Credicoins Network Ltd Financial Education Articles

This blog has really suffered because of the offline work I am doing for the new company Credicoins Network Ltd. My budget is in millions of dollars (billions of Naira) as I am targeting the whole continent, so you know I have to be on top of my game, research-wise, as I don’t want to lose or waste investors’ money. I also don’t want this dream to fail.

Below are a few samples of the personal financial articles our network marketers (to be called PF Coaches) will be using to sell a savings culture. They are all topics I have covered fully in the last 5 months on this blog. At the outset, we'll print them into foldable leaflets, and translate them into the four major Nigerian languages- Pidgin, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa.

The graphics artist and our cartoonist will be working together to bringing them to life with ample pictures/cartoons. And you know Nigerians don’t like to read long articles, so I have kept them short unlike my blog posts.

Hopefully, they are concise enough to drive home our simple message, and help us effectively get probably just one African living under $2 daily to SAVE REGULARLY BY PAYING HIM/HERSELF HOURLY for life- taking him/her and the family from poverty to wealth.

I must confess that the book ‘Poor Economics’ has really, truly enlightened me more about poverty, and broadened my horizon with its true-life stories, researches and facts. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

1. Financial goals

A person without financial goals is like a professional football player playing hard to score in a football field without goal posts- you work hard but there is nothing to show for it, you achieve no results.

If you do not set financial goals, you will not be motivated to keep saving, even if you start saving.

What do you want today...a new car, a business loan, a big TV, family vacation to Dubai, a house of your own, a masters degree or first degree, a wedding- you want to get married but there is no money?

Don’t let anyone deceive you, the Government, an uncle, your landlord or your employer will not give you all these (for free). You have to save for it.

Set Short term goals (0-5 years) to save to buy for example a new phone, buy a new car, get a loan or mortgage for your house, save for wedding, etc.

Set Long term goals (>5 years) to save to build your house, sponsor your education, have an income for life, invest for yourself or your children’s future, etc.

[check the article Without financial goals, you are like a field without goal posts]

       

2.       How to join our network and save with us

• Go to the nearest Credicoins agent to you who is a member, or call this toll-free number to know the nearest agent to you, or text your location to 0000
• Give him/her the amount you want to save
• Give your correct registration details and phone number
• You will receive a text welcoming you to the network
• You can check your balance by dialling the USSD code *----# on your phone and putting your PIN, for our menu
•  Keep your PIN and SIM card safe.
• You will regularly receive SMS about our meeting schedules and venues where you can learn more and meet people who like you, want to become rich, comfortable, and successful (millionaires) in life.

3.       Benefits of saving money regularly

Saving regularly is simply paying yourself first, before paying other creditors. Yes! You are the first creditor that must be paid monthly.
More so...

• You cannot be rich and comfortable in life if you spend everything you earn. See, if you don’t save, you are poor.
• Savings will put your mind somewhat at rest because there will be this assurance that you have a financial shock absorber, especially if emergencies such as illnesses, unpredicted events, unexpected accidents, etc, happen.
• You can achieve your financial goals faster and become a landlord, or become a graduate, you can travel the world, bury your parents without incurring debts, and so on.
• You can also get loans easily from a co-operative, or from us because you are a regular saver.
• You can take advantage of investment opportunities when they come up because you have cash. By joining our network, you can tap into money-making opportunities because you save.
• You can help others financially.
• You earn income for life when you pay yourself regularly. To be rich in life, you have to be paid income even while you sleep. Yes, rich men are those who make money even while they are asleep because their money is making more money for them.

                    [check the article You must save regularly]

4.       Pay yourself hourly and see compound interest @ work for you

Rich men like Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Arthur Eze, Jim Ovia, and Tony Elumelu are rich because they make money even while they are asleep.

If you want to be rich and comfortable in life, you must set yourself up to earn money while you sleep too.

If no one will pay you hourly, then pay yourself. Make sure you do not spend more than you earn in any particular month.

If you save your money at home, inflation will make your savings worth-less because you won’t be earning interest. For you to make money, the savings interest rate has to be greater than the inflation rate, i.e Savings interest rate> Inflation rate.

What is inflation? Inflation is when a kongo of Rice was N250 last year but is now N350 this year. Inflation is when transport fare from Lagos to your village was N3,000 last year, but it is now N4,500 this year.

