The Best Way To Save Money

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First, this is not to say other ways are bad. In fact, this post is to share what I consider is the best of all the good ways to save money.


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The best way to save money is to make money. Depending on your stage and status, responsibility-wise especially, you will definitely need to have money saved for uses like your children's education, mortgage or home rent, family emergencies, living expense and maybe your own continuous education. There is no justification for not having such savings. But once you've done that or as you are doing that, you need to also grow your wealth. And the best way to grow your wealth is not by saving.

No billionaire saved his way to wealth. And except you earn over N2 million per month, you can't conveniently save to become a millionaire. Then on top of that you face big risks. Ask those in Zimbabwe what happened to their savings when their currency started losing value and they needed billions of Zimbabwean dollars to buy common bread. That might be a little extreme but currently in Nigeria, what you could buy (except for laptops and phones) for N1 million 10 years ago will probably cost you over N5 million this year. A parcel of land that costs N2 million in 1999 will now likely cost N25 million today. N5 million worth of imported goods for sale in your shop 10 years ago will now cost over N20 million for same goods today. 

Every year, as our currency loses value and price of goods increase, you are losing the value on the money you put in the bank. That is why you can't build wealth by saving in the bank. You are only meant to save towards specific goals: emergency funds, family living allowance, education fund, annuity, pension, mortgage and car purchase. Saving isn't designed to make you rich and it won't.

To make wealth you need to make money. You need to grow your money making skills. Increase your earning potential, start a business, invest in businesses and create something of value that you can sell (could be a book, or training video or art work). Those are the ways people make money. And your only way if you don't earn mega bucks per month or play lottery.

Think of all the rags to riches stories you've heard or seen. How many of them achieved it by saving the little they had in their rage stage rather than putting themselves out there for increased opportunities to make money? Think of all the super rich people you know. How many of them have their assets as a huge pile of money sitting in a bank account? Even Dangote's billions is the part of his ownership of the Dangote Group. Not some money in a fixed deposit account. And it's same with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Amancio Ortega. Their source of wealth is the businesses they own. Not the bank accounts they have.

This is a case of examining reality and making an informed choice. There will always be exceptions in life. There might be that guy you know who works in Nigerian Customs and is a millionaire. There will be someone else who looked like he saved to wealth. But consider your chances. If you want to become a pilot, will you do a self-study approach just because you read the stories of people who taught themselves how to fly a plane and that even the inventors of the airplane were self-taught? You clearly know that your chances will be slim compared to if you go to a proper formal education system to learn airplane flying. And it's same with making wealth. Even the dumbest wealthy man made it via investing in businesses while the super smart are working extremely hard for every Naira they get. So if making money ranks high on your life plan, then you need to take the approach that is working for almost all the rich and wealthy. Don't save money, make money.

7 comments:

  1. Long time Sir. I read this post in my email inbox this morning and knew that I had to come and comment on it, as a personal finance blogger with a dream of building Africa's largest savings and multilevel marketing (online and offline) network- Credicoins.

    While I understand the standpoint of saying savings alone does not make anyone rich -which is true, SAVINGS IS WHAT STARTS THE PROCESS. How do I mean?

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    1. Hi Chief Dr Siji. Sorry my reply is coming late. I'm glad to read your detailed comment and you are yet to invite me to the Credicoins platform. Please do o!

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  2. No one can become rich, comfortable and (financially) successful in life who does not make/keep more than he spends.

    What that means is that you either increase your earning capacity to make more than you (can ever) spend, or you live within your present means.

    Robert Kiyosaki does not believe in the second option. He believes we all should increase our capacity to earn far more than we can ever spend...even if we wanted to spend it all.

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    1. You've nailed the point with your last statement! We all should increase our earning capacity. Our human capital. Our knowledge equity. That part that together accounts for the nation's total factor productivity!

      But I disagree slightly about the having to keep or make more than you spend. In fact, a big entrepreneur is meant to spend way more than he makes and even take loans while still spending more and more. It's the mystery of investment. If you can grow capital beyond the loan rate then by all means one should borrow and spend more than he is currently making, on his business venture.

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  3. Now what does Sijinius believe? As a personal finance blogger who has read widely, made a lot of money (-still does, and will still make billions), and who wants to help many other too, financially.

    I believe the foundation is learning to be contented with what you make NOW, enough to save from it.

    It is when one has 'learnt' the habit of putting something away regularly (paying yourself first). And one has 'unlearned' the bad habit of always wanting more- gadgets, junk food, shopping/clothes, perfumes, cars, women, cigarettes, and every other thing- that does not make people have any savings at all, and eventually impoverishes them.

    That is when they can now see that there are a lot of ways to improve themselves and increase their earning power. That is when they will now see investment opportunities, study them, and have SAVINGS to invest -eventually taking advantage of those opportunities to becoming rich.

    That is my 2 cents opinion bro!

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    1. Thanks a lot for your always enriching contribution! Ah, yes you mentioned the word I was looking for in your comment no 2 -- Investment. I think I need to edit my last reply.

      Thanks again!

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  4. Lol. I will invite you most definitely. I know you are a very busy entrepreneur too so I don't want to bring you in until the time is right so as not to take up any more of your limited hours. Keep up the great work. Cheers!

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