investing Archives - Zamai Banje

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June 23, 2025

Financial Wealth: 3 Simple Pillars of Mastering Money

Financial Wealth is not just about accumulating more money.

It’s about defining and achieving a life that aligns with your values and well-being. There is a reason why the endless chase for more fails to bring lasting satisfaction.

From Sahil’s global bestseller book, I will lay out a simple, three-pillar model (plus practical systems) to build sustainable financial security on your terms.

Everything is right in this article, so please stay with me and let’s learn together till the end.

The Big Question: “What’s Your Definition of Enough?”

Once asked by a reporter how much money was enough money, business tycoon and billionaire John D. Rockefeller replied,

“Just a little bit more.”

This is the modern-day Sisyphean struggle. Our hedonic adaptation ensures that each financial win quickly becomes the new baseline for dissatisfaction. Society celebrates perpetual growth in pursuing money, and contentment is mislabelled as laziness.

Yet, we have seen that true wealth includes five pillars: Time, People, Purpose, Health, and Financial Wealth.

Beyond Financial Wealth: 5 Types of Wealth

You Must Define Your “Enough Life”

Your “Enough Life” can be modest or lavish.

Consciously articulate where you live, what you own, what you spend time doing, who you spend time with, and your financial cushion. The truth is…. You can never achieve true financial wealth if your expectations outpace your assets.

Defining your “Enough Life” explicitly shifts the quest from endless accumulation to purposeful balance.

Modern Money is full of Illusions

In recent times, money increasingly feels abstract.

Money has slowly transitioned from a medium of exchange in the reality of the physical world to something that often resembles a fantastical creation of the human imagination. There are more digital banks and different types of online money schemes. It’s like a theme park of gimmicks.

To stay focused on making and keeping money, you must avoid shiny distractions.

Focus on the “boring basics” that reliably build financial wealth. You don’t have to “ride every ride”. Consistency with simple principles over time will help you win.

The Three Pillars of Financial Wealth

Financial Wealth grows by converting short-term net cash flow into long-term compounders via three pillars:

Pillar 1: Income Generation
Cultivate stable and growing cash inflows: primary job, side hustles, passive streams.

This is the basic model. You can also build marketable skills (e.g., sales, writing, software). Then leverage those skills across a risk spectrum (from getting a job to venturing entrepreneurship).

Pillar 2: Expense Management
Keep outflows reliably below inflows.

Manage lifestyle creep. This is when you get that extra money, but instead of saving more of it, you slowly start spending more and more without even really noticing. Focus on the essentials instead.

The essentials are budgeting, automating savings, having a rainy-day fund (6 months of expenses), and conscious spending.

Pillar 3: Long-Term Investment
Invest the gap between income and expenses in low-cost, efficient assets to capture compound interest.

To do this, note that your time in the market beats timing the market. Start investing early. Your earlier investments yield exponentially greater returns.

The 3 Pillars of Financial Wealth

The gap between income and expenses is your most important financial tool. The larger it grows, the more you must invest and compound.

Closing this gap requires a knowledge of the five levels of financial wealth.

The Five Levels of Financial Wealth

Your journey can be mapped across five distinct levels.

Each level is defined by your needs, pleasures, and financial independence:

1: Baseline Needs: Food, shelter, and basic security are covered.

2: Modest Pleasures: Discretionary spending on dining out, simple vacations, education.

3: Saving & Compounding: Focus shifts toward aggressive saving, investing, and fund building.

4: Moderate Independence: Passive income covers a portion of your lifestyle. Active income can be reduced.

5: Complete Independence: Passive returns exceed all expenses; active work becomes optional.

The dollar thresholds in each level are personal and driven by your defined “Enough Life.” And each level requires disciplined application of the three pillars.

Systems for Success: The Financial Wealth Guide

Here are eight high-leverage systems to maximize your financial wealth.

You need not adopt them all. Simply select what resonates.

