Thursday, March 28, 2024

LOUISE FAAIRSAVE: Minding your own business

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Generally, people who earn their income mainly from a regular pay cheque are concerned about job security. They believe investing is risky and, at most, stick to ”safe” investments. So they may face the greatest risks when one concedes that virtually no job is secure nowadays.
You tend to hear such people (let us call them ”employees” as a short name) saying: “I’m not interested in the money.”
“I’m willing to work for what I want.”
“I can’t afford that.”
“Money isn’t everything.”
“Investing is risky.”
“I am one pay cheque away from the poorhouse.”
Or they say: “I need to get a better-paying job, or win the lottery. Then all my financial problems will be over.”
They are best advised to mind their own business.  In other words, they are not bankers because they work at a bank. A banker owns a bank.
For years, such employees may have been receiving monthly or weekly wages or salary. That is their due and the responsibility of their employers, the business owners, to pay them.
The typical behaviour of employees is to live from pay cheque to pay cheque; perhaps they may work harder or smarter and get a raise from time to time, then maybe go into more debt – purchasing a newer car or upgrading their home.
Now, consider their likely feelings about being severed. Fear of uncertainty and possibly some resentment towards the business owners are likely. After all, during their employ the business owners must have been making profits, and layoffs are made in order to sustain or increase profits.
The truth of the matter is that it is the business owners’ responsibility to ensure that they are paid and also to make as big a profit as possible. It is the employees’ responsibility to mind their own business.
Minding one’s own business involves increasing one’s passive income or cash flow earnings in order to reduce full dependence on employment income.
In addition to working for someone and so making them rich, you need to look out for your own financial security. For example, successful employees tend to be also successful investors.
Employees need to exploit the other opportunities for earning, taking risks with investments with which they feel comfortable in order to reduce their risks of losing their job. In fact, employees need to avoid or limit personal debt – even mortgages, which are liabilities rather than assets.
It is also critical for employees to spend time developing financial intelligence and getting investment experience, learning from mistakes along the way – getting better and better at minding their own business over time.
The ultimate is to be wealthy. You know that you are wealthy when your passive income (income from business or investments) outstrips your living expenses. In this way, you would have reached a point where your money is working for you and you can afford to stop working for money at any time.

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