Too big a bite

Too big a bite

As Jotham lay on the road, panting, his heart thumping hard and his lungs fighting for air, he sincerely thought he wouldn’t live to tell his story.

 

After a couple of minutes in that state, he noticed a small crowd began to gather and people murmuring, “Is he dead?” “Looks like he fainted,” “Abi he has a heart attack…” Amid all the assumptions, he heard a confident male voice say, “Give him some space. He needs the air.”

 

By the time Jotham came to, he was sitting by the culvert with a tall, middle-aged man standing over him and staring in concern. “It’s about time you came back to this crazy world, my friend. I’m Dr. Jide and I saw you pass out while you were running.” Jotham immediately remembered the events that led up to this moment.

 

He had been pretty much inactive with his exercises and hadn’t gone for a run in about three years. After so much procrastination, he decided to get back to his run and set a target for himself.

 

He wanted to cover the same miles he used to when he was a consistent and fit runner, but the human body always has a way of sending signals to remind us not to bite more than we can chew.

 

Jotham took off from his estate in full sprint and after just a few minutes of pushing against the resistance his body was building, he collapsed.

 

After hearing his story, Dr. Jide shook his head and said, “That’s the mistake right there, bro. Your body is not a machine and you’re not at your full physical capacity as three years ago. You needed to coerce your body, joints, heart, and muscles back into the game by starting out with a warmup. Then follow with walking short distances, then longer ones. As your body adjusts to this, you can take it to a brisk walk for a longer distance”

 

“Again, watch your body’s adjustment and know when to take it to a mix of walking and running. You must go through these stages to prepare your body for a full-blown run, my friend.”

 

Jotham sighed and nodded in agreement. He knew this deep down but was too stubborn that he took too big a bite and it landed him on the roads of Lagos, panting like a ram about to be executed.

 

He thanked Dr. Jide, dusted off his workout gear, and walked home in regret – he hoped none of the on-lookers had caught the entire thing on camera and posted to social media. The thought of that sent embarrassing shivers down his spine.

 

Join our RFTF Group on Facebook and visit our website to get more health and fitness tips.

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6 ways to reignite your passion for your work

6 ways to reignite your passion for your work

After working for 15 years, Kemi started to feel a bit ‘bleh’ about her job. The passion, drive, and zeal for work that she had in her earlier years had diminished and she needed a jump start.

Here are the tips a career coach gave her.

 

1. Engage your brain

Boredom often causes disinterest in one’s work. Sign up for a development program at work or take a course on your own. Learning something new will excite you, open your mind and give you an edge on the job that you didn’t have before.

 

2. Find meaning in your work

Think about why you got into your field of work originally, and whether you’re still on the same path. When you renew your commitment to the goals you had, or make new ones, you get a renewed sense of purpose.

 

3. Move others forward

Being a mentor to someone younger in your field can boost your enthusiasm for what you do. There’s something gratifying about creating a legacy and helping others advance.

 

4. Explore a new challenge

If there’s a project that needs extra hands or a person to run it in your organization, step up to the plate. Accepting and acing a new challenge may be all you need to get your enthusiasm fired up.

 

5. Declutter your workspace

When you start to declutter your workspace, you’re making decisions of what you value or don’t value. It helps you get a sense of what you want in your job and to decide the things that matter to you.

 

6. Be open to change

The average person changes careers multiple times in their life. If you still feel a sense of emptiness with your current career after trying out all the above, maybe it’s time to consider a change in career.”

 

Learn more at www.armpension.com

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Young adults and retirement

Young adults and retirement

We follow two cousins both in their 20s, Jude, a businessman, and Mary, as they embark on a visit to their 65-year-old Uncle Frank. Here is how the story goes:

 

Jude

 

Jude loves living the life. Whenever he hears the word, “Retirement,” he scoffs because it seems so far that it hardly feels real at all. That eventually became his excuse to justify not saving for retirement. He often jokes that he’ll still be agile and efficient well past his 70s, so he can still run his business and earn a living.

