By Babajide Komolafe

Many people don’t invest and they have readily available reasons why they do not. Some of the most common reasons are: My income is too small; I have many responsibilities; my religion forbids investment; I don’t want to lose my money etc. But none of these and no reason for that matter can be an excuse for not investing. Why? The world is full of examples of people who invested despite these same reasons.  It is pertinent to state that there are two acceptable reasons why anybody should not invest. The first is if the person has accepted poverty as his destiny. The second is if the person is dead. Besides these two reasons, you can invest no matter the condition.

Remember our definition of investment. It is setting aside money or resources, so as to commit it into an activity that would increase the money or the value of the resources. The aim is to have more money or more resources in the future. If you want to have more than what you have today, you must invest. If you want to have wealth or be rich you must save and invest. But if you have decided or accepted that poverty is your fate and destiny, oh, you don’t need to invest.  Also it is pertinent to state that right from the time of the primitive society, it is investment made by some people that has been sustaining mankind and facilitates the comfort and convenience we all enjoy today. Imagine if farmers consume all the harvest of a particular year? The result would be famine, hunger and death.

My income is too small. This is why many people don’t invest. They believe in investment but they want to wait till they start earning big income. The reality, however, is that  investment is something you do, not because you have big income but because you want to achieve a purpose and you are ready to discipline yourself to do it.  That is why when you survey the population of people who don’t invest, you would find people with low income as well as people with high income. Also if you survey the population of those who invest, you would find both low and high income people. What makes somebody with low income to save and invest why somebody with high income is not? It is purpose and sacrifice.

Your income maybe small but if your think of how you would survive if that income should stop, either by way of job loss, permanent disability due to accident, or an emergency that your monthly income cannot cope with, you would begin to save and invest. Your income may be small but if you desire to increase your income in the future, you would invest.  Once you consider these factors, you would decide to invest, and you would make up your mind to make the necessary sacrifice.

And sacrifice is the key word. Occasionally, I observe how low income people patronise bear parlours, spending N150 or more on a bottle of beer. These are the same people who will complain that their income is too small to invest. Yet in a year, they unconsciously spend more than N10, 000 on beers, pepper soup, cigarettes and other frivolous things. No! The real reason why they don’t invest is not that their income is small; it is that they don’t want to sacrifice.

There is a saying that, it is the man that has eaten full that spends money to take pictures. It is good to enjoy some moment of relaxation, but it should not be at the expense of securing your future financially. You should not be spending money on frivolities when you have not ensured that you have put something aside to secure your tomorrow. Remember the future belongs to those who prepare for it. (Please send comment or inquiries to [email protected] )