Some people have studied and read numerous books, attended seminars, and motivational speeches but have not acquired the financial management skills applicable to their situations that can work for them.
In my view, financial management ensures that you secure your future with every expenditure you make. This means that whenever you spend K1,000, ensure K200 goes towards securing your future. Securing your future may involve upgrading your qualifications, your children’s education, building, or any feasible investment.
In reality, financial management means reaching a point where the funds that go towards securing your future become more than operational funds. For those in business, avoid the temptation. Avoid situations where you start a business with K5,000 and, when you make K8,000 from sales, you then upgrade your orders to K8,000. When you make K12,000 from sales of K8,000, you then upgrade the orders to K12,000. By the time you upgrade your orders to K30,000, there will be a risk that will take the whole K30,000, and you will go back to zero.
So, ensure you lock your capital, like K12,000, and every profit should then go towards buying things for the house, building a house, or anything that has an impact on your future. Doing do will put you in a position where even if you face a situation and your capital is depleted, at least there will be something to look at, which was bought from the business. But if you are doing business and you are just eating and increasing orders, you will always look the same.
Do you know that there are people who have been in business for 10 years and have done anything? They don’t even have chairs in the house. I like what most marketeers do through what they call CHILIMBA. Chilimba is an initiative that will ensure part of the profits is saved. Saving part of your profits will not put you in situations where you begin to look as though you have too much money. The moment you begin to think like you have too disposal income, it make you careless in expenditure. So always lock your profits in things especially securing your future.
For those in employment, direct allowances and salary increments towards securing your future. Never be tempted to increase your levels of expenditure when there is a salary increase. At every given point, think about what will happen if your contract expires. What are you going to count or look at? Sometimes, make it a point that by the time you leave that job, you will have a degree, masters degree, or buy a plot.
By; Winfred Mupakasi Silumbwe
