Review and reflect

TUNDE OYEDOYIN  

Tunde Oyedoyin is a London-based personal finance coach and founder of Money Intelligence Coaching Academy, a specialist academy of personal finance. He can be reached as follows: +447846089587 (WhatsApp only); E-mail: tu5oyed@gmail.com

Like in almost every aspect of life, personal finance is an area where you must, of a necessity, take yearly stock. It’s actually a no brainer to do. Among many reasons, one notable ancient Greek philosopher was even noted to have said “a life not worth examining isn’t worth living .”

As a matter of fact, reviewing your performance for 2024 is like a radio jingle I grew up hearing in the early seventies, which was after the Nigerian civil war. The jingle, “to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done,” was frequently relayed on radio for good reason. Taking a cue from that, doing a review of one’s personal finance affairs in 2024 and taking notes of any lessons learnt is a task that must be done.

Before going any further, first things first, though. That’s to wish all the readers of this newspaper and by extension, this column, a belated Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

As I was saying, it’s important to take time to review how you performed in the outgoing year. While doing the review, you’ll also be reflecting as well. It’s like going over the pictures and videos of your money affairs of 2024. Boy, oh boy! That may result in beating your chest with pride and saying, “yes , I did it, and I’m happy with that.” You may find yourself getting excited that you saved ten thousand naira each and every month. Even if it was half of that amount for twelve consecutive months, it’s still worth celebrating. Believe me when I say not many people have that impressive report card for 2024.

As an aside, reflective practice is something I first came across several years ago while reinventing myself on a course at Waltham Forest College.

Watch this. While doing the review, chances are that you’ll also come across mistakes that took money out of your pocket. That can be very annoying, especially if what it cost you was more than the cost of a cup of Costa coffee or a lunch out at a restaurant in Ikeja or Surulere.

You’re likely to also spot opportunities that you cashed on and those that were missed. They form the purpose and the benefits that come with reviewing and reflecting on your financial year. As you see things in “slow motion” and stare at the “pictures” of your performance, take notes and take the lessons in your strides. Even if the outlook reveals that you’ve made more mistakes than hitting home runs, you are still in a good place by the simple fact of knowing your result.

So, pop out the champagne over the weekend and big yourself up for making the effort to review, reflect and take notes. If wining isn’t your thing, sitting in front of a big plate of pepper soup or a plate of pounded yam and egusi soup makes a ton of sense. But do ensure you do the review and that you also take notes.

Awkward way for a Cop to “feed my family”

This was the title of a Metro Newspaper report of December 10 (p.9). It stated that 44-year old sheriff’s deputy, Shannon Lofland, who had served “with Colorado’s Arapahoe’s County Sheriff’s Office for 21 years,” had to quit “when her porn career was exposed.”

Her reason for filming “half a dozen scenes over a month” was because: “I found a legal, lucrative means for providing support for my family,” and “to save my home and feed my family.” If only she had followed the path of her ex-colleagues who were working second jobs to “make extra money “ in order to survive.

Perhaps, the former deputy didn’t realise that you can’t be a Sheriff by day and porn star by night.

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