. They have a wish list somewhere in their head and the moment extra money shows up, they go shopping. We always find our way to our financial comfort zone. That is why a saver will always save no matter how low the pay while a spender will always spend and give excuses why they cannot save.
Most people increase spending when income goes up. Expenses always grow to catch up or exceed income depending on their financial comfort zone. This is known as Murphy’s law of expenditure. Enough seems like a goal on wheels – the more you draw closer, the more it moves back like a mirage in the desert. The proverbial ends stubbornly refuse to meet. With this system of spending, more money generates more expenses, and for one that spends above his income, more money translates to more debt.

Gate of paradise
When I started my career in the early nineties, my monthly salary was less than six hundred naira. I had some classmates from the university working in oil companies then who were paying about N25,000 monthly in taxes. That was almost four times my annual salary. I was simply blown away. It seemed out of this world to me. I was not bold enough to ask what their salary was, if taxes alone were almost 50 times my salary. To those of us standing on the outside looking in, they had finally made it to El Dorado. I truly believed these guys were at the gates of paradise. All their troubles were over and all their prayers had been answered. Life could not get any better than that. There was no way they could have money problems. When they complained about their huge tax bills, I felt they were being insensitive. If they hated paying so much in taxes, I was more than willing to trade places with them!
I made it my life dream to work for an oil company. I left the steel industry and gradually made my way to the oil industry. I finally made it to paradise. However, I was shocked at what I saw. I did not see any difference with where I came from apart from the outward affluence. Folks were more broke than where I came from. The chorus at month end was still the same. Salary here was same as salary elsewhere – not enough and everyone wanted more.

He that is faithful in little
If you cannot manage your current income, you will not be able to manage more income. More money simply magnifies our money habits and amplifies the results. If you habitually save and invest, more money will translate to more savings and investment. If you consume all you earn (eating with ten fingers), more money will generate more expenses with nothing to show except outside affluence without a solid asset base. If you spend more than you earn, more money means more debts.
It is a question of mindset, how you relate to money. If you do not change, you will keep producing the same result. If you do not convert your current income to assets (which put money in your pocket), money will continue to come in one way and depart many ways never to return. You will forever chase the mirage hoping ends will meet someday.

- Punch

aguiyi:
rubbish policy.

he should first stop oil and gas companies from paying their vendors in dollars. if he is able to do that then we will know he is talking but that may likely not work cos he knows that most of the owners of those companies are people in government who will stop at nothing to have him kicked out.

the amount of dollars transfered out of this country everyday in the name of importation of equipment that has been in transit for years is alarming.

recall that most oil companies pay 6-% in dollar while 40% in naira.

trace back when the rubbish started and compare it with the value of naira as at that date.

fallout87:
That is one of the stupidest utterances in this election if it is true.

Does this Buhari not understand inflation? He obviously doesn't understand a thing about GDP or the economy...

rokiatu:
Please note this is not about me but someone very close. I need only serious advice please, if you have nothing better to say keep off.

There's someone very very dear to me that this is happening this to right now. And the lady in question is so confuse as to what step to take. This is how the story goes,her mother was having a family dinner and invite both she and her husband but the husband refused to go. Keep in mind that the husband don't love her mother at all. She have tried everything for him to love her mom to no avail. So this time she decided to take a step just to teach him a little lesson. After the family dinner, she decided to pack some of her clothes and take her two little girls and went over to her mom. She explained everything to her mother, and the mother didn't call her son in law either because of anger, so her elder brother decided to call him and talk to him about the whole situation. But he already decided he's never stepping to his mother in law house, never! And the wife may as well stay there because he ain't going for her, and he's not apologizing to the mother either, he don't like her and he's never putting foot to her house.



To cut long story short, the lady is now in a dilemma. To go back or not? He disrespected the family so now the decision is on her shoulders to make. They want nothing to do with it. She loves him, and they have two little kids together. The marriage is barely four years. They were high school sweethearts in Africa, the lady worked her butt off to bring him over, and now that he's settled and got all his papers he's acting like this. Her world is like crushing down.

Which bring me to the question, if you were the lady in question, what would you do?

CityNG:
This is why these guys died.

