Walter Okpala: Planning is everything

Walter Okpala: Planning is everything: Whatever we do, there must be planning. Lack of planning means that one does not know what he or she wants or where to go. Planning has to ...

Planning is everything

Whatever we do, there must be planning. Lack of planning means that one does not know what he or she wants or where to go. Planning has to be divided into two: long term planning and short term planning. For example, you should have plan for what you want to achieve in 2016. At the same time, you have to divide your plan into quarterly ones or short-term plans. Dividing your plans into short term makes it easier for you to check it regularly in order to obtain a measurable result. 

     What is your plan for 2016? Have you checked your result for the first quarter of the year? What was your result? Did you achieve your established target? If not, what are you doing to change the result in the second quarter?

    

Walter Okpala: First Quarter Result

Walter Okpala: First Quarter Result: The first quarter of 2016 ended in March. Have you checked your result for the first quarter? Is your result positive or negative? I will l...

First Quarter Result

The first quarter of 2016 ended in March. Have you checked your result for the first quarter? Is your result positive or negative? I will like to have your input on this.  

Walter Okpala: Happy Easter!

Walter Okpala: Happy Easter!: I wish everybody a Happy Easter Celebration!

Happy Easter!

I wish everybody a Happy Easter Celebration!

Walter Okpala: Common mistakes for wealth creation 3

Walter Okpala: Common mistakes for wealth creation 3: In my last post, I wrote the misconception that wage increase adjusted inflation is a bad way to think about wealth. In this post, I will t...

Common mistakes for wealth creation 3

In my last post, I wrote the misconception that wage increase adjusted inflation is a bad way to think about wealth. In this post, I will talk about another common mistake workers make. The mistake is related to lifestyle, with special emphasis on accommodation. Whether be it rented house or owned home, the same problem is observed. 

     Many workers tend to live in a middle-class neighborhood. There is nothing wrong with this idea if your wage can afford it. Some workers pay house rents which can represent about 40% of their takehome pay. This may not be obvious because house rent and condominium fees are paid in different days. One can only create wealth when he or she minimizes the expenses and maximizes accumulation and compounding mechanisms. 

     Many other workers take up high value mortgage in order to own their houses. Although having a home is good, one cannot put all his money in that. How can one live in a house with mortgage value of $1 million, but living on a monthly wage of about $20,000? What happens if the person buys a small house and accumulates $7,000/month for a period of 10 years in investments? At the end of this period, the person can buy the house of $1 million and pay cash. The person will be rich to the point he or she can even decide to stop working. 

     Wealth creation requires patience. In the success jargon, it is called delayed gratification. That is, to have patience and make sacrifice now so you can be wealthy in the future and buy whatever you want. Think about that!          

  

Walter Okpala: Mistakes for wealth creation 2

Walter Okpala: Mistakes for wealth creation 2: In my last post, I wrote about one of the most common mistakes people make about creating wealth for themselves. In this poat, we will look...

Mistakes for wealth creation 2

In my last post, I wrote about one of the most common mistakes people make about creating wealth for themselves. In this poat, we will look at another common mistake we make. The mistake is looking at the wage increase and inflation adjustment as a way of maintaining standard of living or wealth.

     From my experience of working with executives, I have come to realize one common area of addiction of all. I generally have argument with them about wealth creation. The common belief among them is whatever it takes to maintain their current standard of living with inflation adjustment is alright. Even when they make investments, they will be counting on the return that will maintain the current purchasing power of their money. I tried to show them that this way of thinking is wrong. As a result, some live in expensive houses of about $1 million dollars, but do not have any investment. 

     My argument is that one should accumulate as much capital as necessary to be giving him or her good and sustainable return. The support to my argument is that someone with $10 million cannot feel any type of inflation when compared with someone with $500,000. The person with $500,000 did not invest because he thinks the return is small and cannot keep up with his current standard of living. The point I am making is that inflation affects everybody, but not at the same rate. The wealthier one is, the less is the effect of inflation and vice versa. 

     In summary, fighting for wage increase through inflation adjustment is not a way to build wealth. Rather, wealth is built by having patience and accumulating a lot of money through investment. Think of that!