Should I save money for my kids? To be honest, it doesn’t sound like such a big deal at first. But even though this topic isn’t much discussed, it is very important.

Surely, you must have heard stories about kids inheriting massive trust funds or real estate that set them up for life. Recently, a lady took to Twitter to talk about how her mum still pays her monthly even though she died in the nineties. She was talking about the investments her mum made back then that she is now enjoying the benefits today.

So should you save money for your kids? I believe the answer is yes. You will be contributing a more secure and productive future for them. But how do you do save for your child’s future? Continue reading as I shed more light on this.

Tips to start saving money for your kids

Keep things tidy and separate

It is easy to get confused when money from too many sources gets piled up in your personal account. To avoid confusion it is important to keep your kids money separate from yours. It also helps with accountability. Apart from this, there are several savings account out there that offer various incentives. We’ll be highlighting some of them briefly.

Children’s Easy-Access Savings Account

There isn’t much difference between a children’s savings account and an ordinary savings account. The only difference is the maximum age range which is between 15 to 20 years old.

Like your ordinary savings account, you can make withdrawals at any time so far as it follows the account terms. Easy-access savings account help teach kids about money.

There are even some accounts that give you passbooks. With the passbook, children along with a parent can visit any branch to withdraw money. This is a great way for children to learn about handling their own finances.

A disadvantage of this type of savings account is that it doesn’t offer as much interest as regular or fixed-rate accounts. Also, you will have to pay tax on the savings interest. This comes into play when the interest exceeds £100, the interest will be added to your tax bill.

NS&I Premium Bonds For Children

Premium bonds are offered by National Savings & Investments (NS&I) and is a very popular investment opportunity. It is possible to buy between £25 and £50,000 worth of bond. Every month, each £1 bond is entered into a prize draw with the opportunity to win £1 million. The premium bond can be signed over when the child turns 16.

Another way premium bonds differ from a savings account is that both parents and grandparents can buy them. Every month, two lucky winners will win £1 million and several others can win a minimum of £25. All winnings are tax-free.

A disadvantage of the premium bonds for children is that you have a 24,500 to 1 chance of winning anything. Also, there’s no savings interest for this investment option even though NS&I say there’s an equivalent 1.4% interest on premium bonds.

Get a Junior ISA

The Junior Isa account is another long term oriented savings account. It is for children under the age of 18. Once the child turns 18, the account is automatically converted into an adult cash Isa and will get full ownership of the funds.

An advantage of the junior Isa is that it is tax-free so you do not have to worry about the £100 rule. The interest rate is also higher than adult ISA.

Also, unlike the easy-access savings account, children aren’t allowed to withdraw the cash. Although, that can be a disadvantage in some cases.

You are allowed to choose between cash and stocks & shares ISA or split your money between both.

Junior ISA also has its disadvantages. A disadvantage is the annual deposit limit of £9,000. Also, the Junior ISA doesn’t enjoy government contributions unlike the Child Trust Fund (CTF) which enjoys a £500 contribution. It is important to mention that Child Trust Fund is now closed.

Children’s Regular Savings Account

The regular savings account is a very convenient option for low-income households. Not only are you able to make monthly contributions, you can also enjoy generous interest rates as high as 4.5%. It is however important to note that the maximum monthly deposit limit is £100.

Just as there is a deposit limit, there are also withdrawal limits or penalty. Also, missing a payment or exceeding the withdrawal limit can invalidate your interest. Sometimes, you face losing interest for withdrawing. Also, it is not tax-free, the £100 rule applies.

Sell things as they grow

Kids tend to be very expensive. They are very expensive because they keep outgrowing what you buy for them.

A child’s growth is in various stages and every stage comes with new financial implications. Before you know it the expensive toys you bought last summer are no longer needed. It’s like children junk just keeps piling up in the house.

But they don’t necessarily have to go to waste. Just like you can sell unused stuff around the house, you can also sell things your kids have outgrown.

Although, it’ll be best if you’re sure you no longer want to have more children before doing this.

There are various platforms that allow parents to sell gently used items that their kids have outgrown.

In the UK you can sell used items on the Vinted app. You can also sell used items at a car boot sales, it can be a fun activity for your kids to participate and help out at car boot sales.