But if you save your money with someone who will invest it in a business that will make profit such as agriculture, real estate, clothes, trading, transport, or borrow others that will invest it in their own businesses, then you will gain more value because the interest rate will be greater than the inflation rate over time.

This is what we will do with your money if you save it with us.

We also have insurance for your money so that if anything happen to us, the government will refund your money to you.

[check the article How to be very, very rich]

5.       Compound interest- the key to great wealth

Albert Einstein, a respected scientist while alive said that compound interest is the most important invention in all of human history.

When you don’t spend more than you earn every month, you can then save the difference and invest it in business opportunities.

As you re-invest the profits, the power of compound interest will make your money work for you and you will become very wealthy and financially free.

Financial freedom is when you can choose not to work, and you won’t go hungry because you have multiple sources of legitimate income.

Financial independence is when your survival in life is not hinged on one income, your time (-you having to go to work), or on one pension. You must be free from one employer, one government- there are people who make money in different countries all over the world at the same time.

It is when you start thinking like this and practise it that you will develop a wealth mindset and become truly rich. Compound interest will help you earn income for life.

Warren Buffett, the richest billionaire investor in the world said this; ‘My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes and compound interest’.

If you learn about money (as you are doing now), and how to make more money especially by making your money work for you, you are already putting the power of compound interest to work positively in your life.

Money does not know religion or tribe, neither does it respect anyone. It only has one language, and for you to have enough of it, you need to understand that language.

The language of money is simple: You must do something valuable to earn money then ALWAYS keep some of what you earn no matter what. If you spend everything you earn, you are poor, and will remain poor.

Rich people are those who earn money even while they are asleep. To be rich, you must pay yourself first...as if you are indebted to you- the future you.

THE POWER OF COMPOUND INTEREST SHOWN FOR A SAVER WHO PAYS HIMSELF ONLY N1 EVERY HOUR FOR 50 YEARS WITH US (compounded @ our present interest rates)©

Year	Amount saved per year (in Naira)	Interest rate compounded annually starting @ 4%	Accrued Interest amount	Year	Amount saved per year (in Naira)	Interest rate compounded annually starting @ 4%	Accrued Interest amount
1	8,640	8,985.6	345.6	26	432,832.266	458,802.202	25,969.936
2	17,625.6	18,330.624	705.024	27 (6%)	467,442.202	495,488.734	28,046.532
3	26,970.624	28,049.449	1,078.825	28	504,128.734	534,376.458	30,247.724
4	36,689.449	38,157.027	1,467.578	29	543,016.458	575,597.445	32,580.987
5	46,797.027	48,668.908	1,871.881	30	584,237.445	691,219.692	35,054.247
6	57,308.908	59,601.264	2,292.356	31	627,931.692	665,607.594	37,675.902
7	68,241.264	70,970.915	2,729.651	32	674,247.594	714,702.449	40,454.856
8	79,610.915	82,795.351	3,184.437	33	723,342.449	766,742.996	43,400.547
9 (5%)	91,435.351	96,007.119	4,571.768	34	775,382.996	821,905.976	46,522.98
10	104,647.119	109,879.475	5,232.356	35	830,545.976	880,378.735	49,832.759
11	118,519.475	124,445.449	5,925.974	36	889,018.735	942,359.859	53,341.124
12	133,085.449	139,739.721	6,654.272	37	950,999.859	*1,008,059.85*	57,059.992
13	148,379.721	155,798.707	7,418.986	38	1,016,699.85	1,077,701.841	61,001.991
14	164,438.707	172,660.643	8,221.935	39	1,086,341.841	1,151,522.352	65,180.51
15	181,300.643	190,365.675	9,065.032	40	1,160,162.352	1,229,772.093	69,609.741
16	199,005.675	208,955.958	9,950.284	41	1,238,412.093	1,312,716.818	74,304.726
17	217,595.958	22,8475.756	10,879.798	42	1,321,356.818	1,400,638.227	79,281.409
18	237,115.756	248,971.544	11,855.788	43	1,409,278.227	1,493,834.921	84,556.694
19	257,611.544	270,492.121	12,880.577	44	1,502,474.921	1,592,623.416	90,148.495
20	279,132.121	293,088.728	13,956.606	45	1,601,263.416	1,697,339.221	96,075.805
21	301,728.728	316,815.164	15,086.436	46	1,705,979.221	1,808,337.974	102,358.753
22	325,455.164	341,727.922	16,272.758	47 (7%)	1,816,977.974	1,944,166.433	127,188.458
23	350,367.922	367,886.318	17,518.396	48	1,952,806.433	2,089,502.883	136,696.45
24	376,526.318	395,352.634	18,826.316	49	2,098,142.883	2,245,012.885	146,870.002
25	403,992.634	424,192.266	20,199.632	50	2,253,652.885	2,411,408.587	157,755.702