 

Mary

 

Mary is after the “baby-girl” life: slaying for the ‘Gram, owing debt just to buy shoes, bags, and human hair in vogue, and never caring about saving. She also believes that retirement is too far to consider now hence she makes no effort to supplement her compulsory pension contributions with additional funds. In fact, if she had her way, she wouldn’t even save a kobo for retirement.

 

This visit to Uncle Frank is about to change their lives…

 

Uncle Frank

 

Uncle Frank lives in a decent bungalow in a high-brow estate in Abuja. He is well off and makes foreign trips at least once a year to visit his children. He also has a thriving business managed by his younger son in Lagos and looks ‘fresh’ every time Jude and Mary see him. They both admire him a lot.

 

During their discussion, Uncle Frank asks his niece and nephew about work, business, and relationships. Then somehow the discussion veered towards later years and retirement.

 

He noticed their nonchalance towards the topic and chuckled. Then he began his lecture:

 

“You youngsters don’t realize that the years slip by and building a sizable nest egg becomes more difficult if you don’t start early. Remember that you’ll also probably acquire other expenses you may not have yet such as family, in-laws, mortgage, and others,” he said.

 

He took a swig of juice and continued, “You may not earn a lot of money now in your business and career, but one thing you have more of than richer, older folks is time. With time on your side, saving for retirement becomes a much more pleasant and exciting prospect. You have time to map out your retirement plan and whatever you save compounds with the years and gets reinvested to make you more money.”

 

“How do you lads think I managed to build the life I have now after my years in the Human Resource space?” he finished with a smile.

 

It was a visit to remember for Jude and Mary. They got schooled by Uncle Frank and suddenly, their motto of living for the moment sounded utterly lame.

 

Got your retirement locked down? Move to ARM Pensions and we’ll help you plan for a better tomorrow.

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6 tips to excel in your career

6 tips to excel in your career

Many years ago, Maureen Akintoye applied a list of smart nuggets to help her excel in her career. Now, with over a decade of successfully running a top Marketing and Advertising firm in New Zealand, she shares a few career tips which worked for her and where they originated from.

 

  1. I first heard Zig Ziglar say it when people challenged him on his “positive attitude” manifesto: “You can do anything with a positive attitude better than you can do it with a negative one.” – Lea McLeod, Career Coach.

 

  1. Work hard and be nice to people. It’s a very simple motto I try to live by daily – Marie Burns, Recruiting Leader at Compete.

 

  1. There’s never going to be a precisely right moment to speak, share an idea, or take a chance. Just take the moment – don’t let thoughts like “I don’t feel like I’m ready” get in the way. Look to see if you have the main things or the opportunity will pass you by. Don’t let perfect get in the way of really, really good. – Kathleen Tierney, Executive Vice President and COO of Chub Insurance.

 

  1. Tenacity and persistence – nothing beats it. Even if your talent isn’t there yet, you can always develop it to what it will eventually be. But people who are persistent and tenacious and driven and have a really clear, defined goal of what they want, nothing compares to that. Not giving up is really huge. – Catt Sadler, Anchor at E!

 

  1. Asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness but of strength. No one got to where they are today without help along the way. Don’t be afraid to ask, and then remember to return the favor. – Elliott Bell, Director of Marketing of The Muse.

 

  1. Even if you aren’t feeling totally sure of yourself and your abilities, it’s important that you present yourself otherwise. That means, shifting your body language to portray confidence. So, while you may be so nervous before your big interview or meeting that you want to curl into a ball, resist the temptation to cower or make yourself smaller, and walk in with your head held high. – Michele Hoos, Writer.

 

Invite someone to move to ARM Pensions to enjoy a greater advantage now and at retirement.

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Not another work week!

Not another work week!

It’s Sunday night and you’re excited because it’s one of the weeks you get to work remotely due to the staggered work conditions at the office following the pandemic. You’re happy because unlike the previous week, you don’t have to rush out into the frustrating traffic to get to work. So, you press play on the new series you’ve saved to your list on Netflix and settle in for a binge-fest.