Teach them the act of saving

An easy way to save money for your kids is by teaching them how to save. When your kids have a savings mentality and understand the value, they automatically want to save every penny they can. This way, you’re not only teaching them good savings habits but also preparing them for the future.

Final Thoughts

There are various reasons why you save money for your children and it is unique to every individual. But you must endeavour to protect and secure their future by saving money for them. It isn’t enough to save money for your kids future, you must also teach them good saving habits.

You can read this article next.

How to teach your children about money.

One of the biggest spending you will make in your life is buying a house. It requires a lot of planning and a high level of discipline to be able to save money for a house especially on a low income.

As someone who has been able to save money for a mortgage deposit, I know how challenging it can be.

Here are some top tips for saving money for a house for people on a low income.

Increase your income

If you are on low income and want to save money as a deposit for a mortgage, I think the first thing to consider is opportunities to increase your income.

There are various ways to increase your income which include negotiating for a pay increase, start a side hustle, or consider freelancing work by exploiting your existing skills.

I have written a few articles on lists of side hustles you can consider. Make sure you finish reading this article and then check out the list. I even have an article on 101 Side Hustle ideas.

Consider investing your money

You can invest the little money you have. One of the safest ways to invest your money is to leverage the stock market. It is important to note that there is no guarantee that you will make money by simply investing in stock and shares.

Because you aim to save money for a house deposit, it is worth mentioning that how soon you want to buy a house should influence the type of asset you buy in the stock market.

The simple rule is this, if you want to buy a house in the next 5 years it good to invest your money in a low-risk Index Fund or ETF. If you are considering buying a house in the next 2 years instead, it is better to just look for a high yield savings account and put your money there.

Money-Saving Expert is an amazing resource for everything that has to do with money and they have a page where you can find useful information about savings account that pays good interest.

Automate Your Savings and Investing

Whether you are considering investing in stock and shares or a high yield savings account, you must be consistent and discipline in putting money away regularly.

Most of the time we tell ourselves that we will do something and we end up not doing it. Relying only on willpower is a recipe for failure in achieving your goal of saving for a house deposit. 

Something that will help you in meeting your savings goal is to leverage the power of automation.

This is how automation works when it comes to saving money;

You set an amount you want to put in your stock and share brokerage account or a savings account every month. The next step is to set up a standing order on your savings bank account which will send the money to the brokerage account or savings account every month you get paid.

Obviously, you should know the date of the month you get paid, so set a date after your payday. By doing this, you will not have to go through the process of manually sending money to your savings account every month.

Reduce your spending

Reducing spending doesn’t mean you compromise on your quality of life. To reduce spending means to cut down on unnecessary spending and purchases.

A typical example is a subscription you are paying for which you are not making use of. It might be a software subscription, it might be a gym, it could be a magazine or an app on your phone.

You just need to take some time to go through your bank account and credit card statements and look for things you subscribed for a long time ago that you no longer use but still pay for.

Use Government Incentives

The government comes up with various incentives from time to time. You can make use of government incentives to help you either save money on house purchases or meet mortgage affordability criteria.

One of the most common government incentives is the one where Government contributes a percentage of your mortgage deposit and in most cases, it is interest-free for a certain number of years.

For UK residents, as at the time of writing this article, one of the UK government’s incentives is an account called Lifetime ISA.

For every amount you deposit in that account, the UK government adds 20 percent for you. But the account is only available for people under 40 years. It is a way to boost your house purchase initial deposit.

Sell items you no longer need

It’s unbelievable the number of items we buy that we end up not using. There are two major benefits to selling items in your house you no longer need. The first benefit is that you can add the profit you make to your savings for a house deposit.

The second benefit is also important. This helps you to declutter your house and when the time comes for you to move house after buying a house you have fewer stuffs to carry with you.

There are now lots of platforms available where you can sell items you no longer need.

The most popular for used items is eBay. You can also try Amazon.

You can sell used clothes on the Vinted app.

Consider moving house

Your main aim of saving money is so you can buy a house and move house. Why not consider moving house now to reduce the cost of your current housing.

You can move to a cheaper house or apartment which by doing this you will save some money.

I know you are probably wondering, why should I move to a new house when I’m trying to buy one?