Defining Your Enough Life
Financial Wealth Hacks I Wish I Knew at Twenty-Two
Seven Pieces of Career Advice (Income Generation)
Six Marketable Meta-Skills (Income Generation)
Seven Basic Principles of Expense Management
Eight Best Investment Assets (Long-Term Investment)
The Return-on-Hassle Spectrum (Long-Term Investment)
The Single Greatest Investment in the World (Self-Investment)

System 1: Defining Your Enough Life

Here are the prompts to craft a vivid image of your ideal life:

Location & Home: House, apartment, multi-location living?
Social Circle: Family proximity, friends, community.
Daily Activities: Work, hobbies, mental focus.
Possessions: Material items that bring genuine joy.
Financial Profile: Necessary income, savings rate, safety net size.

Use this vision to measure the gap from current reality and plan actionable steps to bridge it. Then revisit every few years to keep growing consciously.

System 2: Financial Wealth Hacks I Wish I Knew at Twenty-Two

This includes key habits to accelerate your journey:

“$30,000 Questions”: Focus on big-impact financial decisions (investment fees, negotiating salary, mortgage rates) over trivial savings (coffee).
Emergency Fund: Build 6–12 months of cash buffer to reduce money anxiety.
Automate Savings & Investments: Commit a fixed percent of income (e.g., save 10%, invest 20%).
Credit Discipline: Treat credit cards like debit; pay in full monthly.
Quality over Quantity: Buy durable items worth splurging on; cut ruthlessly on the rest.
“Test Everything”: Try premium subscriptions, then downgrade after a review period.
Be Generous & Frugal: Save on things you don’t value; spend without guilt on what matters.
Index Funds Are a Free Lunch: 90%+ of portfolio in low-cost diversified funds.
Stay Invested: Automate monthly contributions; ignore market swings.
Tip More: Small holiday gifts to service workers spread goodwill.
Thirty-Day Rule: Wait before nonessential purchases to curb impulse buys.
Negotiate Recurring Bills: Cable, insurance, phone—save hundreds each year.
Mindset Matters: Knowing your numbers and aligning spending with values improves your money psychology.

System 3: Seven Pieces of Career Advice (Income Generation)

Create Value, Receive Value: Focus on delivering outsized value and money follows.
Swallow the Frog: Do your boss’s hardest tasks first to build momentum.
Master the Basics: Eye contact, punctuality, reliability, kindness. Your small actions with these basics will bring big impact.
Work Hard, Then Smart: Hard work builds your reputation and leverage follows.
Build Storytelling Skills: Data + narrative = persuasive communication.
Be Reputable for “Figuring It Out”: Demonstrate resourcefulness and people will fight to work with you.
Dive Through Cracks: Seize imperfect opportunities to create upward momentum.

System 4: Six Marketable Meta-Skills (Income Generation)

Learn these deployable skills that amplify income engines:

Sales
Storytelling
Design (including AI-directed design)
Writing (clarity of thought)
Software Engineering (leveraging AI)
Data Science

System 5: Seven Basic Principles of Expense Management

Create & Stick to a Budget: Track every category and gamify hitting targets.
Automate Savings: “Pay yourself first.”
Credit Cards = Cash: Zero balances every month.
Rainy-Day Fund: Six months of living expenses.
Budget for Experiences: Treat enjoyment as a planned line item.
Plan for Big Expenses: Weddings, vacations, cars. Avoid new debt.
Manage Expectations: Keep lifestyle creep in check and ensure income outpaces expenses.

System 6: Eight Best Investment Assets (Long-Term Investment)

This is a starting point for research. Not all these assets are necessary for every portfolio:

Stocks: High returns, high volatility.
Bonds: Lower returns, principal safety.
Investment Property: Leverage amplifies returns but low liquidity and management headaches.
REITs: Real estate exposure without landlord chores.
Farmland: Inflation hedge, low correlation, but illiquid and high entry barriers.
Small Businesses/Start-Ups: Potentially outsized returns, high failure risk, time-intensive.
Royalties: Income from copyrights; low correlation but taste-driven risk.
Your Products: Highest control and fulfilment; majority fail, but success scales.

System 7: The Return-on-Hassle Spectrum (Long-Term Investment)

Evaluate your assets not only on risk-adjusted returns but also “hassle-adjusted” returns.

For instance, low-hassle assets (e.g., index and mutual funds) often deliver the best net benefit for most investors. On the other end, start-up investing may offer opportunities for ten times or even a hundred times investment appreciation, but it is also incredibly risky.