 

An email alert pops up and one look confirms your fear – a group-wide meeting has been fixed for 8 AM the following morning followed by a short brainstorming session just two hours after. Instantly, the enthusiasm towards your binge-date with Netflix deflates as you imagine how tight your Monday would be despite working from home. You sigh and turn off the series – it can wait for now as you need to hit the sack.

 

Deep within, you wonder how it would feel to not have to work every day to eke a living and your heart does a double somersault. Waking up at the time you like and yet not having to worry about where to get money to survive sounded awesome to you. But just as soon as that glimmer of hope surfaces in your heart, reality slaps it back into the dream realm.

 

The problem

 

It’s at this point that you remember that you hadn’t given a thought to your retirement. Even though the mandatory pension contribution is deducted by your employer and remitted on your behalf into your retirement savings account, you often wish they didn’t have to.

 

You don’t even care about the reputation of the Pension Fund Administrator (PFA) that your pension account is domiciled with neither have you considered if the amount being contributed could fund the lifestyle you dream of when you retire.

 

Reality Check

The smell of something burning jolts you back to reality. The popcorn you were making on the stove-top for your Netflix date was burning but now, it is the least of your problems.

 

You immediately begin researching PFA’s and jotting down the ones with the experience and impressive pedigree. You narrow it down to ARM Pensions – a part of Asset & Resource Management Holding Company (ARMHoldCo) with over 27 years of experience managing assets for individuals and corporations. You initiate the step to move your pension to them and in the next twenty minutes that you took to read through the ARM Pensions website, you realise that you can Walk Into Tomorrow to plan your retirement and know exactly how much you need for the lifestyle you desire at retirement.

 

You immediately log in via wit.armpension.com and spend the rest of the night planning in joy as retirement starts to feel exciting.

 

As you close your browser to retire for the night, you decide that waking up early and going through the weekly routine of work and meetings wasn’t such a bad idea if it caters to your today and buys you the tomorrow of your dreams.

Visit www.armpension.com/transfer to move to ARM Pensions today.

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Benita’s Corner (Episode One) : The “good life” bug bit

Benita’s Corner (Episode One) : The “good life” bug bit

Hi, I’m Benita and it’s nice to meet you. This is to officially welcome you to my corner where I plan to rant (mostly about money), goof around, and sometimes get serious with what’s happening in my life and the world.

My friends describe me as intelligent, playful, and highly optimistic. So, I hope that as you read, you’ll get a glimpse into my life, teach me a thing or two, and hopefully learn from my experiences, as we navigate the tides of adulthood – you and me.

 

Now, to the first subject of my rant…

 

The “good life bug”

 

A few years ago, I finished youth service and was super excited to land my first job. Armed with a 2.1 degree, a couple of professional courses under my belt, and the enthusiasm of a winner, I came to Lagos to begin an exciting career. I had this dream that once I landed this city flowing with milk and honey, companies will be rushing me.

 

Well, I got the shock of my life when I had spent over six months in my sister’s house, sent out over a hundred job applications, and not one company was excited to employ me. I had thought they’d rush me like hot puff puff but alas… I cried, fasted, and prayed. I even went personally to offices to beg for an opportunity to show my CV… I did so much, yet nothing.

 

Then Nosa shows up…

 

A couple of years down the line after I finally got a job, I met Nosa, and he introduced me to the ‘good life’. Nosa was a fashionisto and skilled with styling. Unfortunately, he was also a party animal, and soon, with my constant hangouts with him, I got bit by the good life bug. Only, this good life bug was costing me more than I cared to admit.

 

As a Customer Service officer, I was earning N200k but my people, do you know that by the time the 25th of every month came around and salaries were paid, I’d already be in debt?