  

6.       It is cheaper to complete your project today with a loan, than to wait till you have saved fully for it- our loan services, and online services @ Credicoins Network Ltd.

We aim to teach you more about money. We aim to help you follow our teachings. And we generally want to help you help yourself to become rich and comfortable in life.

My dad (a retired banker) once told me, “A loan (borrowed money) is cheaper than your (saved) cash.” Using another’s money for your project frees up your cash for other things (-gives you more liquidity).

a)      Mortgage or house loan: If you want to save to buy/build a house, you will still be paying rent to your landlord. But if you take mortgage loan, we will give you the house as your own, and the ‘rent’ you will be paying will be to pay off the loan. All we ask from you is to work hard and faithfully pay off your mortgage loan.

b)      Business loan: The more cash you have to invest in your business, the more money you can make. If there is any kind of loan we will encourage you to take, it is a business loan.

c)       Personal loan for a car: If you save to buy a fairly used or second-hand car, it will give you problems. But if you save a little, and then take a personal loan, you can afford to buy a brand new car immediately and avoid paying high transport fares, have your convenience and then pay off over time.

d)      Student education loans and scholarship: we have plans to fund the education of very bright and promising children of the poor who show scholarship and determination to succeed. The funds here will be limited and very competitive, but doing something little is better than doing nothing. Our vision is to have just one child (check #9 below) who will make us proud and glad we invested in his/her education.

e)      Go online and make money on our site- credicoinsnetwork.com. If you need a job, or want to offer someone one; if you have a talent, or need someone who has one; if you need information about a place in Africa or a product or a service or another African, or you need to hire/pay someone who is already knowledgeable about that thing, then go over to our site, we will pay you to do all these. We hope to pay Africans for even breathing.

But you have to join us first and you must make this solemn declaration:

a)      I agree that I am willing to become wealthy and comfortable in life

b)      I will help myself by paying myself at least 100cc/hr so that I can earn income even while I sleep. (100cc/N1).

c)       I will tell others about this opportunity in order to help them too.

d)      I will abide by the rules and regulations, terms and conditions of this good, people-loving network, and will not do anything detrimental to bring down the network (to disrepute).

7.       Debt and Budget: How to differentiate good debt from bad debt, and why you MUST budget

       Asset: Anything you buy that puts money in your pocket

Liability: Anything you buy that takes money away from your pocket

Good debt: loan that you use in buying an asset/makes more money for you, e.g student loan, mortgage for your new house, business loan, agricultural loan, etc.

Bad debt: loan that buys you a liability/takes money away from you, e.g. borrowing to eat every day, borrowing to buy clothes you wear, taking a loan to buy a car you can do without/don’t really need, borrowing to do big/expensive burial or wedding to impress your neighbours, borrowing to spend more on shopping, vacations, latest fashion or iphone, etc.

If you want to be rich and comfortable in life, be ready to make sacrifices. You spend your time working to get money, so don’t spend your time or your money anyhow. Your long term goal is to make your money work for you- and achieve financial freedom.

You can’t spend everything today and expect to have a secured future. Think about tomorrow and plan for it today.

Budget your income. NO PERSON CAN BE RICH WHO DOES NOT BUDGET, AND LIVE BY A BUDGET.
To budget simply means- to decide ahead how much you want to spend on something for a given period of time, say weekly, monthly or annually.

No country or business survives and prospers without a good budget.

If you don’t know how much you spend on recharge cards monthly, or on food/eating out weekly; if you did not decide how much you spent last month on clothes, or on your transportation last week, and you can’t still control your spending today, YOU WILL BE POOR FOR LIFE.

It is not a curse.

