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Awhile ago, out of curiosity to find out what this banking people are up to lately and what they really know about money and investing I had to speak to a banker friend of mine.

The simple question I asked was, 'if I had one milion naira to invest today, where to do you suggest I put it?'..

I mean this guys have all our money in the country for save keeping. As such they know ( or rather they should know) how to put it to good use more than the majority . I mean isn't that why you work hard only to keep your money with them at the end of the day?? Such irony!!!!

Anyways, i was shocked to my bones by the answer I got.

I was told "the best way to invest my one million naira was to open a dollar account and save money there since dollars is rising very much compared to the naira."

Mehn, I was blown away!!! You mean this guys...!!!! A banker could...!!!!

Am sure even if your ask the best of the best investment person there( I don't know how they are called), you won't get any answer much different from that!!! The fruit they say doesn't fall very far from the tree��.

Now, you might say 'But it's true. The facts are glaring. Dollars is increasing more the naira( more like everyday) Our naira has no value'.

Many have even predicted a dollars to rise to about one thousand naira. ��

Yes it's doubtless to say, our Nigerian government has completely useless and is on their way to obliterating the naira( I mean that's what they are good for). So its completely financial ruin to work for naira right now or keep any money in naira.

What's the way forward now!!!

There is a simple( not easy) solution to this to those who want to keep their money in dollars or other foreign currencies but first a few things to consider.

1. Savers are losers all the time!!!!

We have already seen what this guys( the government) can do with their recklessness by printing money and getting into more debt. It's not only a Nigeria's phenomenal. It's even worst in the US and Europe. People do not know expecially from out end that the dollars since it's inception has lost more than 95% of it's value. But of cause, it's still better than what we have here in Nigeria. And I would love to have and dollars always compared to naira.

You want to save, inflation will eat your money silently no matter the currency it is as long as this government can always print money out of thin air anytime.

2. Tax

Whether you like it or not, someone has to pay for all this plunders this government commit. Since they can't grow the economy through production, it's easier to keep printing and borrowing money.

But they can't print money forever. So what next do they do. They physically go after your savings in the bank. In their bank. You kept it there for them remember ( oh oh)

So, they will manufacture all kinds of tax and levies. It's now worst in Nigeria!! They go by different names too numerous to mention.

Simply said, savers pay more in taxes.

Back to the way forward!!!

If you must save money in foreign currencies from Nigeria, it has to be saved in 'assets' that is known to grow above the inflation rate while you still benefit from the currency exchange.

Of all the assets out, stocks has the record of procuding returns above inflation rate consistently. And it's stability(volatility) increases with time.

So you can and should save your money in foreign stocks in foreign countries in foreign currencies.

This is one benefit of global investing to a Nigerian. It's actually a three-fold benefit.

# You tend benefit from currency exchange, and

# You partake from the stocks return of many developed nations. As their economy is prospering, so will your own shares.

# You reduce the risk of investment by investing in only one country. For the average man, there is little investment opportunity to be done in Nigeria as it is already. Stocks has made it cheaper to access other foreign nations with better structure.

Think what all these will do to your savings!!!

Thank God many little companies has made this possible for us to have access to foreign stocks a from Nigeria at the comfort of our home and keep our money in dollars at the same time.��

We have good companies like Bamboo, Trove, Chaka etc....

If you know how to build and manage a stock portfolio successfully, you can run now and open an account with them.

Go foreign. Invest globally

Savers are losers anytime, everytime!!

But we have been trained that the prudent thing to always do is save money.

George S. Clason wrote originally in 1926 the book Richest man in Babylon and said the first rule of wealth building is to 'Pay yourself first'.

W. Clement Stone added "He that cannot save doesn't have the seed of greatness in him". I tried checking up the date he gave this quote but couldn't find any.

These are ancient and undisputable laws of wealth. And of cause as they say 'we must never  break the ancient landmark'.

I know many people follow this wise council religiously. I use to be like this. But a simple financial education made me see more.

These people don't nnow two things!!

1. They didn't look at the dates of those quotes.

2. They don't know the rule of money had changed, a few years after those quotes.

During their era, it was good to 'pay yourself first'. It was good to really save. Money was real money. It was backed by a real asset. I mean ancient Babylonians used real money and did business with real money.

However, in 1971 the rule of money changed all over the world.  Money became essentially debt. Garbage. Trash!!!

I tell people today, if you follow those advise you might arrive at your journey no doubt, but it might take you many many years to get there. And you might not live to enjoy the whole discipline. Who knows how long one might be alive?

You deprived yourself of so many things only do enjoy your life at old age or if you are no more alive, your heirs to use. Can you trust they will use it as wise as you did?? Check history on that to find out first!!!

Am sure Clason and Winston wouldn't give such advice today. It was good for their time. It's a dangerous advice for us today.

As long as this guys ( governments) can always just print money from thin air, at will, it doesn't make any sense to save money.

People think inflation is lack of money.

Inflation is too much money chasing too little goods.

As long as this guys kee printing excess money anytime they like, your paper money will keep loosing money. 

You can't build wealth fast enough on a savings plan. Infact, you can't save enough to build wealth. This guys are causing inflation at such faster rate than your savings can amount to anything.

You don't need the discipline of savings. You don't need the discipline of thrift.

Am not saying to just squander money at will. That's not the point here. That is really bad, and one sure way to poverty. Yeah!!

Save 5million to buy in property in 4 years time. When it's that time, your 5million might not buy the same property no more. It might need about two to tens more, mostly because of inflation. Of cause,we have to put other factors constant here just to make the point clearer.

So not saving is good for your money. Not paying yourself first is good for your finance.

I had to use property because it's what is mostly common now. You get all this sales agents selling you on this idea of inflation and why you should buy their property now. Nothing wrong with what they do. Man has to work his work. Na hustle we all dey!!!

Financial advisers, planners and brokers also do the same thing with stocks, bonds, and the rest. They tell you to buy early and invest for the long term.

But you don't notice something!!  So let me help you see it.

They make CASHFLOW and immediate profit from their sales pitch even before you make a dime. Then they tell you to wait till the property or stocks appreciates in value ( Gosh! Do you know when?)

Most of them don't even buy what they are selling you.

They all want 'cashflow' first and so sell you 'capital gains'. They aren't making their own money off inflation this time. They are making it off you.

So what does this tell you?? It tells you what is most important in investing and to your finance, which is 'cashflow'.

You will simply make smarter investment decisions when you focus more on cashflow ( creating reoccurrent monthly income), and less on capital appreciation (from inflation).

Think of investing in terms of making recurrent montly income first and then only invest in assets that give that.

I have seen people who own landed properties, invested in stocks etc but can't feed their family properly. Always having money issues.

You don't want to be like this.

Capital appreciation is important. But make cashflow your primary investment focus.