System 8: The Single Greatest Investment in the World

Invest in Yourself unconditionally: education, skills, health, and relationships.

Also, apply a Thirty-Day Rule for material purchases. Delay nonessential buys by 30 days and redeploy savings into self-investment.

Still Focus on the Broader Wealth Matrix

Money Solves Money Problems, but not deeper life questions.

Your financial wealth is a tool to cultivate your Time Wealth, Social Wealth, Mental Wealth and Physical Wealth. Financial Wealth is the foundation, not the finish line.

Define your unique “Enough Life,” master the three pillars, apply these high-leverage systems, and deploy your resources to enrich all dimensions of a truly wealthy existence.

That’s all, my friend.

I hope this helps and keeps you grounded.

Godspeed and cheers.

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

Become Your Highest Self: Every Sunday, I share actionable tips from successful people on how to master money, mindset and meaning. Please confirm your subscription via email so the newsletter goes straight into your inbox.
Fast Track Book: Stay relevant, master new skills, and be ready for whatever life throws at you. This is the complete roadmap to speed up your learning process and expand the opportunities available to you. Available on Amazon.
Personal Wealth Maximizer: Take control of your finances and build financial freedom. The Personal Wealth Maximizer give you the exact knowledge and tools to break free from money struggles and build financial confidence.

May 11, 2025

Time Wealth: How to Invest Your Finite Moments

When you use your time well, you say your time is well spent.

Time is an asset. It’s one of the currencies of life. Controlling your time is crucial for happiness and fulfilment.

Sahil goes further to call it Time wealth.

You can increase your Time Wealth by focusing on awareness, attention, and control. It’s no longer about focusing on money, i.e., financial wealth. You must also prioritise how you spend your limited time.

Time Wealth Quote

The Big Question: How Many Moments Do You Have Remaining?

Time is finite, especially when it concerns your relationships.

For instance, you have limited moments left with loved ones. Cherishing time spent with family, children, friends, and partners is important. We often take small moments for granted and only value them when they are gone.

Confront this reality and take action to invest your time in meaningful ways.

Choosing a partner to share life with is critical, as is finding meaningful work with energising coworkers. As people age, time spent alone increases, and it should be cherished rather than feared.

The Two Types of Time

There is a modern obsession with busyness, which is often equated with worth.

People are busier than ever but have less control over their time due to digital distractions and societal pressures. This perpetual busyness leads to scattered attention and a lack of fulfilment. To understand better, there are two ways to describe time.

There are Chronos and Kairos.

Chronos refers to sequential, quantitative time, while Kairos refers to qualitative time, where certain moments are more significant than others. Recognising and capitalising your kairos moments is crucial for achieving disproportionate growth and results.

The key is to identify moments of greatest time leverage and focus attention on them.

The Three Pillars of Time Wealth

There are three pillars for building Time Wealth:

Awareness: Understanding the finite nature of time as a precious asset.
Attention: The ability to focus on things that matter while ignoring distractions.
Control: The freedom to choose how to spend one’s time.

Awareness is Recognizing Time as Your Most Precious Asset

Awareness involves recognising the impermanence and value of time.

When young, you are a “time billionaire,” but this wealth diminishes with age.

Now, your goal is to value time before it becomes the only thing you value at the end of life.

Attention is Unlocking Results that are Bigger than your Efforts

Attention is the application of mental energy to create progress.

Focused attention is more powerful than scattered attention, leading to concentrated, extraordinary outcomes. Having focused attention involves dedicating yourself to high-leverage opportunities, projects, and people.

This requires careful selection and rejection of tasks.

Control is Your Ultimate Goal

Control allows you to choose what and when to do with your time.

With control, you own your time and make decisions about its allocation. Without control, your time is dictated by others. Combined with awareness and attention, you shift from being a “time taker” to a “time maker.”

Indeed, you can dictate your time and how it is spent.

The Time Wealth Guide: Systems for Success

There are twelve systems for building Time Wealth.

These systems address common anti-goals such as spending too much time on low-value activities, being too busy to prioritise loved ones and losing spontaneity in life.

