30 and ready to Will it

30 and ready to Will it

I didn’t think I would come this far so soon. 10 years ago, I was just a starry-eyed girl, fresh from university looking for her place in the world. What is now my chain of stores began like child’s play. My first job was as a front desk executive at a consulting firm. Many of the well paid big girls in the office could not resist complementing my dress sense. They found it amazing that I could pull of magazine cover type of looks on my entry level salary. I knew all the hot spots for good clothes, the will to go the distance, good negotiation skills and an eye for combinations that work well. I soon became a personal shopper for most of the ladies in the office.

When I could no longer cope with the demand, I resigned and faced the business head long. Consulting for corporate fashion became my thing and I was soon a popular name at many organisations. Along the line, I picked up the habit of attaching little favours for my clients, alongside their purchases. It made a massive difference, the referrals poured in and soon, I was ordering fabric from Bangladesh and India, sending original designs to China and shipping in clothes in my label. The first store was a huge success, two stores quickly followed and now I have over 30 stores stocked with unique designs for the corporate woman, bearing my seal.

Of course, making and selling clothes is not all I have done in the past 10 years. I found love along the way and started a family not long after. Seemingly, the only thing not working in life is my relationship with my in-laws. They just cannot stand the sight of me. Traditional in their outlook and set in their ways, they cannot understand a wife that jets all over the world opening stores and gracing runways. They think their banker son deserves to come home to sumptuous food made by his wife every day. They think I am not prioritizing our two kids and that my wanderlust is the reason we do not yet have a son.

If only they knew that the glory days of bankers are over. That their son is not yet highly placed enough to earn the kind of money that can fund our current lifestyle. That the houses and cars are products of my country hopping. That the fat allowance they get every month often comes from me. Already I can hear the whispers, the prodding, he needs to get a younger wife that will stay at home to take care of him and bare him sons. At first, I was certain he would not budge, but his recent incessant complaints about my schedule is betraying the fact that he is beginning to succumb to their prodding. I would not be shocked if I return home one day to meet a yellow sisi in my kitchen, wearing the madam glow and feasting on my hard work. That’s why I could not wait, I had to take steps to secure my children and my assets.

First, I put my children’s education in a Trust, that way they will still get to attend the best schools, regardless of what happens. I am also considering estate planning. It’s time to put my house in order. Not many people think about getting a Will in their 30s but I have to. Given my situation, I can’t take chances, it’s time to Will it. I hope I live a long happy life, but if I don’t or if something happens to my marriage, I want it to be clear who owns what and who gets what. I also want my daughters to know they mean the world to me and they are the reason I work so hard.

I am not leaving this to chance, it’s time to be 100% sure.

Securing your assets for the ones you love is now really easy, sign up on our Easy Will portal to get a secure and valid Will online.

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The jiffy that changes everything

The jiffy that changes everything

It was a day like every other.

I had closed from my office in Victoria Island and made my way to the bus-stop to get a cab home. 5.30pm was the usual rush hour in Lagos so I anticipated the heavy traffic- and grudgingly accepted it too. I didn’t wait too long before I got a cab and my long ride home started.

After several hours of snail-speed movement, we got to ‘Cele Bridge’. My cab driver announced that the road ahead was blocked, and it would take more than the expected time to reach my destination. I knew what he was getting at. Before I could voice it, he spat it out “Oga, you go add something for this money o. No be wetin I expect I dey see again”. As a proper Lagosian, I wouldn’t be caught in that trap, so I opened my eyes wide and put on my most intimidating voice before responding “Which kain talk be that one na? Abeg I will give you what we agreed o.” My retort seemed to work as the discussion ended as quickly as it begun.

When I saw that the traffic wasn’t moving, I reckoned that since my house was barely 10 minutes away I could as well alight and pick a bike home. I had done it before, so no big deal.

One minute later, I was out of the cab and about to cross the road to hail a bike when I remembered that my son had been haunting me since last night for his birthday gift. I went instead into an electronic store located beside the bridge to get him the PSP game he had always wanted. I could already hear his excited squeal and I see him doing his signature happy dance.