 

Hmmm… How manage, you ask? Well, Nosa had introduced me to some boutique owners who didn’t mind giving me items to pay later. So, while I looked like a million bucks when going to work and parties, my account was constantly in red. Or should we talk of the unending parties and hangouts this my guy always roped me into? Where I had to open my purse so as not to be seen as a broke babe…SMH.

 

I was living from salary to salary with no savings or investment to my name. Even common emergency fund, your babe didn’t have.

 

This lifestyle felt normal to me until one day when I met Rachel, my paddy way back in the University.

 

You guys won’t believe what I saw that day. I felt like an utter fool to put it lightly.

 

Shoot! My ride home is about to leave, and unless you people want your girl to trek from VI to Festac, I gotta go (My car broke down mbok). This gist will continue next time. In the meantime, beware of the “Nosa’s” out there. Lerra!

To be continued!

 

 

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The Do’s of spending in retirement

The Do’s of spending in retirement

Mojisola is on the brink of retirement and her excitement knows no bounds. She already drafted a plan of what she’d want to do with her years after hanging her work boot. She wants to get it right and enjoy her retirement without running out of money or good health.

 

Here are some interesting bits of her spending plan:

 

 

Track your spending daily – Mojisola knows that checking on her transactions and account balance will help her see how much is going out and discover where to cut back on excesses. This ensures that she won’t be dipping too much into the money she has saved.

 

Spend on learning – Continued education of any kind such as developing new professional skills or enhancing old ones is a positive way to spend retirement money, Mojisola discovered. This knowledge expansion helps you stay sharper and relevant as you get older.

 

Spend on relationship building – Paying for travel to visit her children, grandchildren, or old friends from school will be money well spent in retirement. Like her, you need to keep a vibrant social life to enjoy retirement.

 

Spend on activities that can improve your health – Such as health club/gym memberships, exercise equipment, and personal training, among others. Mojisola is aware that these activities will boost her mood, keep her in great physical and mental health and expose her to new relationships.

 

Spend on activities that bring you pleasure – Research shows that great experiences tend to bring far more happiness to retirees than accumulating lots of expensive stuff. So instead of buying an expensive bag, Mojisola would rather choose a trip with friends instead.

 

Learn all you need to enjoy a comfortable retirement at www.armpension.com

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3 Ways to Improve Mental Health in Retirement

3 Ways to Improve Mental Health in Retirement

Meet our friends  David and  Sade. Both of them have been retirees for one and six years, respectively

 

Sade, who has been retired for six years, wakes up at 6 am every day to go for a run and has been working hard at keeping healthy and happy. She has more time now for her children’s birthday parties and personal passions.

 

David, on the other hand, just retired but is filled with anxiety about the future. For the first time, he wakes up to face an empty to-do list, which bothers him. This is uncharted territory to him. “What if life becomes bland and the excitement isn’t there anymore,” he thinks.

 

If  Davids’s story sounds familiar, not to worry, here are a few tips to improve your mental well-being:

 

1. Focus on your physical health – Now that you have more time for your physical health, why not make the most of it? Your physical health is connected to your mental well-being. A few planned and consistent activities like exercising, eating healthier meals, and practicing balancing stretch help ensure that your physical health and, in effect, your mental well-being remain sound.

 

 

2. Don’t skip your doctor’s appointments – One thing that can affect mental well-being as you age is worrying about the state of your overall health. If you have any concerns about your physical health or you’ve noticed that something has changed in your body, talk to your doctor during your appointments rather than letting it sit on your mind. He/she will provide answers or assistance that will help eliminate any fears or manage any issues that exist.

 

 

3. Explore what gives you a purpose – Having a purpose is critical for mental well-being. It gives you a reason to get up in the morning and gives your days a touch of meaning. Just because you’re retired from regular work doesn’t mean you can’t have a new purpose in life.

 

 

Creative activities like painting, writing, drawing, singing, dancing, or building something can help spark a latent passion you didn’t have time to nurture while building your career. You can consider using the experience you have acquired over the years to mentor the younger generation or volunteer for a cause you hold dear; either way, when you find a purpose that lights your heart on fire, it will enhance your mental well-being.

