As a salary earner, you are certain of fixed take-home amount at the end of each month. That enables you to allocate a certain percentage of that sum for investment, unlike business where your income is unstable.
Life is full of twists and turns. Your job does not come with a lifetime guarantee of security. It could slip off your palms any minute and your investment is what you fall back to.
When it comes to the best investment options for salary earners, finding one is different from finding the right one that is secured. There is an army of investment platforms out there seeking for unsuspecting and desperate victims to bilk dry. So the most legitimate investment options are the ones we’ll be sharing here.
Why You Should Invest as Salary Earner
Here are a few of the tangible reasons why you should invest while you work
The Insecurity
Numerous insecurities are orbiting the life of an average Nigerian. Getting a job is great but losing it is sour. And that’s where the insecurity comes in.
It’s a sweet and sour experience for the most part. Although we don’t pray for this insecurity, it’s there and we just have to be equipped to face it should it arise.
Successful people all over the world prefer to invest rather than spend. Their investments led them to where they are at the moment. This is enough inspiration to invest.
The Successors
Your successors are your kids. Investing gives them a platform to stand on. The reason poverty endures this side of Africa is that many parents hardly leave anything for their children to start a life with and that wrong precedence continues throughout generations. You should invest for your kids’ sake. You owe them a better life and that way the world can be a better place for everyone.
By investing in a genuine scheme, which we’ll show you, you are laying a rock foundation for them to build their lives oo.
The Discipline
Investment teaches you to be disciplined. One of the hardest disciplines in life is having the resistance to spend when the money is all over you. It’s almost easier to join the 5 am club than to resist the urge to buy that new gadget you’ve been eyeing all month when you’ve got the bucks so fat in your purse.
If you master discipline through the act of investing, you can implement it in other spheres of your life and be successful.
The Insufficiency
Know this, as a salary earner, that paycheck can never be enough. If it’s enough now, it won’t be in the days to come.
If it’s enough while you are single, that will change drastically when you add a wife and two bouncing kids to your life. Your needs will never reduce. They’ll only multiply exponentially with the years. So don’t constantly gloat and plant a smug on your face with the satisfaction of a job and forget to invest.
Since the money will never be enough, then save some. If it’s enough, a super reason to invest. Either way, you just have to invest.
If ₦100,000 can’t fulfil all your needs in a month, sacrificing ₦5,000 out of it won’t still settle your needs. So why cling unto it with hope. The only hope you can give yourself is to pay yourself by investing.
Now that you are aware of these reasons, let’s delve straight into business on the Best Investment Options for Salary Earners.
Caution: If you are expecting to read on businesses that you can invest in, sorry to burst your bubbles. Businesses can fail. We are giving you fail-proof options.
As a salary earner, it means you are dedicating a substantial amount of your time each day to be going home monthly with pay and so business might not be the best investment option to prescribe. A business will demand your time too and if you decide to hand it over to someone, you can be swindled.
1. Treasury Bills
Treasury bills are debt instruments issued by the Federal Government via the Central Bank to fund its short term projects. It’s a short term investment that guarantees return at 364 days maximum and a minimum of 91 days.
This is the most legitimate, risk-free and secured investment any individual can partake in. If there’s any failure along the line in the investment plan – which is a rarity, the Federal Government refunds you. And that’s a guarantee with the seal of the FG. It’s also one of the most liquid forms of investment available in Nigeria.
How Does It Work?
Here in Nigeria, after every fortnight, the Federal Government, through the Central Bank, auctions treasury bills in which bidders bid for it to obtain a general stop rate. The stop rate is the interest you are entitled to after investing a treasury bill.
If a treasury bill is being sold at ₦100,000, you buy it for ₦90,000 and part with ₦10,000 which is your interest. You can reinvest it by rolling it over. You can decide when you want your interest. The maturation period is between 91 days, 182 days and 364 days. It’s best advised to keep rolling it over until it’s substantial enough to harvest.
The minimum amount you can buy a treasury bill in Nigeria is ₦50,000. Just walk into any bank in Nigeria and tell them you came about Treasury bills. You will be guided accordingly.
2. Insurance
In developed climes, insurance is compulsory for every working-class citizen. Home insurance, car insurance, fire insurance, life insurance almost everything can be insured in developed climes. But we are in a developing country and we are adopting their methods.
Here, you can use it as a form of investment and it is one of the best investment options for salary earners in Nigeria. You pick a certain property (car, house, equipment) and a certain amount each month to pay for insurance purposes. It’s best you get your insurance from a reputable bank that is less likely to liquidate. Most preferably, the bank where you own an account so it’s easier for them to just withdraw it at the end of the month.
When it comes to money, you can’t even trust yourself. Opting to pay by yourself could lead to instability. There are months you will be so broke and it becomes difficult to pay. So it’s best you leave the deduction in the hands of your financial institution.
The good part about insurance is that, when your car breaks down, you don’t have to worry about the bills. Your house is gutted by fire? You don’t have to worry about the bills.
When you are insured, you are covered in any emergency and you can take any blow life throws at you. Now, you are so fortunate not to encounter any misfortunes on the properties you insured, you still get paid in cash by your insurance company after a stipulated time.
3. Fixed Deposit Accounts
As a salary earner, one of the best investment options in Nigeria available for you is a fixed deposit account.
Since you are certain of a designated amount at the end of every month. All that is left for you is to imbibe a culture of discipline. You sacrifice a certain amount each month and decide the number of years you will have to wait before retrieving it.
Beyond helping you save for the future, there are sumptuous interest rates associated with fixed deposit accounts.
The longer you keep your money in that account, the larger it accrues interest. This will teach you the art of discipline better than any model you can think of.
You could open a fixed deposit account for your wedding if you are single. Additionally, you can open a fixed deposit account to carter for your kids when they are born. You can also open a fixed deposit account for your kids when they are born and set it to mature when they turn 18. This way, you give them one of the best gifts any parent can give their children.
Again it’s best to invest with your bank and let them do the deductions as soon as the salary enters.
4. Gold
This has got to be the best investment option for salary earners in Nigeria. The reason it is coming last is that it is expensive. Let’s say you invested in treasury bills, fixed deposit account or insurance and at maturation, you have a huge sum of money at your disposal, you can buy carats of gold with them and store.
If you are not sure of adequate security keeping them in your house, your bank can help you store them.
Gold can never depreciate. Instead, it skyrockets. The value of gold this year would not be the same by the time you wish someone a happy new year. It increases exponentially. If you buy gold for ₦50,000 today and decide to sell it next year, you could sell it for about ₦80,000 or even ₦100,000.
Just buy, store and wait for a while. You can even turn this into a side hustle in the long run.
