3 ways to preserve your mental health

3 ways to preserve your mental health

As a busy professional, if you ever find yourself feeling mentally overwhelmed, these tips can help.

 

1. Identify what you’re feeling

Experts endorse writing as a way of tracking your emotional mood throughout the day. It is a practice that helps you understand which activities and times of the day trigger more anxiety. Once you can identify the trigger moments, you can better prepare yourself to respond.

 

2. Lean on others

Talking with people you trust can be the best outlet for maintaining your mental well-being. It allows them to express sympathy and empathy for what you’re going through. Rather than showing weakness, this shows strength and character while allowing the other person to equally open up about their feelings and struggles too.

 

3. Make time for yourself

Even if it’s just a short moment in time, doing something for yourself can help you relax and improve your mental health. If reading a book, journaling, or doing an exercise in the morning will make you feel happy for the rest of the day, do it – even if it’s for a few minutes. You don’t always have to put pressure on your mind by thinking only about work-related tasks.

 

Walk Into Tomorrow to plan your retirement today. Click here to begin.

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Five things to know before investing in the stock market

The stock market can help you make a lot of money, if you invest knowing the nitty-gritty of the market. Here’s what you need to know

Never jump blindly into stock markets

It often happens that while talking to your friends and colleagues, the discussion heads towards the stock market, and also how the stock market helps investors make big money. You might never have invested in the market, but after hearing about all those things, you also decide to buy some stocks. This move is highly discouraged, because you are jumping in blind. You should invest in the stock market after getting the basic knowledge about it and in accordance with your financial goals.

Before making your first investment, take the time to learn the basics about the stock market and the individual securities composing the market.

Your focus will be on individual securities which you are investing in and the relationship with the broader economy and the factors that drive your stock.

Take out time to learn some of the basic jargons used in the stock market sphere

Invest only what you can afford to lose

The biggest mistake newbie investors make is to invest money that they can’t actually afford to lose. Investing in the stock market can be volatile, and that means that you can potentially lose or gain.

Like any investment, there are inherent risks associated with the stock market. Some are the risks related to the, while some risks are stock-specific that you can avoid.

You need to decide your own risk tolerance considering your age, financial strength, retirement goal, etc., and accordingly make your investment move.

Avoid herd mentality

Unlike many investors, you should avoid the herd mentality that is influenced by the actions of your friends, neighbors or relatives without evaluating the current information and underlying stocks. Thus, if everybody around is investing in a particular stock, the tendency for potential investors is to do the same. But this strategy is bound to backfire in the long run if you have not chosen the stock by careful analysis, that meet your interests.

So, if you really don’t understand about the stock, never step in.

Before investing in a company, you should know about its business. It’s important to only invest in businesses that are easy for you to understand, especially while you’re just starting out. Never invest in a stock. Invest in a business instead.

Choose a Professional Stock Broker

Well, it is true that a lot of investors have made profits through the stock market. But it was only possible because they’ve good market knowledge, made some really smart choices by adopting carefully thought of strategies, and are also much disciplined in their approach.

One best way to safely navigate the stock market investment terrain is by partnering with a trusted professional stock broker. Your broker will advise you on what kind of stock to invest in and what to avoid. Using their financial analysis skills, a professional broker can help you project if your investment strategy will be profitable in future or not.

5 actions that will get you promoted at work

5 actions that will get you promoted at work

Feranmi has consistently met and exceeded her KPI at work and even though it felt good to outperform, she was unhappy because, for three years, she’s yet to get noticed for promotion.

 

She reached out to a career coach to find out what she could be doing wrong. He told her that she had spent years building her skills but not building relationships.

 

Here are the tips he gave to help her strengthen her relationships throughout her career and get on the path to promotion and continued success.

1. Share your gifts with others

 

To be considered for promotion, senior management needs to see that you’re able to work well with others since companies succeed through collective leadership. What’s that special thing about you or the way you go about your work? Share with your teammates to help them become better. Seeing you demonstrating this capability now makes it easier for management to think of you in a role with additional responsibility.

 

2. Shift your perspective from “me” to “we”

How do your team-mates or people you often collaborate with see you? Do you like to tackle tasks alone and take the glory? That is not a team spirit. Start involving your team in strategy planning, listen more, talk less, and focus on leveraging the skills of your team to achieve goals collectively. In short, become a team player.

 

3. Mentor others to develop your leadership skills

Even if you’re not managing a team yet, find opportunities to lead or teach others – it could be through volunteering. We learn best when we are teaching others.

 

4. Collaborate better with clashing personalities

Identify the specific personality characteristics that are challenging for you and develop strategies for working effectively with them. When you find ways to get along with coworkers of all types, you eliminate friction, become more productive, and make it easier for management to promote you.

 

5. Set healthy boundaries in your work relationships

To advance and take on more responsibility, you should learn how and what to say “No” to. Some tasks may not add value to you, your team, or organization or could be a complete waste of your valuable time. Be judicious and diplomatic and learn to delegate where necessary.