Think about it, it makes sense. To quickly meet up with your mortgage requirements, you can downgrade from your existing house.

By moving to a new house where your rent is less expensive, you easily get to save more for your dream house. This way you even get to acquire it faster.

It is only a temporary inconvenience not permanent.

If that is too extreme a solution for you, you can also rent out one of the rooms in your house.

Make use of discounts and cashback

Cashback has been around for a long time but there are still a lot of people who don’t know about cashback. There are various types of cashback you can make use of.

The best and most popular cashback is the cashback website. Cashback websites are available in many countries around the world.

I live in the UK and the two of the most popular cashback websites are TopCashback and Quidco. Some of the ones available in the US are ShopAtHome, Coupon Cactus, Ebates, BeFrugal, Extrabux, Swagbucks, and TopCashback.

Cashback websites are just middlemen between you and merchants. For example, if you want to buy a train ticket. Instead of buying the train ticket directly from Trainline or other train providers, you can buy via the cashback website.

By buying through the cashback website, you will get a percentage of the money you spend back. The percentage you get back might not be a lot but it all adds up when you consider the way people spend online these days.

You can get cashback on a lot of things you won’t think about.

I remember getting cashback on our Haven Perran Sand Holiday because I booked the holiday via a cashback website.

From insurance to everyday commodity and consumable items you buy online, you can get cashback.

Final Thoughts

Saving money for your dream house on a low income isn’t going to be easy but it is achievable. The easiest way to do this would be to find ways to increase your income. But if you are unable to do that, there are still several ways to cut back your spending and even patch your income.

We all want to be homeowners. The craze for home buying is even more in the UK and if this is the route you want to go, it is very achievable. Do not be discouraged by low income.

 

 

 

 

We all love cheap things, don’t we? The most common question among Nigerians in the UK is, what is the cheapest way to call Nigeria from the UK?

The cheapest way to call Nigeria is to use an app on your phone.

Cheapest app to call Nigeria

The cheapest app you can use to call Nigeria is Rebtel.

Back in 2005 when I first arrived in the UK, we used a calling card to call Nigeria. I remember I would buy a card called “TalkHome”. It’s a scratch card containing some codes.

Every time you want to call, you have to dial the TalkHome number, enter the code from the scratch card followed by the Nigerian number you want to call.

I used to hate that process because it was a time consuming and frustrating process.

The card usually cost £5 with a promise of 100mins. Seriously, I don’t think you get 100 minutes from it. It’s very difficult to measure or see how many minutes you have used.

Later on, we got a TalkHome sim card that could be inserted into a phone.

That was better. However, I wasn’t ready to switch my original mobile number for the TalkHome sim card. The solution was to have a separate mobile phone specifically for international calls.

I was still not satisfied with the idea of having another phone. It’s just doesn’t make sense for me to carry two phones. I used to keep the second phone at home and only made calls to Nigeria when I am at home.

When I had urgent calls to Nigeria whenever I was not at home, I was forced to use my normal EE call plan which was very expensive.

I thought there would be a way to call Nigeria cheaply from my everyday phone. I contacted my provider EE for any plan that will enable me to call Nigeria cheap.

They offered me a separate plan which was an add-on to my existing plan. ‘The International: 50 countries’ plan which has Nigeria as one of the 50 countries to call cheap. It would cost me an additional £10 for 500mins.

I thought it was a good deal.

Actually, I was wrong, it was not a good deal for me. Here is the reason why.

I don’t really need 500 minutes in a month to call Nigeria. This means that my unused minutes are gone at the end of the month and I will still pay £10.

As well, there are now a lot of other ways to call Nigeria for free. An example is WhatsApp. The WhatsApp call feature is not perfect but it still gets the job done.

I mostly use WhatsApp to call and only use normal call when there is a network issue on WhatsApp or when I am calling a few people who are not available on WhatsApp.

I wanted something that is “pay as you go.”

Eventually, I found Rebtel which solved all the problems for me.

Why I love Rebtel

Save money

Rebtel offers a credit-based plan which means I do not have to sign up for a monthly plan. A monthly plan is annoying because you are sometimes paying for what you are not using. If I don’t make calls, my credit will still be in my Rebtel app.

Below is a chart that compares Rebtel with other providers in the UK.

