Will your salary ever be enough?

by Abdul Fatai .O

Do you know that there is great difference between work and job? A job is activities you do to earn a salary while, work is what you engage in with a purpose, what you are born to do in this world.

Financial independence is not about changing job, in case you find yourself in wrong job, the type of work you never dream of doing, financial independence gives you an edge to do what you really care to do and create a foot print to the world at large.

Do you know that there is great difference between work and job? A job is activities you do to earn a salary while, work is what you engage in with a purpose, what you are born to do in this world.

The most important thing is to locate your work and do it with passion, whole heart, mind and soul as some employee did not fall under this reality. Most employee are doing what they do today because of misplacement of priority, we work because of better pays. Remunerations form major determinant of our career decision. An average employee is thinking of pays in their minds, increment in salary will solve their financial difficulties; some employees abandon their families for economic reason to work abroad.

The moment an income is tagged 'SALARY' it will never be enough because your expenditure will always meet your income and at times  surpass  it, more money connotes more financial problem if not judiciously used, as taste, expensive items to buy follows. The bad news is that your salary will not make you rich no matter how it is increase if your mind set is to earn and spend the money.

The good news is that to attain financial independence you need to shift from employee mind set to investor mind set and start minding your own business. To mind your own business you need to discover what you can do to generate income and not to spend your income arbitrarily. You need to learn to live below your income. This is one of the major ways to liberate you from financial slavery. Living below your means simply means saving at least 20% of your gross income at the beginning of the time you have agreed to gain your financial autonomy. It is not easy but there is no success without sacrifices.

As you progress it will be crystal clear to you that fulfilling life is build on a fulfilling investment morally, religiously and financially.

Experts recommend the following sequence 10-20-10-60, the 10% to GOD, 20% for investment (reliable sectors e.g. real state) 10% for capital venturing, 60% is for your sustainability. It is important to note that as income increase you need to reduce your spending.

Have you asked yourself where your previous salary gone to without a trace for years? What are you doing with it right now? Do you want to buy expensive cars as a salary earner? Do you need to work for landlord? Going by the above sequence by expert your living expenses need to be fixed and save the rest.

Dear employees, you need to save before you spend, invest in your financial education and don't rely on mere tips and recommendations from your colleagues. Discover what you are good at doing, don't have that internal discouragement of I don't know what am good at, what can I invest, the simple truth is that human being are gifted with different skills, to have financial freedom you need to invest in that aspect to increase your income that complaining about your salary. Tips to get what you are good at are to focus on activities that give you joy and what you like to do best.

Human beings are born with passion for luxuries; buy your luxuries from your profit not your salary. Living below your means does not connote living a misery life. It is a mere delay of gratifications; don't be carried away by luxuries life of your colleagues. You can pay for that same car after few years of investment.  Effort should be made to convert your salary which is a capital to an investment that grow to an asset, let your asset pay for your luxuries not your salary.

Many die a few year after retirement because their live was wrapped around their salary when they retire they felt useless. Some employee have pin their hope on pension, what if you wake up one day to find out your pension is gone in case you have no plans may be a financial disaster. Never mix up that your salary is your capital not your profit to avoid being trapped into a life time financial struggle.

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Abdul Fatai .O writes from Sokoto

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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