 

Here’s to getting the promotion you deserve and moving to a PFA that appreciates you! Click here to move to ARM Pensions.

 

Tips from HBR

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Unexpected riches…

Unexpected riches…

Dele sat in the sitting room where his father had taught him almost everything he knew about life. Only that this time, his father was not seated in his favourite chair opposite the TV, his pile of newspapers had gathered dust from lack of touch and his glasses case lay there dusty and unbothered.

 

His father was gone, three months now and he still couldn’t believe it. But the truth settled in as his eyes darted around the room.

 

 

He saw his siblings- all home for the burial, his mother-completely draped in black yet managing to look stunning. There were also uncles, three of them and the one aunt nobody really liked. Everyone sat there quietly, listening to ‘baba agba’- the family head.

 

 

Baba agba managed to avoid everyone’s gaze, intent on his task of dividing Chief Akinlabi’s property among the members of the family since the deceased had not left a Will.  After about fifteen minutes of decrying the lack of cooperation demonstrated by Dele’s mother in providing documents to her late husband’s properties, he proceeded to reel out names and their bequest.

 

 

The concerned people struggled not to smile. You cannot display your happiness at getting a three-story building in Ketu when your younger brother just died.

 

Dele was beginning to imagine he had been forgotten when baba agba called his name, allocating the rundown plastic factory at Sagamu to him. No one could control the laughter that filled the room.

 

Dele’s siblings could also not hide their anger at the shoddy distribution of assets. However, the look on their mother’s face seemed assured, she had a plan.

 

Two hours later, the meeting had dispersed leaving just Dele and his siblings, patiently awaiting their mother. She soon emerged from the room holding a folder. Admonishing them to disregard the selfish actions of baba-agba and his people, she encouraged them to maximize the little they had gotten. Lastly, she informed them of their father’s Mutual funds investment which had run into about 20 million Naira.

 

Dele being the first child was given the task of accessing the funds on everyone’s behalf. The plan was that Dele would access the money and mother and children would divide it among themselves.

 

As Dele considered this latest development, he wondered what would have happened to him, his siblings, and his mum had their dad not been an avid investor in mutual funds. An email notification jolts him back to reality. It was an email from his investment managers reminding him to keep growing his investment.

 

He would have ignored this email like he typically did, but recent events have revealed why he should revive his investment habit. Without thinking twice, Dele opens his Wealth Planner and opts for the direct debit option which would ensure that he never forgets to top up his investment again.

 

Even in death, his dad had reiterated the need for everyone to have a financial cushion especially when one has a family or dreams to achieve. With a grateful sigh, Dele picked up the phone to call his dad’s fund managers regarding his 20 million naira investment.

 

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10 reasons you should have an Estate Plan

Your loved ones are typically the No. 1 priority in your life, and that isn’t going to change. The best way to make sure they are taken care of after you pass is to establish an estate plan while you are still of sound mind. Here are the top 10 advantages of creating an estate plan:

It provides for your immediate family. 

An estate plan will provide enough money for your surviving spouse to continue to care for the family. If both you and your spouse pass, an estate plan will name appointed guardians to care for your children.

It will ensure your property goes to the right beneficiaries. 

Your estate plan will outline exactly where your assets are to go in the event of your death. This leaves no questions to be resolved by the courts or cause for family discord.

It minimizes expenses and taxes.

When you take care to create an estate plan, you should be able to keep the cost of transferring any property to your named beneficiaries. You can use your estate plan to set up a special trust for your children and grandchildren

It eases the burden on your family. 

It can be difficult to plan the funeral of a loved one when grieving. When working on your estate plan, you can outline your wishes for funeral arrangements and even set aside funds for them. This takes some of the burdens off your family during this difficult time.

To support a favourite cause. 

If you are passionate about a local cause or charitable organization, an estate plan can allow you to support them after your passing.

It can be used to plan for any incapacity. 

Life is unpredictable. If you should ever become mentally or physically incapacitated, an estate plan will outline your wishes regarding life and who will make medical decisions on your behalf.

It reduces taxes that take place on your estate. 

By crafting an estate plan, you should be able to minimize the amount of taxes collected on your estate, which results in your beneficiaries keeping more of the money you set aside for them.

It establishes trustees over your estate. 

You’ll need someone to serve as the executor of your estate to make sure everything is handled properly. Your estate plan will name this person, which will save money and simplify the administration process.

It provides for those who many need help. 

Do you have a child who has a disability? Or perhaps you have grandchildren who will be attending college in the future. Through your estate plan, you can set up a special trust to provide funds to support them.

Ensure a business continues with a succession plan.

If you own your own business, you’ll want to establish some kind of plan to keep it going after you pass. An estate plan will name your successor and outline what happens to your interest in the business.

As you can see, there is a lot that goes into estate planning, and none of these areas should be left up in the air. By working with professional estate planning attorneys, you can be sure you have thought of everything.

