Group them under;
1. Your spouse: If you are married, the #1 person that can affect your finances the most is your spouse. Analyse your spouse thoroughly, and make a decision to take them along on your journey to financial freedom. Else, whatever you build, they will bring crashing down.
2. Your family (extended and nuclear): Whether or not you are married, you can't fall too far from the tree of family. Analyse how your family can affect (positively or otherwise) your dream of achieving your financial goals. Are they materialistic? Do they make continuous, vexing financial demands on you that threatens your financial destiny as regards loans, party donations (aso-ebi), etc. How many children do you have? Have you started teaching them sound financial habits? You will have peace personally, to the extent to which your close-knit family members are okay financially. Learn to say NO!
I use the example of Abram in the bible as example. He was not going to have financial peace until he had severed his ties with his family members as God commanded. Now, I am not saying you should severe ties with your family members, but if that is what is holding you back, then ask for wisdom to go about this.
3. Your friends: This group is important only to the degree in which you want them to be. Why? Simply because people naturally change friends in life as their financial status change. But a true friend keeps his old buddies regardless of how much he has have moved from their social strata financially. But if your friends constantly make you go broke, end the friendship NOW.
4. Your neighbours: your neighbours are the people that live around you , work in the same office with you, the customers you buy regularly from (in the market) or market to, and so on. If you are a landlord, your neighbours include the other landlords in the Landlords' association. If you are a Doctor like me, your neighbours include your colleagues and patients. If your relationship with them is strained, it will affect your finances in ways you might not believe possible.
5. The government: It goes without saying that the government affects every single citizen's finances directly and indirectly. In Nigeria, we all know that there is no light, no portable water, the roads are bad, most agencies and companies are not properly regulated leaving the consumer at the mercy of the rich companies/wealthy individuals who exploit them. When you are making financial plans in Nigeria, you must factor-in the government! Inflation and taxes go a long way to affect your savings and investments. If you are self employed/a business owner, this is a very important person that affects your finances
6. Your employer: If you are not self employed, your employer will rank as high as probably #3 on your list. In Nigeria, your employer can raise your pay, demote you, sack you, or suspend your pay for 6 months or more, overnight. For some people, the government is also their employer.
7. Your Church: Some people don't take any financial decisions unless their pastor endorses it first. For such people, they already know why they are having financial difficulties, or not.
8. Your creditors: If you have loans, or monthly payments that regularly reduce your spending or saving power, then you should consider these group strongly and make plans to get them off your trail as fast as possible. It is good to have creditors, just make sure the debt is a good one, that's all!
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