My dear,
It is always such a delight to read your flowery
constructions and the flair with which you paint words with poetic delight is
simply amazing. Thank you for describing me as wise and in truth I am extremely
humbled to hear such words from an equally wise young woman. I know there are a lot of your sisters who
could not easily swallow the salient points in my last letter, but I am glad
you got the message.
Going natural or going light on make-up and artificial hair
apparently is not as easy a lifestyle change as i hope it would be for our
young African ladies. For me, it just goes to show how terrible the real
situation of adulteration of our own culture has become. I am once again very
glad you are willing to consider and take heed to my advice.
My dear, this time, I want to talk to you about financial
smartness. It is apparent frugality is a lost art in our current generation and
I wish to alert you of this critical issue. Many people live from pay check to
pay check and seem to be programmed to spend exactly as much as they earn.
There is no allocation for savings much less investments. It is as if, they are
allergic to saving. My dear, in this current economic dispensation, not having
any savings or investments is a dangerous thing. Relying solely on your monthly
salary or pay check is simply not enough to have peace of mind.
My dear,
financial security is the ability to survive for at least six months without
your monthly pay check or salary. The longer, the better. As young people
starting life, I will like to advise you to develop the character of consistent
savings and investments. Many people,
especially ladies, assume that, their husbands will handle the finances of
their families so they are at liberty to spend as much they can get. It is rare
to see an unmarried woman who is consistently saving for her future and that of
her family. My dear, I would like you to be different.
Let me propose to you a formula that I have also started
using. I call it the 70, 10, 10, 10 formula. It just means that, you divide
your monthly salary or any monies you receive into four parts. 10% is your
spiritual giving, which is your tithe. The next 10% must go into your savings
account and the next 10% into your investment account. The remaining 70% is
your spending or real allowance. It might be difficult at first, but my love,
human beings are creatures of habit and hence after a while, you will adapt to
living on 70% of your monthly salary. This combined with the thought that, you
are securing your future will spur you on and give you the strength to go
through. My dear, you have convinced me you are a very wise and pragmatic young
lady, so I hope you see the wisdom in this suggestion.
Secondly, I would like to talk to you about financial
discipline. My dear, there is no need acquiring financial knowledge if it will
not translate into discipline. Discipline in committing to a well-structured
budget, discipline in spending and commitment to savings and investments and
discipline in living below your wages. This will take time my dear, so do not
be worried if you begin to struggle. The most important point is to stick to
the plan and get back on track whenever you go off track.
My dear, it is not
necessary to get every new electronic gadget that comes around. I find it hard
to understand why some ladies would want to carry two or three phones around
when it is obvious they only use one most of the time. The worst part is that,
most of these people have no idea what their expensive smart phones can do
except make calls, send sms and visit a few websites.
These days, even fruits have become extremely expensive. You
cannot hear apple and blackberry without panicking. Gone are the days when
these fruits were just simple delicacies. My dear, if you do not need a gadget,
do not buy it. Better still, if one phone can do all you want to do, why buy
two more?
My dear, one very important issue too is the damaging habit
of impulse buying. I am sure you know exactly what I’m talking about. This
phenomenon is so dangerous that, many find themselves in chronic debt because
they simply cannot control their buying habits. Shop owners and traders,
understand this natural tendency to desire what one sees, and hence their job
is to take your money from you whether you have planned to spend it or not. The
essence of financial discipline is to equip you to keep your money. So I advise
you to develop the habit of making a budget anytime you go out to shop and
sticking religiously to that budget. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.
Finally, about your request to meet me, I am sure eventually
we will meet. You have refused to tell me any more about yourself, nationality
or even complexion, but I am a very patient young man. I feel I already know
you, so I will just content myself with your beautiful words and my own very
active and animated imaginations. My dear, do take care of yourself and be
financially disciplined. I am working hard towards my own financial security
too. Waiting to hear from you once again, and so till then, be good.
Your husband to be
Paa Kofi.
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