 

 

Visit www.armpension.com for more tips.

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10 BENEFITS OF A COMPREHENSIVE POWER OF ATTORNEY

10 BENEFITS OF A COMPREHENSIVE POWER OF ATTORNEY

Powers of attorney are voluntary delegations of authority by the principal to the agent. The principal has not given up his or her own power to do these same functions, but rather has granted legal authority to the agent to perform various tasks on the principal’s behalf.

A comprehensive power of attorney ensures someone you trust will be in charge of important decisions and tasks, from paying bills to monitoring health care, and is a crucial part of long term planning.

Having covered the explanation of what a durable power of attorney is, here are the top 10 benefits of having a comprehensive power of attorney.

Provides the ability to choose who will make decisions for you (rather than a court).

If someone has signed a power of attorney and later becomes incapacitated and unable to make decisions, the agent named can step into the shoes of the incapacitated person and make important financial decisions. Without a power of attorney, a guardianship or conservatorship may need to be established, and can be very expensive.

Avoids the necessity of a guardianship or conservatorship.

Someone who does not have a comprehensive power of attorney at the time they become incapacitated would have no alternative but to have someone else petition the court to appoint a guardian or conservator. The court will choose who is appointed to manage the financial and/or health affairs of the incapacitated person, and the court will continue to monitor the situation as long as the incapacitated person is alive. While not only a costly process, another detriment is the fact that the incapacitated person has no input in who will be appointed to serve.

Provides family members a good opportunity to discuss wishes and desires.

There is much thought and consideration that goes into the creation of a comprehensive power of attorney. One of the most important decisions is who will serve as the agent. When a parent or loved one makes the decision to sign a power of attorney, it is a good opportunity for the parent to discuss wishes and expectations with the family and, in particular, the person named as agent in the power of attorney.

The more comprehensive the power of attorney, the better.

As people age, their needs change and their power of attorney should reflect that. Seniors have concerns about long-term care, applying for government benefits to pay for care, as well as choosing the proper care providers. Without allowing the agent to perform these tasks and more, precious time and money may be wasted.

Prevents questions about principal’s intent.

Many of us have read about court battles over a person’s intent once that person has become incapacitated. A well-drafted power of attorney, along with other health care directives, can eliminate the need for family members to argue or disagree over a loved one’s wishes. Once written down, this document is excellent evidence of their intent and is difficult to dispute.

Prevents delays in asset protection planning.

A comprehensive power of attorney should include all of the powers required to do effective asset protection planning. If the power of attorney does not include a specific power, it can greatly dampen the agent’s ability to complete the planning and could result in thousands of dollars lost. While some powers of attorney seem long, it is necessary to include all of the powers necessary to carry out proper planning.

Protects the agent from claims of financial abuse.

Comprehensive powers of attorney often allow the agent to make substantial gifts to self or others in order to carry out asset protection planning objectives. Without the power of attorney authorizing this, the agent (often a family member) could be at risk for financial abuse allegations.

Allows agents to talk to other agencies.

An agent under a power of attorney is often in the position of trying to reconcile bank charges, make arrangements for health care, engage professionals for services to be provided to the principal, and much more. Without a comprehensive power of attorney giving authority to the agent, many companies will refuse to disclose any information or provide services to the incapacitated person. This can result in a great deal of frustration on the part of the family, as well as lost time and money.

Provides peace of mind for everyone involved.

Taking the time to sign a power of attorney lessens the burden on family members who would otherwise have to go to court to get authority for performing basic tasks, like writing a check or arranging for home health services. Knowing this has been taken care of in advance is of great comfort to families.

How to set up a Power of Attorney using ARM Trustees Incap Solutions

What is Incap Solutions?

Incap Solutions is a service which enables you to plan for the “in-between” situations whereby an individual is temporarily or permanently incapacitated and is unable to make personal medical decisions or financial decisions.