Without a will, your property may not go to who you want. Much of it can be tied up in probate for years, which means your family won’t get the assets they want and potentially need until it’s all settled. You can’t make assumptions that everything is going to go the way you want. Legal documentation is the only way to ensure your wishes are met.

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Don’t go broke before payday

Don’t go broke before payday

Giddy with excitement, Jane made her way into Surulere Mall. Hardly glancing around, she found her way into Pretty toes, a massive suite on the left side of the mall. Three weeks ago, on an outing with her friends, she had discovered the shoe of her dreams. A classy, chic, and unusual Jimmy Choo, nothing could stop her from getting it for herself ahead of Valentine’s Day, not even the fact that she had no money. Instantly, she gave the sales lady 20% of the price to tie down the shoe, promising to return as soon as salary was paid. She got her January salary alert and went to the mall to fulfil her promise.

 

Two weeks after, Jane dragged herself into the house, hissing as she realised there was no power. She called the generator guy again, and again he insisted she needed seven thousand Naira to fix it. Just seven thousand Naira, and she couldn’t afford it; except she wanted to walk to work the rest of the month. Who could have guessed the generator would pack up? It’s not that her job pays too little; she could just never spread it through the month. This month for instance, if only she had not bought those shoes or the human hair from Bimbola’s stylist. Now she barely had enough for essentials like car maintenance and the month was merely on its 17th day.

 

Many people can relate to Jane’s dilemma. You welcome salary with excitement, settling bills and buying at will for the first few days until your dwindling account gives you a red sign, forcing you to stop. You are already broke even though it’s still a long time to the next pay.

 

However, this situation is easily avoidable by simply drawing up a personal budget. A few days to your salary, write out the amount you are expecting and a plan as to how it will be spent. Start with your savings, then the ‘must haves’; items that are essential to your well being like house maintenance, food, transport, electricity. Etc. Proceed to the ‘would like to haves’ like aso ebi for your cousin’s wedding and the food processor your wife won’t stop talking about. Up next is the ‘Can do withouts’ like the belt you want just because it is fine or a new toy set for your baby who already has a lot of toys.

 

Often, as you write the list and input the corresponding cost, you discover the ones you will have to postpone or completely delete. You can use the percentage system to divide your income or actual values of items on the list. Remember to leave something for entertainment, emergencies and your faith (if applicable).

 

It is important to put the budget in a place where you can easily see it as the month progresses; by your bedside or on your phone. Your success rate depends on your compliance rate. The more you stick to your budget, the more money you have for the things that matter.  You will also be able to save consistently. You can set up a direct debit order to your Mutual Fund Investment to ensure nothing gets in the way of your savings or financial goals.

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Most of your wealth may not make it to the next generation- Henry Hollingdrake.

At a round table discussion with our team, Henry Hollingdrake: representing; ARM Trustees Limited, stated that the chances of wealth being efficiently transferred successfully to the next generation without incurring liabilities and unnecessary risk combined with the ability to further invest free from any restraints and excessive taxation are more complicated now than ever before.

He buttressed that this is ironic given today’s world offers a lot more accessible tools for transfer and preservation of wealth. Tools like estate planning, wills and relevant estate planning vehicles such as Trusts and Foundations for example.

In breaking down this claim, he further explained that in today’s world, owning valuable assets does not always guarantee the value of the assets will be preserved when transferred to the next generation. In worse cases where there is intestate succession, i.e. no Will or mechanism in place to pass on wealth, this function is left to the state to decide.

Even if there is an estate plan in place, it would at least need to provide for adequate asset protection and future growth. One also needs guard against excessive professional fees charged against an Estate that is fraught with complications on death.

Engaging him further, we asked, if your claims are indeedvalid, how does one ensure that wealth is transferred and enjoyed by one’s next generation?

In his response, he stated that first, we must be willing to leverage estate planning tools like Wills, Guardianship documentation, Trusts and Foundations as well as the utilisation of relevant co-ordinated structure for larger and more complex estates. He explained that an Estate Plan be it local or international includes having strategies in place to manage: the effect of inheritance tax, ease of wealth transfer and business succession relating to investments, real-estate, your pension fund, and other assets, which could form a significant portion of your wealth.

An estate plan will help individuals and families with both local and international assets, investments and business operations give careful consideration and properly document their holdings to ensure the assets are protected and passed on to future generations. This is effective, legally robust, practical and efficient. Estate planning offers you protection without borders, especially considering potential shifts in Residency and Citizenship, which may impact one’s wealth. The protection of effective management and ownership of a business operation can also be safeguarded by setting up a Succession plan.

Mr. Hollingdrake concluded the round table discussion by stating that familieswho seek to get started on understanding what is required for an estate plan or indeed would like to set one up,  can reach out to ARM Trustees Limited, an independent award-winning firm with over 20 years’ experience in this field and now also offering international solutions.’

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