Retirement Planning: Will your children take care of you when you are old?

  The Nigerian family usually consists of not only the nuclear family, which is made up of parents and their children, but the extended family, which embraces several generations of people who are related by blood, marriage, or adoption. It is the very foundation of Nigerian social life and includes siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even more distant relatives. The...

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Investing In The Stock Market: Are you still sitting on the sidelines?

  "I lost all my savings in the stockmarket. My friend told me to put everything in bank shares and I did. I lost everything. After what happened to me in 2008, I will never ever invest in the stockmarket again" Seyi  Lawyer "Don't mention the stockmarket to me! Let me just keep my money in the bank  at least it is safe I don't know how I will educate my children with this...

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Budgeting: Is your spending out of control?

  Do you ever feel like you have lost control of your finances and all you do is spend, spend, spend? N1,000 here, N5,000 there, N25,000, N100,000 and so on with no respite. Do you constantly have to borrow money from your parents, siblings, or friends? In a way you cannot really stop spending; there are so many payments that have to be made; your rent or mortgage, school fees, groceries,...

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Family Finance: Being financially prepared for a new arrival

   It goes without saying that the birth or adoption of a child is probably one of the most rewarding and most significant life experiences. Financially however, for many families it is generally regarded as one of the most challenging. A baby is another mouth to feed, clothe, keep entertained and educate – all at significant cost. The introduction of a new baby raises numerous questions...

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Investing In The Stock Market: Ten tips for investing in the stock market

  When it comes to playing the stock market, women all over the world have lagged behind men. Too many women remain hesitant about investing in the stock market Because of their strong aversion to risk and the fear of loss, they tend to be more inclined to put all their money in short term investments and have therefore missed out on many wealth-building opportunities. The Stock...

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Family Finance: Yours, mine, and ours

  As two individuals merge all their worldly goods there are many things to consider. After the excitement of the wedding ceremonies, it is time to face your financial future together. Have you effected your name change on your documents? Will you have joint or separate accounts? How will you manage your investments? Have you updated your insurance policies to reflect your new beneficiary? ...

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Children & Money: Teaching your child about money - Part II

  Winston Churchill once said, 'saving is a very fine thing. Especially when your parents have done it for you,' When I ask parents if they are saving for their children, they often respond -”I can barely put anything aside for myself not to talk of saving for my children!” Yet this could be a huge opportunity lost as saving for children, comes with the advantage of time. The earliest...

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Children & Money: Teaching your child about money - Part I

  The elementary school years, when children are being introduced to mathematics concepts and coming to grips with numbers, are an excellent time to lay a solid foundation in personal financial management. Sadly, our educational system focuses almost totally on academic subjects and very rarely is any aspect of money management taught in schools. If we want our children to grow...

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Financial Planning: Singles and money matters

  For many single people, financial planning is not a priority as they feel that they have only themselves to worry about. Whilst every one should plan and save towards the future, being single presents some unique financial challenges that must be specially addressed. Your single status means that you are solely responsible for meeting any financial obligations; you may have to face...

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Women and Money: The gift of financial security on Mother's Day

  Mothers make huge sacrifices for their families and often neglect their own needs in the process. One area that is often entirely ignored is their financial security. A lack of financial skills has the potential to negatively impact not only a woman�s future, but also that of her children. Women face some unique challenges that translate to distinct concerns regarding their finances...

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Cashless Society: Have you embraced internet banking?

  Have you embraced internet banking? The internet has revolutionized banking and personal finance in many ways and most bank customers are familiar with online or internet banking services. Surprisingly however, many people even though equipped with internet access have not yet signed on. Whatever the reason may be that you have not yet embraced your banks internet banking...

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General: Singles & Money Matters

  Whether you are single by choice or by circumstance; young and unmarried, divorced or widowed, your financial future will be largely affected by the decisions that you make today. For many single people, financial planning is not a priority as they feel that they have only themselves to worry about. Whilst every one should plan and save towards the future, being single presents...

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Investing In The Stock Market: What is value investing?

  What is value investing? Value investing is an investment approach that is based on the premise that with some effort, you can find good, strong companies whose share prices have fallen, so offer good value for money. It was made popular by Benjamin Graham, and Warren Buffet, who largely based his investment decisions on the tenets of value investing and used this approach to build...

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Debt: Debt: The good, the bad, and the ugly

  The faces of debt: The good, the bad and the ugly It is almost impossible to live totally debt-free; most people will borrow money at some stage in their lives. Borrowing can be a useful way to help spread out the cost of large purchases or expenses that we could perhaps not otherwise afford. It can also help us through difficult times or periods when there just isn’t enough...

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Financial Planning: What kind of investor are you?

  What kind of investor are you? 55 year-old Daba Lawson is five years from retirement, and is still smarting from her experience in the Nigerian stock market since 2008. Daba like so many of us got caught up in the euphoria of the bull-run. One of her young friends had taken a margin facility to leverage her stock portfolio and had enjoyed huge successes. Her friend urged Daba...

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