Easy to use App

We now live in the age of technology and applications provide a lot of conveniences. Having an app that you can use to manage your credit and call really makes life easy when calling Nigeria or other countries.

VoIP service like Rebtel provides an easy opportunity to make phone calls from their app anywhere in the world where there is internet access.

The easy process of calling.

I remember those days of using call card. Calling now using Rebtel cannot be compared to those days. I cannot imagine some people are still calling Nigeria directly with from their network provider plans when there is an app like Rebtel.

 

 

After reading the Simple Path to Wealth by JL Collins, the question that was on my mind was, what is the UK equivalent of the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund?

I was desperate to get started with my investing journey and I was very interested in starting with Vanguard US Total Stock Market index fund.

I contacted Vanguard in the UK and asked them the question. Can I invest in Vanguard US Total Stock Market index fund?

They came back and said no, they do not offer Vanguard US Total Stock Market index fund in UK.

They told me about the alternative to Vanguard US Total Stock Market index fund in Uk which is the U.S. Equity Index Fund.

Looking into US Equity Accumulation Index Fund it has very close to the number of stocks in the Vanguard US Total Stock Market index fund. They both have samples of all the stocks listed in the US stock market.

Vanguard US Total Stock Market index fund on Trading 212 platform

Recently, I found out that Vanguard US Total Stock Market index fund is available via Trading 212.

Below image is a screenshot of me searching for it on my Trading 212 Individual Saving Account ISA.

Trading 212 is one of the commission-free investment platforms in the UK.

Trading 212 have the exchange-traded fund (ETF) version of the Vanguard US Total Stock Market Index Fund.

If you are interested in the option of Trading 212, you can get a free share if you open a new account and investment minimum of £1. I will also get a free share so it is a win for both of us.

You can invest in the Vanguard US Total Stock Market Index Fund on Trading 212.

Do you want to get a free stock share worth up to £100?

Create a Trading 212 Invest account using the link below and we both get a free share!

Click here to invest in Vanguard US Total Stock Market on Trading 212

 

VTI vs VTSMX

The main difference between VTI and VTSAX is that VTI is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) while VTSAX is an index fund.

VTI can be purchased for the price of one share. VTSAX has a minimum initial investment. As well, VTI can only be traded during trade during market hours.

Both of these funds invest mainly have very similar stocks in them. It is important to mention that they are not the same price as regards price for 1 unit.

Vanguard US Total Stock Market in for of ETF is available in UK. VTI is available for UK investors on Trading 212.

Invest in Vanguard US Total Stock Market on Trading 212

U.S. Equity Index Fund

I believe U.S. Equity Index Fund is also a good fund like the VTI or VTSMX.

It is available in two share class

Share Class

Accumulation – If you choose accumulation, your dividend will be automatically reinvested.

Income – As for income option, its the opposite of accumulation. Your dividend will not be automatically reinvested. It will be there in your account to withdraw if you choose to.

Management cost

The management cost is very low compare to other funds.

As at the time of writing the ongoing charge figure (OCF) is 0.10%. You can check the Vanguard website for the latest OCF by clicking here.

It is a passive fund which is the reason why the management cost is low.

Holdings

This fund invests in a lot of the biggest companies like 

• Apple
• Microsoft
• Amazon
• Facebook
• Tesla
• Alphabet (Google)
• Berkshire Hathaway Inc
• Johnson & Johnson
• JPMorgan Chase

I wrote a blog post answering this question Does Vanguard UK offer REIT funds?

A few years ago, no one will believe that you can buy a used car online, make payment and get it delivered.

It is now becoming a new normal to browse for car online and get it delivered without you going to the car show room to physically see the car before buying it.

In this article, I want to share my experience of buying a car online from Cazoo.

There are now a lot of websites offering car delivery. I mentioned Cazoo because I recently bought my used car on their website.

I think it will be useful to first take you through the most important part of car purchase.

Affordability and car choice

Decide on the car you want.

You have to decide on the type of car you want. Usually, it will be a type of car that can meet your need. As well, affordability needs to be considered at this stage. What is your budget? This will influence the type of car you can buy.

Shop around

It is important to browse around the internet to compare price on various automobile websites. Apart from Cazoo where I bought my car, one of the most popular marketplace for cars is Autotrader. On their website, you can browse and use various criteria to filter and find the specific type of car you want.

