Monthly Archives: October 2016
The type of bank accounts everyone should have
Finances are an important (very important) part our lives and bank accounts are how we deal with them. Financial health is determined by how we balance our money. Below I have listed about 5 different accounts that I feel are useful. You can always modify them to better fit how your mind works but this what I have at present.
1. A current account – for everyday banking e.g the spend at Mcdonalds, the cheeky Nandos or to pay for the cinema. Basically for miscellaneous spending.
2. An expenses account – for regular expenses e.g direct debits, the phone bill, standing orders, etc. I feel expenses should all go out from one account. That way you can easily keep an eye on your regular expenses without the confusion of other random purchases. It will also make it easier to pick up any abnormal expenses or if your bill has cost you more than usual.
3. An emergency bank account – there should be money saved for the rainy days (because they will definitely come). Various sources I have read recommend having 3 months worth of your expenses saved e.g the rent for 3 months, bills for 3 months etc. Having an emergency account will mean you don’t go into your savings when you are in need of cash desperately (your savings will never grow otherwise). If you do take out of your emergency account, make sure to top it back up.
4. Saving accounts (my favourite 🙌) – you can have more than one of these accounts. These can be life savings or saving towards an event e.g buying a house, buying a car, going on holiday etc. The best tip with savings accounts is to deposit regularly and withdraw very very infrequently (I like regular saver accounts for this because I commit to an amount every month which is effectively locked away for a year).
5. Investments – This one I am still a newbie at so I am still learning but some type of investment seems advisable. This money is meant to work for you and yield you a profit. However, this is money that you plan to lock away and you are happy to not see for a few years.
What do you think? Would you recommend a different account?
Comment below
Until next time
Memoirs Of A Yoruba Girl
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Budgeting 101
This has quickly become one of my favourite topics and passtimes.
An interesting thing about money I have found is if you don’t plan for your money, it will develop its own mind and you won’t be able to account for where it all went. Given the early wake ups and long commutes home we make to get this money, I think it makes sense to look after it. I’ve also found there are alot of things calling out for the attention of the money you have worked for e.g optional insurance after purchasing an item, the three for two offer at Tescos when you only wanted one item, the biscuits you shouldn’t even be eating.
Budgeting helps to ensure you don’t run out of money before your next paycheck and don’t have to live off your overdraft. It also means you get to stack up your savings 🙌 (another of my new favourite topics).
This is the way I have decided to tackle budgeting at the moment (I am still tweaking it).
1. I write down somewhere ALL my monthly expenses i.e what I spend my money on everyday, no matter how small. I write this on my phone and later in a book but you might do better using an excel spreadsheet. This way you can identify any bad spending habits you have and get rid of them.
2. When I get paid, I make sure I remove all my expenses first!! Doing it first helps to ensure you don’t run out of money to cover your bills and other important necessities. If this section is taking a lot out of your expenses, consider a review of what you are spending on.
3. After I have removed the money to cover my expenses, I remove some to save – unintentionally I save roughly a third of what I get. I think the key is to save as much as you can. A penny saved is a penny earned. This third may be further split depending on what I’m saving for so I may put some money away for my holiday and some into savings I don’t touch.
4. From the remainder, I remove money for petrol, food shoping and personal care products – I separate this from expenses because this may fluctuate, but putting money aside for it helps me keep myself in check.
5. From the rest of the money (which by this point is not all that much) I keep some money to play with. So money for Nandos, cinema, getting a massage and other leisurely activities come from here. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and that is especially true with your money.
6. At the end of the month I sit with my receipts (which I advise you to keep) and “balance my books” 🙌 – I look at any money I have left over and save that, look at any bad/wasteful habits and where I could have saved more etc
What are your budgeting tips to help you save that money? Share below
Until next time
Memoirs Of A Yoruba Girl
What does this bag have to do with Ghana and Nigeria?
Who doesn’t know this bag?
You use it to pack clothing, laundry, things to put in storage, practically anything. I’ve seen these used for travel luggage. They retail for a few pounds here in the UK. They are fondly known as “Ghana must go” bags (Side note: I wonder if Ghanaians find the term offensive?) If you’re either Nigerian or Ghanaian, you will be WELL aware of this stripy plastic bag. It even became a designer bag for a spell. The Ghana must go bag got its name from an unfortunate set of circumstances affecting the Black Stars and the Super Eagles.
Ghana was one the first West African countries to gain independence from British colonial rule in 1957. Nigeria later became independent in 1960. The independence of Ghana made it an attractive destination to emigrate to for Nigerians. Ghanaians did the same, emigrating to Nigeria during this time.
More specifically in the 1970s, there was some economic difficulties in Ghana. With the discovery of oil in Nigeria around the same time, it made Nigeria a good place to go in search of greener pastures. Nigeria quickly became a fast expanding economy that the Nigerian labour market was not equipped enough to serve alone. The gap was filled by workers from various professions coming from Ghana.
Unfortunately, good things don’t ways last forever and by the 1980’s, with the collaspe of the oil boom, the prosperity that came with it had dwindled and Nigerians faced economic hardship. Someone needed to be blamed and unfortunately, the Ghanians were the ones blamed. It was said that the Ghanians living in Nigeria at the time were involved in crimes such as armed robberies and were taking all the jobs from the Nigerians.
On the 17th of January 1983, a law was enforced (it was already in place and had not just been created) by then Nigerian president Shehu Shagari made it compulsory for all foreigners to leave Nigeria within a few days or risk being forced out.
Up to two million people (mostly Ghanians) were forced out of Nigeria in only a few days. People were forced to pack their belongings in a very short space of time.They had to pack as much as they could into cars, trucks, basically whatever was available and tried to get out.
The main way home to Ghana from Nigeria was through the neighbouring countries of Benin and Togo.
Imagine the sheer amount of people travelling at the same time, it would have been total gridlock.I can only imagine what a difficult time it must have been. Because they had such little time to pack up and leave, they began using the striped plastic bags (which are actually made in China) to pack their belongings. This was how the bag got its name.
Next time you see the bag, you will know its history
Until next time
Memoirs Of A Yoruba Girl
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Special thanks to following links for helping me write this challenging post 🙌
https://yen.com.gh/16384-ghana-must-go-exodus-nigeria-remembered.html
https://www.naij.com/407017-shagari-is-alive.html
http://saharareporters.com/2014/11/19/ghana-must-come-rudolf-ogoo-okonkwo
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://afrrevjo.net/journals/multidiscipline/Vol_7_no_3_art_24_Aremu.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjDhMCZgL3PAhXpJMAKHR3HD6IQFggvMAg&usg=AFQjCNEL_j0Mlczq1SMN8N0my1Skk-QGVA&sig2=HOjK7vmhUaTmmwwMgwKJQw