 It does not matter how much you make, if you cannot decide how much you want to live on every month, and live on that very amount strictly, you will always be broke, and take bad debts.

Rich people do not make others decide how they spend their money for them- THEY DECIDE IT ON THEIR OWN, AND ASK OTHERS TO ACCEPT IT THAT WAY. Somebody has to compromise over your money- either you, or others. But know that someone out there wants to take your money and spend it for you, by all means.

If you go to the market without first deciding on what you need, and how much you want to spend, you will end up buying things you don’t need for amounts you actually can’t afford, and incur bad debts.

The only way to curb impulsive spending is to budget ahead and stick to it.

[Check the articles All debt is bad to you if you don't have financial knowledge, Learn to say No! to impulsive spending]

8.       Why you are always broke: 6 simple steps to living by a budget and never go broke again (the envelope system of budgeting)

• Know how much you earn, on the average. You can only budget if you have an average (regular) source of income.
  
  If you always go broke after you have earned some money, knowing how much you earn is the first step to breaking that cycle.
• Know how much you spend and how long it takes for you to spend your income. A poor person is not someone who does not have a big, steady income, but someone who does not know/control how his income is being spent, no matter how little. Therefore, he does not save regularly and ends up with bad debt always.
• Decide how much you want to spend your earnings on, and divide them according to percentages. Everything is 100%.
• Buy an envelope for each major expense (you can buy packets of envelopes and keep). This is the envelope system of budgeting. It is a manual method, though there are software apps that can do your budget, or even mimic the envelope system for you on your phone. Write the name of the expense on it, and write the amount and month (with pencil).
• Call your savings- loans, so that you will take it as serious as a loan. So if you have an emergency fund, it will be emergency loan, wedding loan, etc.
• Determine to follow this system strictly for the next one month, and do it.If anyone attempts to disrupt it by asking for an impromptu loan, tell them to wait till next month...that you will consider them in your next budget.

[ check the articles Pay yourself as if you are indebted to You, Why you are always broke, and Budgeting simplified]

N.B: REMEMBER, THIS INFORMATION IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY, ONLY FOR THOSE WHO ALWAYS GO BROKE, BUT DESIRE TO BREAK THE CYCLE AND BECOME RICH AND COMFORTABLE IN LIFE.

9.       You need just one (1) to become a millionaire

• You need to make just 1 good song or movie
• You need to write just 1 good book
• You need to build just 1 house
• You need to have just 1 brilliant idea
• You need to give birth to just 1 gifted or great child
• You need to build just 1 successful company/business/website
• You only need to plant 1 viable seed to harvest a great tree with many fruits
• You need just 1....

If you sell 1 book to 1million people, you are a millionaire.

If you make 1 million people download and listen to your song/album/book, you are made.

If 1 million people buy your shoes or clothes, you will automatically be a millionaire.

If it is just 1 child God gives you, and he or she becomes a Ronaldo, or Serena Williams, or Dangote, you have become successful.

If you have 1 great idea and sell it for 1 million naira, you have become a millionaire.

If you build 1 good company or website or business and 1 million people patronise it, you have a million-dollar business.

To become a millionaire, you need to change your thinking. Stop thinking small, and start thinking in millions.

You only need 1 good thing to become a millionaire today...and that is- a sound (millionaire) mind(set).

 [check article 5 shortcuts to becoming a millionaire in 1 year]

10.       Teach your children about money

Train up your child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

My child,

You can’t give what you don’t have. You can’t teach your child (good things) about money or life if you yourself don’t know and practice them.

Money is good and will help you become comfortable in life, but that is if it doesn’t control you.

Money won’t control you when you know and understand its language. The language of money is- YOU MUST EARN MONEY REGULARLY, FAR MORE THAN YOU SPEND. KEEP VERY WELL (AND RESPECT) WHATEVER LITTLE YOU HAVE MADE, AND IT WILL MULTIPLY ITSELF.

Money is a good servant but a bad master. First learn how to work for money, then strive to make your money work for you as a servant.

That is the secret to lasting wealth, my child.
[Check article How to have a child financially]

Other articles will include How to get rich quick, Don't make money in order to spend more, Different ways to make money, and so on.

These articles will provide the foundation of our financial education meetings and seminars.

Hope I didn't bore you. lol.
See you soon.