If you haven’t yet begun saving, you should start now. Saving as little or as much as 5-60% of your salary every month, for that unexpected but inevitable rainy day (prime example: COVID-19), is a smart financial decision. 

Putting money into another business directly or indirectly is generally called investing. Investing is a less whimsical way of saying “grow money, grow!” 

It can be as simple as this imaginary situation: Mark owns a roti business. Jennifer gives Mark $5,000 to help him upgrade his kitchen. Mark owes Jennifer the $5,000 and they also agree that he would owe her 5% of the profits he makes from roti sales over a certain period. At the end of that period, Jennifer gets back her $5,000 plus $1,000 which was 5% of Mark’s profit. Her $5,000 has grown because Mark has a sweet hand and managed his business well. Now this is an oversimplified example, but the principle remains the same. You invest your money into a business and watch it grow with the business.

So when you are looking to “make your money grow”, be sure to select a sound and profitable investment. Choosing the investment that is perfect for your unique needs is something we at Firstline pride ourselves on doing really well, so don’t hesitate to contact us if you are interested in creating wealth.

Take this advice from investor extraordinaire Warren Buffet: your money has to be working for you while you are sleeping.

So you’ve invested 20% of your savings into one or a few great companies and the statements are looking great! You’re ready to cash in on your principal and interest! Who says a 2 week vacation in an over-water bungalow in the Maldives!!?? Right? Right? Well, it depends. 

If we’re talking wealth creation, sometimes the waiting game gives more rewards in the long run. Here at Firstline, we love when our clients follow their dreams, hit their goals and go to travel the world — however, we also advise that allowing your earnings to ‘season’ can supercharge your entire investment. 

Compound interest is an essential part of creating wealth. It’s one of the ways in which those “wolves on Wall Street” made their billions. Sometimes you have to sit back and wait for the money to grow. It’s not forever, but when it is time, you and your loved ones will be glad you made that sacrifice.

Don’t invest all of your savings into one business / project / transaction. It doesn’t matter how dynamite you believe the idea is. Should this business falter or fail, you’d have saved yourself on some sorrow if your investment portfolio was diverse enough to withstand the hit.

Now for a few words about diversity: it’s not enough to vary your investments by institution particularly if the product you select is largely the same across these companies. For example, if your investment portfolio is made up of a “growth & income fund” from Company A, an “income & growth fund” from Company B and a “fixed income fund” from Company C – it’s quite possible that all three of them have a lot of overlap.

Basically, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Never mind that we routinely buy our eggs in one carton…but let’s move on. We’re much better with investments than wordplay, we promise!