FUTUREPLANNER, GHANAIANYOUTH, LIFEDEVELOPMENT, MARRIAGE AVOIDING PITFALLS. The Five Indiscretions Every Young Ghanaian Must Avoid

Just a forth night ago, Ghana celebrated May 9. The worst disaster to ever hit the country in the history of its football, witnessed on May 9, 2001. I just woke up to discover that just so soon, nineteen years (19) has just gone by. What a shock. May the souls of our beloved Rest in Peace. However, if nineteen years can just pass in the twinkle of an eye, then this clearly tells us that man doesn’t have so much time on planet earth. There are many blunders that youth commit thinking there’s so much time on their hands but I beg to differ as it might be too late to make up for all the time lost doing nothing or wasting the little that has been amassed over time.

Many Ghanaian’s, especially men, get to their old age realizing that they have spent all the time during their youth chasing after shadows. Whilst some are busy chasing after young ladies and spending exorbitantly and splashing them with expensive gifts, others are too busy partying their youthful energies and wealth off.

Assuming you were 25 years nineteen years ago before May 9, it means by 2020 you should be around 44 years old. Life they say begins at 40 years and if this is anything to go by, then it means you should have prepared yourself and laid all the foundations that the rest of your life will thrive on by 40 years. However, majority of our youth prefer to wait till about retirement before they start rushing to buy a land or put up a house. Forgetting that by age 60, their energies would have evaporated and they cannot achieve much.

In this post I am sharing FIVE (5) common mistakes that when avoided can propel you to a good future.

1. Not saving from your Income

Little drops they say makes a mighty ocean. But unfortunately many young folks tend to think they must save only when they have huge sums of money. Taxi drivers, masons, mechanics to name a few, believe they will always have some money coming in everyday, so majority of them do not have any plan to put a little of what comes in daily aside for their future. Recent lock-down situation made it very clear that majority of these young artisans and many other young folks had nothing as savings even to sustain their life for 2 weeks. Spending all your income, is like a poultry farmer who eats all the eggs and expects to expand his business. Soon he will go bankrupt. No matter how little your income, determine to put some little into savings and see how in no time your little drops will eventually turn-out to become a mighty ocean.

2. Not taking the initiative to acquire land and Start Building

I want to start by saying ‘building a house has nothing to do with ones income; it has to do with making wise decisions and sacrifice’. You often hear young folks say; my income is not much so I am waiting to have a good job and a good income before I start looking at building my house. This is a blunder every young man must avoid. Acquiring land is the first stage to building and not the building itself. In this era, there are many real estate companies who are offering land at much discounted prices and in installments. This is an advantage for every young person to explore in Ghana. It is better to put up a kiosk on your own land than to rent and pay exorbitant prices to landlords. Take the initiative and start planning towards acquiring a land with the little monies that passes through your hands and make the effort to build and give it time, the outcome is, soon you’ll become your own landlord in the very near future. Remember this that you cannot prosper by living in someone else’s house and paying so much rent. The landlord always becomes richer and the tenant poorer.

3. Wasting Money on Irrelevant Stuff

Pass by the pups and bars on weeknights and you see many young men and women enjoying themselves. Nothing against having fun once a while, if that’s your style, after all, they say ‘all work and no play makes jack…’, so why not? Have some fun but don’t make it a habit because this is one of the ways our finances are drained as youth. What many do not realize is that you are contributing to the pup or bar owner’s wealth at your own expense. Don’t waste your time and money hanging out with friends who themselves are ‘going nowhere to happen’. Too much hanging out is one of the poverty agents every young person must avoid.

4. Living beyond your Budget

‘Cut your coat according to your size’, is one saying I love so much. This tells every young person to avoid the (Big Guy Syndrome) and focus on achieving something meaningful for the future. Acquiring an expensive car is not a bad idea, but if that takes all your savings then it is not a well informed decision at some age. Rather acquire a car which you can service easily without having to go through the hassle of falling on your savings just to maintain. Rent an affordable place and focus on building your own house. Don’t run into debt because you are living beyond your budget. Stay focused and be disciplined with your finances. Cut down on expenditure you realize is not necessary, like acquiring more shoes, clothes, gadgets. You realize that within the shortest time these things become obsolete and new ones come out. So rather acquire what is needed for living and leave put the extra income into investments which will yield good returns in the future.

5. Trying to impress everyone

Earning a good income does not make any one a solution provider. You have a choice to distribute whatever you have with discretion. This includes your money. It is good to be benevolent, but be careful not to try and ‘leave’ people’s lives for them. To the best of your ability, support family and some friends but don’t do this beyond your budget. Do not allow anyone to force you into a situation where you have to fall on your life’s savings just to supply their needs. They say ‘good men don’t leave long’, this is somehow true, because many good men go beyond themselves to do things for people to their own detriment and this has caused many such ‘good’ men their life’s. So be benevolent, but keep your eyes open and ‘never use the money you don’t have to buy things you don’t need, to impress people who you don’t care about’.

Should you live for the next nineteen years, are you sure you would have made the right choices and also investments enough to give you comfort? A question worth asking.

Photo by Tim Grundtner from Pexels

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