A lack of government oversight.

chronique:
RIP to the dead. A lot of Nigerians are bad drivers and bad road users. Overtaking from the right is wrong and should you attempt it,make sure you have a clear view of your front view and also ensure there's ample space for you to drive before the vehicle you're overtaking,pulls over in front of you. The safest and right way to overtake is from your left. Many people know this,but still end up breaking this rule and at the end,they waste their lives and the lives of others. Last month,I was on Lagos-Abeokuta express and my colleagues were of the opinion that I should reverse on the express so we can quickly connect the opposite lane and avoid traffic. I vehemently refused,but opted to through the normal route to connect the opposite lane. I tried to explain to them that reversing on the express was wrong and the vehicles coming behind me wouldn't expect a car to be reversing on that lane. At the end,I might end up causing accident for innocent people. If they die as a result of that,would I forgive myself knowing fully well that I was wrong? These are the little details Nigerians don't pay attention to and at the end of the day,they end up paying a greater price for it. People should learn to do the right thing often,and also put other road users into consideration when driving.

Muzikluva:
Yea current price,it was sold for about #135 Per litre before now.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has initiated a scheme aimed at getting kerosene to consumers across the country at the regulated price of N50 per litre.

This is contained in a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, of the corporation, Mr Ohi Alegbe.

It said the scheme ‘Kero Correct’ initiative’ was also aimed at cutting off the several layers of middlemen who made it difficult for the end user to enjoy the subsidy on the product.

The statement said that the Executive Director, Commercial, of the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr Frank Amego, announced the initiative at a one-day workshop in Abuja.

It said the workshop that was organised by the NNPC was to enlighten some Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and volunteers engaged to help monitor the sales of the product at NNPC Mega and affiliate stations across the country.

It quoted Amego as saying that the scheme was aimed at getting kerosene to the Nigerians who used the product as their domestic cooking fuel at the correct price

He observed that though kerosene was the most subsidised product, Nigerians had not been enjoying the subsidy.

He said this was because of the long arbitrage system involved in its distribution and retailing, and diversion of the product by marketers to the construction industry where it was used for blending bitumen.

“The Kero Correct initiative is thus designed to distribute and sell kerosene directly to end users from NNPC Retail mega and affiliate stations across the country at the government-regulated price of N50 per litre to ensure effective control,” he stated.

He said the scheme which would be officially launched soon, would involve the distribution of a total of 1,500 trucks of kerosene across NNPC Retail’s mega and affiliate stations across the country.

This, he said, was to ensure that each consumer gets at least 25 litres of the product over the next three months

Muzikluva:
Yes nah_lol...#10 change on fuel,#85 change on kero,how much gas own go b??mak wi wait.

Enasco1: Most times when I listen to interview n the question x ask; Re u married: their responses are: No am stil single, but in a R/ship. Am always confuse when I hear someone say He/she is Single!! Single as in marital status or single not in any R/ship??

Wikipedia: .....In legal definitions for interpersonal status, a single person is someone who is not in a relationship or is "unmarried". In common usage, the term single is often used to refer to someone who is not involved in any type of serious romantic relationship, including long-term dating, engagement, or marriage. Both single and unmarried people may participate in dating rituals and other activities to find a long-term partner or spouse. However, in some cases single people are not interested in marriage, domestic partnership, or other types of formal, committed relationships....


An interpersonal relationship is a strong, deep, or close association or acquaintance between two or more people that may range in duration from brief to enduring. This association may be based on inference, love, solidarity, regular business interactions, or some other type of social commitment. Interpersonal relationships are formed in the context of social, cultural and other influences. The context can vary from family or kinship relations, friendship, marriage, relations with associates, work, clubs, neighborhoods, and places of worship. They may be regulated by law, custom, or mutual agreement, and are the basis of social groups and society as a whole.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_person

I knew him when he was in a room apartment and had no money but yet I stayed. Now he got a nice job,a new car and a newly furnished apartment and even building his own house but he doesn't part with money,doesn't care about who he calls his girl. .......

.....He doesn't take one shopping,outing unless you force him. Has cheated but yet I forgave him even when his friends told me all he has been doing behind me but now, I want to get anything I want from him and make sure things are not only done his way.......

...... I make new hair,shop for nice cloths and all he does is to admire them,he gave me an unreasonable amount of money and I rejected it. Was I wrong to do that even thou I wasn't dating him because of his money but am tired of his stingy attitude. Can he ever change from been stingy?......

kulyie: Whats up with all these bush meats around nl lately :/

to the matter,why cant the 'uncivilized husband' calm mrs wife down and talk to her the way a husband talks to the wife that she will listen.is she some sort of dog that they take for 'retraining' whatever that means but it sounds highly ridiculous.even if sitting down like adults and thrashing it out cant work,why cant mr husband aka cave man not go to her mother and speak with her PRIVATELY.

Anyway when bush meat meets mgbeke,the result is everybody in the family knows whatever issh in your house....smh for some couples.hiiiaaannnn.and they call this marriage:/


by the way what happened to for better for worse till death do you path that you recite on the altar before God and man.its now a slogan i suppose

another NIGERIAN HYPOCRISY. Awon aso ebi folks,gele madams have eating jollof rice at the reception and left,now husband and wife cannot live under the same roof like adults...