Finance or cash

You can either buy through finance or pay cash. Its up to you to decide which one works better for you. If you want to buy through car finance, it is important you check that the online car dealer do offer car finance.

Benefits of buying car online

The main benefit of buying car online and get it deliver is the time you will save. As we all know, time is very important.

Obviously, you will still need some time to browse the internet, place orders and sign documents online. However, you will spend less time compare to getting in the car or taking public transport to go to the car garage or showroom.

The second benefit is the convenience of sitting anywhere in your house and make a purchase.

Another benefit is the opportunity to easily compare price. The internet gives you opportunity to visit various car dealer website from the comfort of your home and compare prices.

The only disadvantage is the fact that you can not touch, feel and test drive the car before you make a purchase.

I don’t see the disadvantage as a red flag. With the modern day technology of the internet, there are high resolution photos and videos of the cars online. With my own experience, the car I bought was exactly like the photos I saw online. There wasn’t any surprises.

As well, you can request for a custom video to be sent to you. The dealer will be happy to capture video or photo of a specific part of the car you will like to see.

Cazoo review

I have to say I had a wonderful experience buying my car from Cazoo.

My initial search for a car started from Autotrader which I have used in the past to buy a car.

I found my car on Autotrader and found out the dealer who listed the car for sale on Autotrader is Cazoo. I then followed the link to continue the buying process on Cazoo website.

Making a purchase on Cazoo website

I found Cazoo website very user friendly and easy to navigate.

There was an image gallery for the cars.

Each car has over 40 high-resolution images of the car that is very useful for decision making for customers.

After finding the car you want. You complete the purchase through finance or cash.

All purchase process can be entirely done online. Obviously, you can contact their customer service through phone.

For me I did not need to make phone call. I did everything entirely online.

Communcation

I like the way Cazoo send emails keeping me up to date with how things were going as they put things in place to deliver the car.

You will receive various emails updating you after completing your purchase online.

The day of delivery

I woke up that morning looking forward to see the car. Obviously I was excited.

The delivery driver rang me when he was about 20mins away from my house to let me know he was close. He also asked me to get my prove of ID (driver licence) and the card I used to make payment online ready.

He asked me if I have a parking space close to my house where he can pack the delivery van. He said he will need about 20m long space. I assured him the space in front of our house will be enough to park the delivery van.

When the driver arrived, he asked for my driver licence and credit card. He explained to me he needed that just to be sure he is delivering the car to the right person.

He went further to let me know he needs about 7min to open the van and get the car out of the van.

The delivery man acted professionally and we had good conversation.

After the car was out of the van, he asked me if I have had any car similar to the car. I answered that I used to have old version of the car so a lot of things must have changed.

He then asked me to come into the car. I sat at the driver seat, he sat in the front passenger seat and walk me through the various functionalities in the car. He also explained to me about the warranty Cazoo offers.

He showed me various things like where to open the boot and fuel filler inlet.

Finally, he asked me if I am happy for him to sign that the car has been delivered and I said yes.

As well, he asked if I have any questions. He took a few pictures with his tablet device and explained to me that he needed the photo also as records of delivery.

Finally, he signed on his device and said hope I enjoy the car.

Cazoo Perks

The image below shows some of what you get when you buy a used car online from Cazoo. I surely got all of below so I am testifying to this.

7-Day Money-Back Guarantee

I love my car when it was delivered and I enjoyed driving it. It was high quality all over so I had no serious issue with the car so I did not think about returning it for money back.

However, I believe if I wanted to return within 7 days, Cazoo would have returned my money back. I must remember to mention that there was an alert on the dashboard which reads ‘Check Tire Pressure’.

I knew it wasn’t a serious problem. When I contacted Cazoo, their customer service was great.

They asked me to go to my local Kwik Fix for the car to be checked. Obviously, they sent me an email with a reference number to present at Kwik-Fit.

The reference number signifies that Cazoo already has an account with them which means I was not to pay any money for the work done on the car.

As mentioned earlier it wasn’t a serious problem. Within 10min I was out of Kwik-Fit and the alert on the dashboard was no longer there.

