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Benita’s Corner (Episode 2): Rachel’s transformation

Holla peeps! I hope you didn’t miss me too much.

Without further ado, I’ll just get back to the gist I was narrating the last time we met. Yes, Rachel… <Read Episode one>

How did this reunion even happen? I went to an eatery for lunch with some guys from the office and while we ate, Jeff from Procurement who thinks he’s handsome (he’s really just there) lets out a slow whistle. We all followed his gaze and it landed on this bombshell of a woman who was fueling her car beside the eatery.

Folks, let me not even lie, she oozed class and money. What?! She was standing near her car, a sleek Mercedes Benz. As someone who loved fashion, I could tell that she was wearing designers from head to toe. Her dark skin shone, and her long legs were framed by these wicked Louboutin heels. I was drooling.

When she turned towards the eatery we were in, I almost choked on the dodo I was chewing. That can’t be!

I immediately stood up and ran to the door. I’m sure my colleagues would have thought me crazy in that instant, but that was the least of my worries.

I ran to this beautiful ebony figure and threw my arms around her. In shock, she turned, and her face lit up in recognition. “Benita!” she screamed and hugged me right back. This was my paddy, Rachel. The same one I used to drink garri with in Uni when sapa would hold us. The same one that stayed up at night with me, weaving dreams of the life we would have years after graduation. This same Rachel was distraught with frustration when three years after I had started working, she was still job searching.

Yes, the same Rachel!

“Rachel, it’s been a long time. Na only for WhatsApp we dey chat these days and that one sef is once once. Are you now in Lagos?” I quizzed.

She laughed out loud and responded “There’s so much to talk about but not here my friend. In response to your last question, yes, I’m now in Lagos. You look great though B, why don’t we meet up to catch up on good times babe? If Saturday looks good for you, we can meet at my place.” I agreed happily while thinking in my mind “See Banana Island telling Ikorodu it looks good.” She gave me her address and I held on to it for dear life.

After one last hug and a few air kisses, she stepped into that gorgeous car and drove off into Lagos traffic. I just stood there dazed and confused.

“Break time is over madam, let’s get going,” Jeff said as his voice brought me back to reality. I forgot that I had eaten my lunch only halfway and just sauntered back to the office with the guys, my mind focused on Rachel.

How on earth did regular Rachel become classy rich Rachel, I wondered.

Saturday must come fast because Rachel gats cut this her soap for me…

To be continued…

The post Benita’s Corner (Episode 2): Rachel’s transformation appeared first on Realising Ambitions.

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.

The post Too big a bite appeared first on Realising Ambitions.

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.

The post Not another work week! appeared first on Realising Ambitions.

Get free professional advice from an experts

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Funmi woke up on Tuesday morning to dress up for work, but this day was unlike every other. This was her last day at work and she felt a sense of utter relief and uncertainty. Relief because she had used the retirement lifestyle planner to walk into tomorrow and plan her future ahead of time, determined how much she needed to live a comfortable lifestyle at retirement and made additional voluntary contributions to match what her employer was remitting to her retirement saving. So, in that aspect, she was covered.

Her uncertainty stemmed from the fact that she wasn’t sure what to do with all the money she had accumulated and the free time she was about to have on her hands.

Several thoughts crossed her mind and as she drove to work, her mind traveled back to the day she took the decision to plan for a better tomorrow. She had stumbled on the Walk Into Tomorrow platform via social media and decided to check it out just for fun, but on getting there, she got the shock of her life. After accessing her risk profile and inputting all the information required, she realized that she was nowhere near having enough for the lifestyle she desired at retirement.

That day, she reached out to the HR of her company about making Additional Voluntary Contributions. Today, she had millions at her disposal to maintain a comfortable future without being a burden on her two sons who had their own families to cater to.  “What if she never took that walk into tomorrow” she thought. Her phone beeped her back to reality and she picked it up to see that Bisola, her close friend and colleague had sent her a blog post by ARM Pension about tips to beat retirement boredom and her face lit up. She clicked it and skimmed through – it had all she needed to keep her occupied post retirement.

She heaved a sigh of relief and smiled – tomorrow suddenly looked super good for her!

Three lessons from Funmi’s story:

1. Walk Into Tomorrow to plan your ideal retirement

2. Ensure you have enough saved for tomorrow

3. Know what to do with your tomorrow when it comes.

Learn more about AVC at www.armpension.com/avc and don’t forget to download the ARM Engage app from Google Playstore or Apple store for easier access to your RSA.