“Bike!” I shouted, a young bike rider stopped. I told him my home address, we agreed on the price and I hopped on. As he made his way, I thought of my little Sophie who was still down with cold and my wife’s text message earlier that day telling me to buy her drugs while coming home. I quickly told the bike rider to stop at Heavenly Pharmacy just down the road…

Suddenly a boy standing by the road ran right in the middle in a bid to make it across. I heard screams from passersby – and screeching of car tyres.  A failed brake system soon launched the bike rider and myself into mid-air. It all happened in a jiffy!

I landed on my back but a sharp pain in my leg begged for immediate scrutiny. I came to quickly and looked down fearing the worst, but it wasn’t as bad as I suspected. Call it grace or luck, but it would have been another story if I wasn’t wearing a good helmet. My bike rider wasn’t as lucky.

The bike was on him and I suspected his leg was crushed from the way he screamed uncontrollably. One look at him and my fears were confirmed. The onlookers who had come to assist soon got to work removing the bike on his leg. I got up and looked around for my things, gathering them with shaky hands as I made to walk away- but the ‘Good Samaritans’ wouldn’t have it.

They tried to hold me insisting that I may have internal bleeding, but I declared that I was fine. I needed to leave that scene. I was too disturbed to stick around. They let me go. I stepped away from the ruin and tried to walk. One step after the other, I walked steadily with some blood oozing from my wounds till I reached the pharmacy which was already very near. While Oga Chidi dressed my wound, I thought of what would have been if that accident had turned out another way.

Blood stains covered the PSP game I bought for my son. As I took cotton-wool soaked in water and cleaned off every red blotch, I imagined how everything would have changed for my family in just a jiffy.

I was lucky…too lucky. For many, that moment could mean that they remain bedridden for the rest of their lives. For others like Mrs. Abimbola Olamuyiwa and her family, such an instant changed everything. Watch her story here.

As I limped home, my eyes swelled with tears as I hugged my boy’s game, my laptop bag and Sophie’s drugs. I had been given another chance at life, at love, at hope. A chance that many are not opportune to have.

That jiffy of a second could have been fatal changing everything for my wife Blessing and our two children.

 

This article is brought to you by ARM LIFE.

 

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Source: Articles

Call me daddy

It was supposed to be a quick dash across town. All I wanted to do was meet up with a friend over lunch and return to work before the break elapsed. Lunch went well.  Returning to work however posed a challenge. The whole of Awolowo way was blocked, one of those stand-still traffic situations capable of ruining a perfectly good day. Weighing my options, I opted to park my car at the restaurant and return to the office via a motorbike. The rider managed to manoeuvre his way through the traffic and I could already see my office up ahead when he suddenly dived, attempting to climb the road divider in a bid to cut out a particularly busy spot. He miscalculated and instead of getting on the divider, ended up on the other side of the road, right before a truck. The okada rider was too dazed to a make a quick decision. Adrenaline set in, reason gave way to fear and I took a leap, jumped off the bike into the gutter. I must have hit my head because everything became blurry, I could not place anything but the face of my daughter. As I slipped into oblivion, I kept seeing her face as I saw it that morning when she smiled and waved goodbye to me.

You see, I have a 13 month old daughter, yet my only child. She clocked one just last month and as a proud daddy, I almost emptied my Money Market Fund account hosting half of Lagos at her first-year birthday party. My wife and I were already discussing schools, we already had three options of nursery schools to choose from. In fact, I had already applied for a two day leave at work scheduled for next week so that I can process her international passport. We wanted her to travel with us for our family vacation in August.  Just this morning, she babbled something that sounded like ‘mama’. I remember my wife’s excitement, I can still see her happy face as she feigned the shoki dance to spite me. our daughter laughed, not quite sure why mummy was so happy. I bent down and stroked her cheek urging her to call dada. But again, she said mama. Just this morning.

Somebody must have helped me because when I came to, I found myself in a hospital room. As the doctor went on about slight concussions, rest, medication and the like, I could hardly hear him. I was overwhelmed by the realisation that I could easily have died. Just like that. I could have died, before my daughter’s first day at school, before getting a chance to show her Disney world, before hearing her call me daddy. She would never have had the chance to call me daddy and I would have died, just like that. I knew I would never take anything for grated again in my life. I knew I would treasure every moment I had with my family henceforth.