Efemena_xy: Oh please! Will you two just get a grip??!!

I do not in anyway support f00lishness and what that woman demonstrated was f00lishness at it's peak! So if beating the daylight out of her is what it took to avert a fatal accident then so be it.

Seems like you've quickly forgotten the story of the Nigerian man that got killed on the M25 highway, just to escape the his wife's caustic tongue. Do you not think that stooopid woman regrets that action everyday of her life now? Can she undo what's been done?

As a driver myself, I know how much concentration I need when driving - moreso if I'm carrying my husband and kids (my life) in that vehicle. The last thing I want is to lose focus and hit some innocent soul or God forbid, endanger the life of my loved ones, just because an uncouth spouse hasn't got the decency to curb her tongue!

What on earth could they be arguing about that can't wait till they get home? If descending to her level of ignorance is what it takes to avert a fatal accident, then so be it! Besides, he warned the illiterate woman to shut her gob but what did she do? She dared him to beat her up!

What arrant nonsense!

tushd: Awoof no good...i agreed i was selfish....my advice is for all yall to buy ur fone frm a trusted brand nd shop...this stuff actually happend last week

joel lala: British engineer, Tim Newton, who’s on his way out of Nigeria on a new posting (he’s spent the last few years living and working here) recently blogged about “the bizarre situation [in Nigeria] where being dishonest is not socially frowned upon. Not really, anyway. If somebody is caught with his hand in the till, he is not shunned by his peers. The whole situation is treated with utter indifference, and sometimes admiration […] The only behaviour I managed to identify which would cause a Nigerian to be shunned by his peers and made an outcast, is if he decided he wasn’t a believer and therefore wasn’t going to be showing up in church (or mosque) any more. I don’t think I met a single Nigerian who didn’t attend either church or mosque, and religion plays an enormous – possibly the key – role in Nigerian society.”

Yet, that exceedingly high religious-house-per-capita levels (Nigeria is perhaps the only country in the world where factories dying and being replaced by churches seems perfectly normal) has spectacularly failed to translate into any ethical or developmental transformation.

And yet I’m confident it won’t always be this way.

A part of me can’t wait for when Nigeria starts to function properly, when, by the grace of God we will once again see factories replace churches, for the very simple fact that it will be more economically productive to run a factory than a church. (Which is as should be).

There will be less of an incentive to turn to God and his servants for the assurance of American and British visas and security and jobs and husbands and children.

We will no longer bother God for any of the many things that should ordinarily not be his business.

At that time, God willing, those who choose to believe in the existence and power of God will turn to him not for what they can selfishly extract from him, but for a personal relationship that inspires, nourishes, and guides personal conduct.

For any spirituality or religiosity that fails to guide personal conduct is a sham, regardless of how many signs and wonders it produces.



http://www.punchng.com/opinion/touch-not-my-anointed/

uboma: It irritates when I see parked vehicles with the front tyres not in a straight position, they are either turned to the right or to the left. When parking my car, I ensure that the wheel is straight. How do you park yours?

Parking on a hill

When parking facing downhill, turn your front wheels towards the curb or right shoulder. This will keep the vehicle from rolling into traffic if the brakes become disengaged. (Diagram 2-43 A).

Turn the steering wheel to the left so the wheels are turned towards the road if you are facing uphill with a curb. The tires will catch the curb if it rolls backward (Diagram 2-43 B).

When facing uphill without a curb, turn the wheels sharply to the right. If the vehicle rolls, it will go off the road rather than into traffic (Diagram 2-43 C).

When parking on a hill, always set the parking brake and move the gear selector into park, or shift into first or reverse gear if your vehicle has a manual transmission. Turn off the engine and remove the key. Check for traffic before opening the door and remember to lock your vehicle.

Nasri100: ....Nigerians are noted to be too over confident when driving and that has been the major catalyst that has led to many accident scenes, and worse, deaths. The issue of over-speeding has eaten deep into our driving system in nigeria, people are no longer bothered about the poor state of our roads in nigeria.

For example, let’s analyze this type of accident collision that renders the use of seat belts unreliable in most cases.

Head-on collision :

Head-one collision is one where the front ends of two vehicles each other. This has been one of the common Accident collision that has led to the death of millions of people, Mostly take place on highways without demarcation. Although, during an head-on collision ; the seat belts hold you close to the chair, making it impossible for you to sustain injuries to your fore-head from hitting the steering.