Incap Solutions employs the use of Medical and Financial Power of Attorney.

A power of attorney is an important estate planning tool through which a person (often known as the principal, grantor or donor) grants certain powers to another person known as the agent, donee or attorney-in-fact. While executing a power of attorney (otherwise known as the POA), the principal could determine the magnitude of power to be granted to the attorney-in-fact, by either authorizing the attorney to deal with only a particular subject matter relating to the principal (a specific power of attorney) or to handle most/all of the principal’s matters (a general power of attorney).

Typically, a power of attorney would terminate upon the death of the principal, there are cases whereby the principal is neither dead nor functional. A Durable power of attorney would be useful in such instances where the principal becomes incapacitated.

To set up an Incap Solutions, please visit here

Credit in part: https://www.mclinburnsed.com

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How Abu succeeded in building wealth

How Abu succeeded in building wealth

Abu is single, and 27 years old. As soon as he left University three years ago, he scored a job as a Banking Officer. The first thing he did was rent an apartment close to his workplace for an easy commute and then accumulate a significant amount of discretionary income from his employment.

 

Goals

 

While his mates – including his childhood friend, Hassan – were busy buying up every new tech gadget, Abu ignored the intense pressure to spend frivolously, and instead focused on his life’s objectives: buy a car, get married in the next few years, purchase a home, start a family, and possibly even plan for retirement.

Like he did so many times in the past, he asked Hassan to straighten out his financial life, but his friend was too far taken with the good life.

 

Baby Steps

 

Abu was now eager to begin planning for all his important life events but did not have a formal financial plan. He had a big advantage, though: his parents had taught him and his siblings to budget and save, right from when they were 6 years old. Spurred on by his father’s anthem: “Great wealth builders focus on both saving money and earning more”, Abu imposed strict financial discipline on himself.

He:

 

  • Rented a house for the first few years after starting work. In the short term, renting offered far more flexibility than committing to a long-term mortgage, which he was entitled to, six months into his new job, subject to his position being confirmed. While renting, Abu would save on property maintenance, repairs, tax, insurance, and any force majeure disasters, which were all the Landlord’s obligations. Abu’s dream was to purchase real estate and build an elevated bungalow with a pool for his family. He felt he would be ready to handle the responsibility of a loan three years into working full time.

  • Did a 10- minute commute to work. Because he lived near his workplace, he did a short, inexpensive ride-share to work with colleagues, and did not immediately have to worry about the costs of vehicle reliability, pricing, or financing.

  • Never bought what he didn’t need. Did he ‘want’ that sleek, supersonic Mercedes Benz that Yusuf had just bought? Of course. But he just didn’t ‘need’ it immediately.

 

Action Plan

It was now time to plot his future with more certainty, and Abu turned to a professional financial advisor from a trusted Asset Management firm to help him with planning.

This made financial planning easy for Abu by first assessing his goals, current situation, and risk tolerance, drawing up a budget, and then constructing an investment portfolio. For Abu, the recommendations were to establish a preliminary annual savings account and a retirement fund.

 

The plan was for him to save up to 30% of his income, if possible so that he could aggressively put more of his wealth toward investments – short and long term – such as an emergency fund, mutual funds, Exchange-Traded Funds (ETF), and even a personal retirement account.

 

The financial advisor continues to support Abu in tracking, reviewing, and re-evaluating his progress toward his specific goals.

 

Lessons Learned

 

Yusuf, on the other hand, made the terrible mistake of thinking that financial planning for the future was restricted to those approaching retirement. His preference for spending over saving hindered his life trajectory.

 

While he now shares a small apartment with two friends and is saddled with debt, Abu lives in his own house, is married, has purchased a car, and has comfortably risen in the ranks at work.

Abu’s greater future orientation is a testament that starting life with good financial habits will inevitably bleed over into success in building wealth.

 

Get in touch with a Financial Advisor today via [email protected] 

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