I was discharged a few hours later. Doctor said I was fine, just a slight bruise on the left side of my head. He said the massive bandage round my head, adequate rest and the prescribed drugs would fix me. My colleague volunteered to drive me home. He was my last dialled number before the accident and had been contacted by the hospital. My wife had no idea what had happened. When she opened the door to my bandaged head, she screamed in shock. I held her, assured her I was fine and went straight to my daughter, beautifully curled up on the sofa, sleeping like one without worries. The sight broke me, I held her and sobbed repeating time and again, I’m going to be your daddy, I’ll be here when you grow, I’m going to be your daddy. Reacting in her sleep, she turned to other side, managed to open her sleepy eyes briefly and almost whispered ‘dada’.

I knew it in that moment, I would do anything possible to protect this child. If anything ever happened to me, I had to be sure that she will be fine. Later that night, I scheduled a meeting with my relationship manager. I already had an Education Plan set up for her and it was finally time to get that Life Insurance. Life is too fickle for me not to be prepared.

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Source: Blog

It ends this November!

I’ve followed ARM on Facebook for some time now, thanks to my wife. Every month, they post something (meme or article) about ‘payday’ that taunts me to no end.

It’s almost as if they are looking me in the eye and speaking to my very soul. I am constantly made to evaluate my choices especially regarding saving and investing…which really isn’t a bad thing.

I have been bad at managing my salary and the small change that comes in from my side hustle. As a husband and father to two lovely children, I spend every dime that comes into my account on life’s necessities. My wife is the one with the saving mentality. Every month, she makes it a point to tag me on financial freedom quotes.

I read them and sneer: “This woman will not understand. How does she want me to save with all these responsibilities weighing me down?”

I always have excuses despite her support financially. But the recent article I read stuck with me doing strange things to my mindset. My take-away from that article was this: Will my wife and children have the life they do now, if God forbid something happens to me?

Not that I want to die o, God forbid. But the reality is that death does not take permission before visiting anyone.

This November, as I count the days to the grrrring sound of my salary alert and the payment from my side hustle, my plan is crystal clear. No major flexing this Christmas o… Something light can still work for us all.

I’m done procrastinating and feeling guilty with every ‘payday’ post I see on Facebook. I need to take action now.

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Ready to join me in making the best move for your family today? Explore policy options here today.

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Source: Blog

What is today’s date?

What is today’s date?

The moment my phone rang, I knew it. Bimbo had sent me a good morning SMS that morning, and she was calling barely an hour later. I needed no other reminder that the end of the month was almost here. If there is a major disadvantage to being a salary earner, it’s that everyone around you knows when you’re getting paid. Like clockwork, the calls start coming in around the 20th and they don’t stop until the 2nd of the new month. There’s the person just calling to greet you (and remind you to remember her), your hairdresser’s son who needs money for exams,your driver whose wife will soon deliver. The list is endless.

At first, I managed the situation by allocating specific amounts to ‘family and friends’ in my monthly budget. I disbursed the amount on a first come, first serve basis – that didn’t work for very long. There were just those cases touching enough to shake my resolve till I found myself diverting money budgeted for other things. Because life must go on, monthly expenses are usually sorted and it’s often my savings plan that suffers. Next month, I tell myself, I will save next month; but nothing ever changes ‘next month’.

I finally became really smart. I backed my resolve to save with necessary action. I set up a direct debit mandate to my Money Market Fund Investment. I even put reminders on my phone alerting me to lookup the offer rates of Treasury Bills and check out stock brokerage opportunities. Guess what date I put for the reminder? The same date my salary comes in. Now, as I get the credit alert that announces my salary, I also get the alert that reminds me to invest and the one that assures me I just invested. It’s been very effective, I am finally building what I like to call an ‘emergency fund’ and if I continue this way, I should have enough to attempt getting my own property soon.