Quality assured

Despite the alert on my dashboard, I believe Cazoo quality assured message is true. There is nothing that is 100% perfect in the world. However, I can testify that my car is a quality car.

90-day warranty

The warranty is a very important part of the deal with Cazoo. I believe the period of 90 days for the warranty is a fair one.

RAC roadside assistance

I already have roadside assistance with RAC so this one is not so much of a benefit for me.

If you don’t already have roadside assistance, the 90 days roadside assistance they offer might help you in a time of unforeseen car breakdown.

Change of ownership

Part of Cazoo promise is that they will contact the DVLA to transfer the ownership of your Cazoo car.

As soon as my car was delivered I received email and SMS message from DVLA to notify me that the car ownership has been transferred to me.

You’ll receive a new V5C from the DVLA in the post, usually within 5-10 working days.

Small gift from Cazoo

Something else I thought I should mention which might not sound a big deal is some items that came with the car from Cazoo. The items are customised with Cazoo brand name

The items are umbrella, ice scrapper,car wash sponge and

Car Imperfection

If you are buying a used car, it is not going to be perfect. I don’t think anyone should be expecting a new car to be perfect.

I like Cazoo honesty, there was nothing hidden.

The image gallery of the car online shows you some of the imperfection with the car which will help you to make the right decision.

The imperfection with my car was not a red flag for me that stopped me from buying the car.

Below is one of the photos of my car imperfections.

Putting sentiments aside. There is a growing belief that immigrants tend to make great entrepreneurs and end up being more successful than most locals. Why do immigrants make great entrepreneurs? How do they become successful despite the odds initially stacked against them? Is there an advantage that they have?

Several pieces of research have been carried out to back up the above claim.

According to research by Kauffman, over 27 percent of U.S. entrepreneurs are immigrants. This is despite immigrants being only 13.5 percent of the population. In fact, Forty-three percent of the companies on the 2017 Fortune 500 list were either founded or co-founded by an immigrant or had an immigrant lineage.

Looking at this phenomenon from a layman’s perspective, it doesn’t make sense. Many immigrants like me come from third world countries and have to start from zero. Many don’t even speak English so I understand why it doesn’t make sense when judging from the surface.

But is that the right way to assess this?

An article by Andreas Porous in 2015 showed that immigrants are about two times more likely to start their own business and four times more likely to become a millionaire.

So why are some immigrants more successful than the natives?

1.      Hunger for success

Perhaps this is the biggest reason for immigrant’s success in foreign countries. Most immigrants unlike locals come from faraway lands with only one thing in mind – greener pastures. Most of we immigrants know we have to succeed no matter what. No one wants to go back to their home country empty-handed. It is only normal that such persons develop a mindset of resilience and ingenuity to succeed.

According to an article on Entrepreneur, Roman Martynenko, COO of Astound Commerce, the world’s largest independent digital commerce agency, once said, “It’s all in our heads! We understand that nothing will be handed to us on silver platters. Every single win requires sweat and tears.”

In the same article, Francis Dinha, CEO of open source security provider OpenVPN, also explains, “The country was incredibly dangerous. I lived through bombings, witnessed people executed for speaking out against the government, and much more.” Dinha is an immigrant from Iraq who fled to escape Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime.

2.      Embracing Risk

How do you tell an immigrant who after repeatedly getting his VISA rejected that he won’t succeed in his new country? For most immigrants, leaving their home country for foreign lands is a dream come true. For most locals overseas, journeying to foreign lands is a vacation. This little analogy best explains why immigrants eventually enjoy more success. There is a similarity between Entrepreneurial activities and migration, both are uncertain and involve risk. So while an immigrant is more willing to embrace risks because of his success or nothing mindset, locals prefer to keep things safe. It’s sort of complacency of thought brought about by being in one’s comfort zone.

During my early years in the United Kingdom, I took up night shift at Royal Mail sorting warehouse and some other odd jobs. I wouldn’t do those jobs in my home country even if the salary was the same.

3.      Hustle over passion

For most immigrants, making money is the ultimate goal. There is a popular quote among hustlers in Nigeria, “I no come Lagos to count bridge.”

It means “I didn’t come to Lagos to count bridge. I came to hustle.”

