Young And Want To Build Wealth? Avoid This Trap.

Gone are the days I used to doubt the power of knowledge. More specifically, the ability to profit from the knowledge I have. All it took for you to make me abandon my knowledge was a comment about my age and/or experience, I would sport a downcast face and let you have your way. But now. Now! I have tasted the raw power of knowledge.

I work in a knowledge field. I have, on numerous occasions, been well paid to train people on what I don't yet know and have to read up to know. So imagine if I have profited from knowledge I haven't yet acquired, how much more the knowledge I have acquired and sharpen through rigorous use.

On that premise, I want you to take me seriously as what I want to tell you is built on a knowledge as strong as my Excel skills. The same way you would trust me if I told you a tip about Excel is the same way I request you trust me on what I am about to tell you now.

If you are young (like me) and want to build wealth, then there is a trap you must avoid. And that trap is luxury. Avoid luxury.

Avoid buying the latest smartphones. Buy a very good one and use it, without buying it siblings, till it dies and you are sure it is irressurrectibly dead. If you must buy a car, buy one that is not too expensive and is cheap to maintain, and plan to use it forever. That way you won't be tempted to do those vain comparisons most young people engage in about cars. Stay somewhere very cheap. Buy good everlasting clothes. Emphasis on "everlasting". Same with shoes. Don't have any weakness that involves you spending money. Hence, a total ban on "I have a weakness for Coldstone Ice Cream", "I just must have one amazing Debonairs Pizza a week", "I can't go past Sharwarma & co without entering", "I have a soft spot for cinemas", "I love partying hard", etc.

Let your expenses be crazy low. Even, try delaying marriage. Na joke o :)

And what should you do with your surplus cash? Invest, invest and invest!

When you are young you've got time and the magic of compound interest on your side. Your chicken change is worth more than an old man's lion change. And you definitely should trust me on this. The math is impeccable and the evidences are irrefutable.

How come the wealthy people you know didn't get wealthy by being an investment obsessed miser? Well, just give me a few more years and you will know one: me. 😀 But seriously, it works. You don't know one because they don't get featured on newspapers or have a very public life. Also, maybe they are few in Nigeria as investing has been left to the super rich here.

Also, it doesn't matter how little you have. Investing profitably is a habit, one you also get better at. And when you throw time and compound interest in the mix, everyone is a winner. Whether you started with N100,000 or you started with N10 million. As long as you made a habit of consistently investing, wealth is just a matter of time.

If I sound too high this night, do forgive me, I think the Eba I ate is from an over-fermented garri. My eyes are turning me sef.