The Odyssey

“ Ill fortune pursues every man who thinks more of borrowing than repaying .” – George S Classon The tale that I am about to tell, began Dabasir, relates to my early life and how I came to be a camel trader. I was once a camel trader in Syria. When I was a young man, I learned the trade of my father, the making of saddles. I worked with him in his shop and took to myself a wife. Being young and not greatly skilled, I could earn but little, just enough to support my excellent wife in a modest way. I craved good things which I could not afford. Soon I found that the shopkeepers would trust me to pay later even though I could not pay at the time. Being young and without experience I did not know that he who spends more than he earns is sowing the winds of needless self-indulgence from which he is sure to reap the whirlwinds of trouble and humiliation. So I indulged my good wife and our home, beyond our means. I paid as I could and for a while all went well. But in time I discove...

“ Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, and to impress people they don’t like ” – Will Smith Your debts are the total value of everything you owe. Debts are the most savage kind of liabilities because they take out money from your bank with high interests. According to Warren Ingram, the author of Become your own financial adviser, the state of owing money is the biggest trap for wealth, and most of the world’s savvy investors have avoided debt at all costs. Whatever situation you find yourself in, always do your homework before you opt for a loan or anything that will incur debt under your name. Failure to handle debt negatively affects your credit score. Your credit score is a three-digit number that tells creditors how much debt you currently have and how you have handled credit in the past. This number range from 0 to 999; 0 is the worst score you want and it probably mean you are bankrupt or blacklisted. You should always aim for a credit ...

“ Compound Interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it. He who doesn’t, pays it .” - Albert Einstein Compound interest is the interest generated on interest. It is the interest calculated on the initial principal investment amount and also on the accumulated interest of previous period. It is the money force that is more powerful than any other. Sam Beckbessinger give a comprehensive illustration in a form of a question from his book entitled Manage your money like a f*cking grown up. He asks, would you rather I gave you a million-rand cash, today, or gave you one cent that double for thirty days? I mean, they don’t even make one cent coins any more but let’s imagine they did. Sounds like a million rand would be a better way, right? Nope, if you take one cent and double every day for a month, by the end of 30 days you would have R5,3 million. From one tiny little cent that double every day your money would grow just over five million rand within a ...

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a certified financial adviser nor do I have qualifications in accounting. If you need professional help with your finances, consult with a certified professional in this regard. Financial freedom and success does not criminate and is possible for any disciplined individual who is a great planner and has a desire to be financially intelligent. Whether you earn R5 000 or R46 000 per month, you can achieve Financial freedom by building an investment portfolio tailored to your goals.   It is said that some people have financial freedom with assets of R5 million, while others who have assets of R50 million are not financially free. You can be certain that for those who have R50 million worth of assets and not financial free yet, the only missing piece of the puzzle is financial intelligence. Financial intelligence is the absolute best foundation needed to build wealth. Knowledge, when applied correctly and at the right time, becomes not only power but profi...

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a certified financial adviser nor do I have qualifications in accounting. If you need professional help with your finances, consult with a certified professional in this regard. "A budget is telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went." - Mapalo Makhu. About three years ago, Darren Poke published a short article entitled “What Can We Learn From Snails?” in his blog. He says that “Snails love lettuce. They may move slowly, but they always find a way to get to their destination. When you see them move, they do not seem to be making much progress, but they always seem to make it to the lettuce in your garden, chopping them away contently. They understand that the lettuce will not come to them, so every night, they venture out to get their meal. Slowly. Consistently. Every single night. We can learn something from these humble creatures. Know what you want. Take action, even if it seems small or slow. And turn up every day. Your goals wi...

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a certified financial adviser nor do I have qualifications in accounting. If you need professional help with your finances, consult with a certified professional in this regard. Wealth is like a game of chess – a mind game. If you don’t know the rules, you will never win. The first step towards victory therefore, is to understand how the game works. This is called financial intelligence.   Wealth can be defined in many ways and it means different things to different people. Following Financial intelligence, the next step would be to define wealth in your own terms. Victory in the game of wealth requires mental toughness, which is characterized by courage to sacrifice, strong desire to win, and resilience to endure adversity. Mental toughness is formed by consistently thinking about wealth and different ways to grow it. The strategies you will adopt to create wealth will force you to think about your financial goals, which may help you achieve the financia...

  Wealth is defined as an abundance of valuable possessions (such as material things, assets, etc) and/or money. Wealth creation is about creating an abundance mind-set and its multiplication requires high moral standards. Robbing a bank or ripping people off through devious schemes is not the modus operandi of wealthy people. The Cardinal Virtues were founded and formulated by Plato, one of the Greek Stoic philosophers and they include Wisdom, Fortitude, Temperance, and Justice . Philosophy is described as way of thinking/living, whereas the word stoic describes a person who can endure pain without showing their emotions or complaining. It is a happy coincidence that the word stoic is also an acronym that forms the five cardinal virtues of wealthy people; S = Self-discipline T = Temperance O = Open mindedness I = Integrity C = Courage Wealth creation is not a roller-coaster ride but a long and eventful journey that needs mental strength, wisdom and fortitude...