“Where there’s a will, there surely must be a way”

Whether it’s to double your income or find the extra money to enjoy the finer things of life this year, you may need to push against obstacles and force your way through and achieve these financial goals.

It turns out that on the very last day of January, I was at London’s Highbury and Islington train station where, together with other commuters, yours truly got on the packed Stratford bound train at just after 3.30 pm.

Being a Saturday, it wasn’t unusual for people to be out and about, and for the train to be packed. But just before the driver was to pull away, a buggy pushing mum and her own mother were at the door, trying to force their way inside. Though both women were asking those of us already on the train to “move, move inside,” the buggy pushing woman was more vocal than her own mother, who was clutching her grandson to her body.

Having managed to get themselves in, the younger woman made another plea for fellow commuters to move again. At that point, I let go of the vertical pole I was holding on to, and moved a step or two inward. She got more space to squeeze her buggy in. By then, I’d already been getting inspiration from hers and her mother’s efforts.

The tipping point however came when, after checking on her baby boy and asking, “are you okay?” — and the little one replying with a simple “mummy”, our eyes met. This spectacled Black British woman smiled and said to me, “where there’s a will, there surely must be a way.” Though I returned the favour by smiling back at her and nodding that she was bang on the money, I wished I could thank her specially for walking the walk.

Here’s the thing. Whatever you have on your list as this year’s financial goals is your will. Could there be a way to save ten thousand Naira a month? Whether it is to live within your means and not take the salary advance being advertised by some banks, take a cue from the quote above and that woman and her mum’s examples.

The job losses at Washington Post
I was in the office in the early hours of Thursday, when CNN news bulletin reported there had been mass sackings at the world famous newspaper, Washington Post.

After digesting it, one of last month’s pieces, “Do you have a side hustle?” came to mind. You may want to take a glance at it again or just start thinking of starting a side hustle in the second half of the year.
And just to reiterate, where there’s a will, there surely must be a way. The seemingly insignificant five thousand Naira that is kept aside regularly could well be your will to try something. If this is the one financial goal you’ll achieve this year, it would have been worth its weight in gold.