But we have heard cases of many people trapped in a car and then crushed to death because of their seat belt. Getting trapped has killed many – Ranging from. Possible explosions and lack of breath. Driving safely should be practiced first before expecting the required help from the Seat-belts


http://Accidentwatch.

kopell: @Onigbinde01 in which of the Nigerian national newspaper was it advertised? or was it on the National television? With this kind of kangaroo way of recruitment that's why you will always keep getting unqualified people in most Nigerian institutions like "MY OGA AT THE TOP".

Bofemsky: So it has become a sin to avoid annoying and fearing God? Hmmnn!

ochukoccna: ....
May heaven bless your hustle
Even the blind know Nigeria is overdue for an SNC
Only that in Nigeria,the blind see clearer than our selffish political class

Facebook story:
A 26-year lady who lives with her step-mother for the past 22-years always pass her University examination but will never be promoted. She has been in level 100 for the past three-years. Last Friday night on her way home from church, she met this old beggar & dropped Gh2.00 in her bowl. The old woman told the girl to take all the money in her bowl & buy her step-mother a White cloth as a gift. Inside the bowl the girl saw a thick tall fair young woman's picture. She told the old lady the woman in the picture is very beautiful & wish to meet her one day. The old lady replies"Blood is thicker than water" & left. The girl did everything the old lady told her. The next Monday in class, the head master came to the class & told her she is not suppose to be in that class. She is supposed to be in Level 300 this year. The head master took her to his office, gave her money to buy her books & walked her into her level 300 class. When she got home, she saw her step-mum dead lying down beside her the picture she saw in the old lady's bowl. She asked her dad, her dad told him that lady is her dead mum. Her dad told her the step-mother was the cause of her misfortune in school, the cause of her mother's death & the spells she placed on him not to love her.She used her womb to do all this things. After the death of the step-mother, everything went back to normal.
I pray from this day any hand that types *Amen* that has been block headed, going through life pains, ceased Glory, standing or sitting at the same level in life through peoples wickedness will receive the favor of God's breakthrough now by the power invested in you *Amen*..

sexkillz: [color=#000030]First of all, they should both realize that no one is perfect, and no one is always right. No matter how perfect a relationship is, disagreements are bound to happen. When they do happen, saying sorry to the one you love shouldn't be as difficult as climbing a mountain, especially when you are wrong. It's not about winning the argument, but to understand why there was an argument in the first place and making sure it doesn't re-occur often.

Avoid the "I told you so" mentality. It does more harm than good. That he/she is your spouse doesn't mean you have a monopoly over their actions. You can suggest to them and still let them decide what to do, cos hey, your idea if followed to the bone may prove disastrous[font=Lucida Sans Unicode]. So what will you do if your idea fails? Don't force your ideas on them. When a disagreement occurs, it has occurred. You cannot change the consequences. Disagreements can never be settled when you are both angry. When angry, no one will want to listen to what the other has to say, and there'll be no time to analyze yourself and see if you need to change your stance. Someone should be the bigger person and walk away for a few mins. Give yourselves time to cool off.

Never ever have make up sex or kiss or cuddling if you haven't talked about the disagreement. If you jump to sex, fine, it may be settled but don't be suprised when it resurfaces in no time at all. When talking things over, you should both listen to each other. Communicate. Communication doesn't mean scolding one for what you perceive to be their wrong. Express yourselves. Say why her words hurt. Say why you said the hurting words, and when you say sorry, be sure you mean it. . . A relationship can never be successful if you both are not forgiving. Learn to forgive and forget. Forgetting means that you never ever re-visit the forgiven issue even though they repeat it in future. Treat each issue as a new one cos if you keep harbouring previous resentment against the one you love, I'm really and truly sorry for your ministry. . .

Fuel don finish for my hand. Brb. [/font][/color]

Yvete: Just curious to know if anyone has done this?

The idea is, just as you offer your first fruit of labor to God, likewise it is encouraged, not mandatory to offer your wedding night as a first fruit of marriage. Basically, a newly wedded couple should abstain from intimacy on their wedding night and instead spend the night singing praises, and giving thanks in prayer.

My pastors wife encouraged this "oath" or "offering" at pre-marital class. Although, some guys were straight up honest, " NO!". They weren't smiling. I think its a good way to start off married life (to pray against mis-fortunes, to pray for unborn children, ...etc). "Bring the best of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God" (Ex. 23:19). Has anyone ever pledged to do this?

Sweetapple007: Did u marry her because of her money? A man is the head of a family, family responsibilities re f men, woman helps if she feels like. Or do u expect a woman after passing hell in child birth, nursg, ad house chores to give u all her money, do ur part ad forget womans money.