So, I no longer wonder what date it is before I pick phone calls. Even if you call on salary day, the answer is simple, and true. ‘Ah, Bimbo, I don’t have money o. My cash is tied up…’

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Source: Articles

Abu’s journey (4): Get rich, stay rich

Abu’s journey (4): Get rich, stay rich

In Episode one, Abu was just passing out from the compulsory 3-weeks orientation camp. Episode two sees him counting the days until NYSC is finished. In Episode three, Abu goes full mode job seeker. Now in this episode, the job market tide turns favourably for Abu. Read on…

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Work had started in earnest for Abu and he was enjoying every bit of it. The first week, all official bits with Human Resources had to be taken care of. While other new intakes searched the ceilings when it was time to choose their Pension Fund Administrators (PFA), Abu proudly filled out his ARM Pensions form. He has had this company on his radar since his days as a youth corper when their Job hunter series kept him company and he saw himself doing great things with them.

The second week, pure engineering work began. Understanding the job description wasn’t an uphill task for Abu who had wanted this for too long. In the few days he had been at work, his superiors were already noticing him. His constant volunteering for tasks, asking relevant questions and making sure every ‘T’ was crossed and every ‘I’ was dotted made him ‘special’ in the eyes of his managers. But it was still too early to judge, so they all silently watched and scored him behind the scenes.

The first 3 months came and went too fast for Abu. He had spent most of it getting used to work, studying his managers, knowing his way around work and plotting his next move to claim Yinka for himself for good.

Stoneface, his friend with the permanent frown came in handy for the plan to win Yinka. Stoneface’s uncle owned a big advertising firm in Lagos and he had resumed there after his service year. Now, Abu needed a favour from Stoneface and he called it in.

Stoneface had no qualms about it. He spoke to his uncle about a certain brainbox named Yinka who would take his Creative department to another level with her copywriting skills. Intrigued, his uncle demanded to see her work samples which Stoneface fished out from her portfolio on LinkedIn. Mr. Lukman perused these creative pieces for one week and decided that this talent was worth wooing.

So, he made the call.

When Mr. Lukman mentioned his name, Yinka couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t understand how a company CEO would call when his company had a Human Resource department. But seconds into the conversation, she realized it was no prank. She quickly sat on the edge of her seat and instantly began to stutter.

“Can you come to the office for an interview next week Friday?” he asked. “Yes, sir. Of course, sir. Definitely sir. Thank you sir” she rambled on. “Okay great. See you then.” And the line went dead.

Yinka stared at her phone. “What just happened?” she thought. Then as if on autopilot, she dialed Abu. “Abu, you can’t guess who just called me.” She rushed on. “Who?” Abu asked.

“The CEO of ThinkIt advertising. Can you believe it? He wants me to come to Lagos for an interview” Yinka said excitedly.

“Wow”, Abu said feigning ignorance. “Babe, you don turn superstar o.” “Ha, me sef I no understand this miracle” continued Yinka.

“But will you come?” Abu asked. “Before nko. Is it this 70k they are paying me here I will survive with? Omo, no dulling o” answered Yinka.

Abu smiled knowingly. His game plan was in place.

But he had some big plans to make. If he intends to give Yinka the life she wants, he better begin planning towards it.

With this thought in mind, he turned to investment options. With his investment growing surely and steadily, and his retirement savings account maturing with each quarter, he was sure he had started off right.

Strides into the future

Everything happened too fast for Yinka. Looking back, she couldn’t believe she now worked as Senior Copywriter for ThinkIt Advertising, a position she earned after 4 years of blazing trails. Her baby’s cry brought her back from la-la land and she smiled as she picked little Ahmed up with care not to wake his twin sister Hadizat. He was the spitting image of his dad and Abu always made sure he sang it out loud everywhere he went.

Abu not only took pride in the family he has but also in his consistent climb up the career ladder. In four and a half years, with several professional trainings abroad, a few big oil and gas companies made moves to poach him. He finally settled with DKY Oil and Gas where he became a ‘big boy’ earning a 7-figure salary with mind-blowing benefits.

Having learned all there was to know about wise investments and how it ensured a financial future from ARM, Abu took the big step. He went into real estate investing along with his wife.

He was living the dream and didn’t need any unforeseen interruptions especially regarding the future of his children. So, when Yinka suggested an education savings for their two children, Abu was on board. He was all for plugging every leak after all.

(Will anything happen to stagger this beautiful life that Abu has built? Find out in next week’s episode of Abu’s journey)

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