Money/Financial planning for Nigerian Domestic workers & other informal workers.

People usually seek for jobs as a means of uplifting their lives, and as an avenue to save money to chase after their dreams, or engage in various projects that their hearts yearn for.

These personal projects could be :

a. Starting up a new business venture

b. Going back to school to further their education

c. Paying for training to learn a new skill/ vocation

d. Buying a land

e. Buying a car or business equipment to start up a hair salon, tailoring outfit, printing business, aluminum business etc

f. Other plans or projects that might be personal to the worker to achieve.

So many workers have these plans and more , but always struggle to attain their target savings amount every year-end. It is either one expense or the other, their mums/ dads/siblings have one pressing need or the other.

Most domestic workers do not earn so much as regards to salaries, yet basic expenses always takes up most of their monthly salaries. But if you, as a domestic worker is focused and determined to start saving to change your life, I want to tell you that it’s doable.

We are going to list out several steps and habits you can easily follow to achieve your yearly savings target.

A. Work as a live in domestic staff (Fastest route)- Most live-in workers find it easier to save than live-out workers. If you are saving towards a target, working as a live-in domestic worker will help you reach your goal fastest. You will have no need to pay for house rent, water bills, NEPA or any other electricity bill, transportation cost, and most times even feeding cost. It’s also possible for live-out workers to save as well, but it just takes a longer time because a lot of expenses are coming out of their salary daily.

B. Ditch your ATM Cards (For Now): Sorry to say this, as this might sound too extreme, but it’s the only way that you will stop withdrawing money constantly. A lot of times as some domestic workers receive salaries for the month, N2,000 will be sent to this brother, N4,000 sent to that uncle, before you realize it, the salary for that month is gone. Next month the same thing happens all over again. At the end of every year, you are back at the same financial spot you were, from January to December.

What can you do as a domestic worker to save astutely to achieve your goal?

What you should do is write down your reoccurring expenses that you make, and then lock up the rest of the money for savings every month! Hard? I think not, it’s very easy to achieve with planning and dedication.

Here is an example :

Let’s say you are a live-in Nanny that earns N50,000 monthly. You expenses might be- N5,000 – N10,000 for your mum/dad/sibling, N1,500 for body creams, N2,000 for hair making, N1,500 for roll-on, body spray or items like that, N5,000 for miscellaneous unplanned expenses. That comes to a total of about N15,000 -N20,000 reoccurring expenses, that you must make every month . Lock up the remaining N30,000 for savings monthly in your target savings account. If you set up this savings target for 2 years x N30,000. What you will have at the end of 2 years is N780,000, which you can then use to fund your education, business or other future plans.

The problem is that most workers always reach for their ATM cards once money rolls in, and once you start spending, it all goes away every month, but it does not have to be so. How do you ensure you stay faithful to your savings plan?

C. Open a Target Savings Account in a bank: A target savings account helps you access just a small part of your money every month, while the balance is locked up for you to withdraw at the end of the year. You can create a target savings plan for 1 year, 2 years or even 3 years, in case you plan to save higher amounts of money.

GT bank has a target savings account https://www.gtbank.com/personal-banking/accounts/savings-investment-accounts/gt-target , Zenith bank also has one, as well as Ecobank. These banks have target savings accounts that are straightforward and easy to operate.

It’s very easy for you as a domestic worker to achieve your dreams, if you put your heart and mind to it. But after so many years ,It’s very petty and shows you as someone who is not serious or without plans for him/herself, if you work for 2 to 5 or 10 years and continue being on the same level.

Try to ignore petty issues that make you resign from one job to another every 2-3 months, it destabilizes you, your focus and plans for your life. Let go of some of the things employers say or do. Even in offices , bosses annoy people, but they do not resign every 2 or 3 months, because they are focused on their plans, their eyes are set on their plans no matter what. If your employer is not beating and assaulting you physically, owing salaries/paying late, if it is not life-threatening, not dehumanizing , please stay-on in one job, save your money and move on to the next phase of your life. If you keep changing jobs, you are not helping your life and future in the long run

If you have family members, ( brothers, sisters, uncles etc) who are 18 years and above, please do not kill yourself for them. They should also find full time or part-time jobs. If there is a problem to be solved in the family, EVERYONE should contribute money equally! If not equally, they must contribute reasonable part of the needed funds.

Please stop making yourself a beast of burden for family members who do not want to work, or who feel too big to do the job you do as a domestic worker, but not too big to take your money every month. Be wise, wisdom is profitable to direct!

In conclusion:

Set a plan for your future, open a target savings account, commit to your savings plan and also commit to your job. Keep your ATM cards away please! ( For now).

Thank you for taking the time to read through, please hit the share button. Share to your family and friends, on Facebook and other social media platforms.If you have more suggestions or contributions, we would love to learn from you in the comments section.

With Love,

❤️ From Coral Executive Agency