Most immigrants will do any job so far as they are getting paid. You rarely see a first-time immigrant looking for a job in a field he is passionate about. This is where our mentality defers from locals. Locals have the luxury to be selective, we just want to survive.

There is a mindset among us that no matter how small the payment is, it can’t be as bad as what we left behind in our home country. An immigrant is driven to have multiple jobs because that increases the earnings.

Locals have the luxury of being passionate about employment because it is their home country. Some immigrants also have this luxury but a good percentage doesn’t care at first really. The first instinct is to survive and get a foothold.

4.      The 80-hour work rule

Immigrants are workaholics. This is something most locals aren’t. You rarely see immigrants embrace the 40-hour workweek. There is beauty in more for most of us.

Most locals are after quality life and that sometimes involve working fewer hours every week. Most obsess about how to work fewer hours.

This isn’t the way immigrants think. As I mentioned earlier, “there is beauty in more.” Most immigrants are ready to work 60, 70, and 80 hours a week or more. This sometimes means having 2-3 jobs and multiple shifts.

Of course, it isn’t healthy but more money is being made as a result.

I remember working so many hours during my master’s degree program that I barely passed the program itself. But I needed the money working afforded me at the time to survive and help out my sister.

5.      Being frugal saves more

My wife has always being a minimalist. I also adopted the minimalist approach to life a few years ago. This is how most immigrants are.

Making money is hard but saving it is easier so we adopt frugality. An immigrant won’t work 80 hours a week only to lavish it on luxury.

Discounts, thrifts, and sales are some of the things most immigrants look for. In fact, we are never afraid to ask for discounts.

6.      “No” is not an answer

One thing you can’t tell an immigrant to do is give up. The ability to keep trying stems from our unwillingness to fail. For us, failure isn’t an option. Most of us come from too far away to have our hopes dampened by a few rejections. We will just keep hammering away.

7.      Pursuit of happiness

Why would I decide to leave the comfort of my home country if I was happy there? The truth is that no one would do that if our countries flowed with opportunities like honey.

Deciding to migrate to a new country is as much a pursuit of change as it is survival. I decided to heed my sister’s advice and come to the UK because I was looking for a change. I knew and decided at the time that my country can only take my dreams so far. The only realistic projectile for me was to leave.

My master’s degree program brought me here but I did everything possible to stay. I even almost gave up at one point.

According to Dinha, “Immigrants must work incredibly hard to adjust to a new culture and way of life. They often have to work harder and learn more than their native-born counterpart because of language, cultural and societal barriers.”

 Immigrants don’t have the luxury of failure. We have come too far to accept failure as an option. The only word we know is success, even if it begins with working excess hours every week.

Dinha added, “An immigrant knows a good opportunity when he or she sees one; that’s how they got here in the first place.”

An immigrant’s dream is to succeed in an alien environment. Starting from zero isn’t a problem since we have a vision of where we want to be. I came to the United Kingdom a nobody just looking to explore and expand his horizon. But today my wife and I work with the NHS and live a very healthy life. That is the immigrant dream.

My journey as a first-generation immigrant is well documented in my book and you can get yourself a copy here.

The book is available on all Amazon marketplace.

The stock market has been around for a very long time. The history of the stock market dates back to the 12-century in France.

The formal stock market started in Amsterdam in 1611 when stock exchange was established.

The worldwide market capitalization of the stock market which was around US$2.5 trillion in 1980 is now over US$68.65 trillion.

What is the stock market?

Just like any market place where people can buy and sell items. The stock market is a marketplace where individuals and institutions buy and sell shares of various companies that are listed on the stock market.

In plain English, the stock market provides opportunities for everyday people to own a piece of any publicly listed company.

For example, I use the service of Amazon to buy various household items. Amazon is a publicly listed company. I can buy a share of Amazon and become a shareowner with Amazon.

Perhaps, you have an iPhone which Apple makes, or you have a running shoe which comes from Nike factory. These companies are listed on the stock exchange. Why not buy some shares and own a piece of those companies?

Using shoes as an example, many people are extreme shoe addicts and will buy every new model. What I’m trying to say is that the money can be better spent investing as a share holder of that company.

Why is it important to invest in the stock market?

This is not a debate about the best type of investment. This is just an insight into the importance of having some money invested in the stock market. You don’t have to invest heavily or put all your money in the stock market. However, having some shares is a good way to diversify your investment.

Wealth building tool

The stock market is one of the most important wealth-building tools around. For hundreds of years, wealthy people have been using the stock market as one of their wealth building strategy.

The richest people in the world like Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gate are not just rich in cash but are wealthy because of the value of their assets. Part of the assets that made them rich is stock and shares.

Everyday people like you and I do not really need to be a billionaire to leverage the stock market to build wealth. That is the great part.

Cash is a depreciating asset

The main reason why cash is a depreciating asset is inflation. Your cash will always reduce in value if you don’t invest it.

Inflation is part of the economic cycle and the government of civilized countries manage inflation well.

There is a good example I always use to illustrate how inflation makes your cash lose value.

Let’s say you just bought a microwave for your kitchen for $30. Think forward that the microwave will one day become faulty or pack up and you will need to replace it.

Save $30 at home as the cash you will use to buy another microwave when the one you’ve just bought pack up. After 3 years, the microwave becomes faulty and you want to replace it. The $30 you kept to buy a new microwave will possibly not be enough because you can almost guarantee the price of the microwave would have gone up. This means your $30 is now worth less today than it was when you kept it 3 years ago.

Instead of keeping your cash at home or saving it in bank. Invest it in the stock market. Saving in the bank is not a bad idea. The only problem with banks is that they will only offer you silly rates which isn’t really worth it.

Not a capital intensive investment

To start investing in the stock market does not require a lot of capital like other investment concepts.

Real estate comes to mind when talking about investments that require large capital.

You can start with as low as £5 or $5. My favourite way of investing in the stock market is to take a portion of my wages every month and put it in the stock market through my brokerage account.

You can automate your investment by setting up a standing order from your checking account. The amount you set to be deducted will be credited into your brokerage account on autopilot.

Depending on how much you can afford to invest each month, you can set the money to be debited from your salary account.

There are stockbrokers who do not charge any fees to either buy or sell shares. This makes investing in the stock market very easy and affordable to everyday people.

Stock market goes up over a long period

What makes up the stock market are the companies who produce valuable products and services we use on daily basis.

These companies work very hard to innovate and improve on product and services they produce. When you consider this fact with inflation, the price of products and services is bound to go up periodically.

If you invest in the stock market for a long time, you can be sure you will win. I am not a financial adviser and do not offer financial advise here. However, I have been investing in the stock market for a long time. I know that investing for a long time is the best way to approach stock market investing.

Investing is Biblical

I am a Christian and the Bible helped to form my life philosophy. 

There is a popular parable in the Bible. I am referring to the parable of the talent.

The master told the last servant who buried his talent. The talent the Bible referred to can also be called money.

In Matthew 25:27, the master said

“Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.”

As a Christian I believe investing is a good thing especially stock market investing.

Good inheritance for children

There is no investment without risk. You can get less money than you put in the stock market. However, if the investment is long term the chances of getting less than you invested is very slim.

If you have dividend stocks, you can earn dividends from time to time as income. For index funds investor, the interest you earn from your funds can be collected as income.

Something else that is great about the stock market is that it provides an opportunity to live inheritance for your children; if you have been blessed with them.

Again, I can go back to my Bible philosophy.

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children – Proverbs 13:22”.

When you invest in the stock market, you can also pass the knowledge to you children. You can teach your children about money.

How to start investing in stock market

Investing in the stock market used to take a lot of efforts before the internet age.

To buy a share of any publicly listed company. You need a stock broker.

Before the internet, to have access to a stock broker, you will have to visit their brick and mortar office to complete paper work. 

The internet now makes it easy to open a brokerage account with stock brokers.

From your phone or any device with internet access, you can open an account with a stock broker and start investing in the stock market.

Please do your own research and due diligence before buying any share.

My favourite stock market investing strategy is the index fund. I prefer index funds because of its low risk and low fee.

Best stockbrokers in the UK

The best stock brokers in your region or country may vary as services are sometimes country/region specific.

I am a UK resident and the best brokers in the UK are:

• Trading 212 – commission and fee free
• Vanguard – Low cost index fund and ETF
• Hargreaves Lansdown
• AJ Bell
• Fidelity
• Freetrade – commission and fee free
• DEGIRO – Low Costs