The Time Wealth Hard Reset (Awareness)

This exercise involves calculating the number of remaining times one will see a loved one based on current frequency and age.

By confronting this numerical reality, you are inspired to create more time with those you care about.

The Energy Calendar (Awareness and Attention)

This system involves tracking daily activities and categorising them as energy-creating (green), neutral (yellow), or energy-draining (red).

Based on this, you can prioritise, delegate, or adjust activities to optimise your energy levels. Energy-creating activities should be amplified, neutral activities maintained or delegated, and energy-draining activities minimised or adjusted.

The goal is to improve your green-to-red ratio, enhancing overall energy and focus.

The Two-List Exercise (Awareness and Attention)

This exercise helps identify and focus on your top professional and personal priorities.

Create a comprehensive list of professional and personal priorities and narrow each list to three to five items. Separate the circled priorities from the rest, labelling them as “Priorities” and “Avoid at All Costs.”

This creates a clear distinction between what to focus on and what to delegate or delete.

4. The Eisenhower Matrix (Awareness and Attention)

This matrix categorises tasks based on urgency and importance:

Important and Urgent: Do now! These tasks require immediate attention and contribute to long-term goals.
Important and Not Urgent: Plan. Focus on these tasks to build long-term value.
Not Important and Urgent: Delegate. These tasks drain time and energy without contributing to long-term goals.
Not Important and Not Urgent: Delete. Eliminate these time-wasting activities.

The Eisenhower Matrix

The Index Card To-Do System (Attention)

This simple system involves preparing a 3×5 index card each night with a short list of 3-5 tasks for the next day.

The list should include important tasks that align with long-term goals. Its simplicity promotes focus and momentum. This allows you to accomplish more of what matters.

Parkinson’s Law (Attention)

Parkinson’s law states that work expands to fill the time allotted for its completion.

By establishing constraints and shorter time frames, you become more efficient and productive. You work like a lion. Short sprints of focused work followed by rest.

Repeat this pattern till task completion.

The Anti-Procrastination System (Attention)

This system involves three steps to overcome procrastination:

Deconstruction: Break down intimidating tasks into smaller, manageable steps.
Plan and Stake Creation: Develop a plan of attack with specific, time-bound micro-tasks. Create stakes, such as public declarations, social pressure, rewards, and penalties, to drive better outcomes.
Action: Start with the first action to create initial movement, using techniques such as planning a sync session, rewarding initial movement, or using the lion technique.

8. The Flow State Boot-Up Sequence (Attention)

This system focuses on creating a routine to enter a flow state, a state of deep, focused work.

Here, you build a personal boot-up sequence using the five senses:

Touch: Engage in a specific movement or body action.
Taste: Consume a specific drink, chewing gum, or snack.
Sight: Focus on a specific visual element in the environment.
Sound: Listen to a specific sound in the environment.
Smell: Inhale a specific scent in the environment.

The Flow State Boot-Up Sequence

Effective Delegation (Attention and Control)

This system emphasises the importance of delegating tasks to create time leverage.

The three core principles of effective delegation are:

Appropriate Task Profiling: Delegate low-risk, high-reversibility tasks that require minimal oversight, and high-risk, low-reversibility tasks that need significant oversight.
Clear Expectations: Establish clear expectations for every task, including deliverables, timelines, feedback loops, and risk profile.
Infinite Feedback Loops: Establish continuous, iterative feedback loops to enable participants to learn and improve.

Delegation can be implemented at three levels: direct, semiautonomous, and autonomous, allowing for increasing independence and efficiency.

10. The Art of No (Control)

Learning to say no is crucial for taking control of your time.

Two shortcuts to do this are:

The Right Now Test (Personal): When deciding whether to take on a personal commitment, ask, “Would I do this right now?” If the answer is no, decline the commitment.

The New Opportunity Test (Professional): For professional commitments, first, reference the two lists from the earlier exercise. If it’s not aligned with professional priorities, then say no. Then ask, “Is this a ‘Hell yeah!’ opportunity?” If not, decline the opportunity. If it’s aligned, then consider it will take twice as long and be half as rewarding as expected. If the opportunity is not worth it, then decline it. This streamlines commitments and helps individuals focus on what truly matters.

How to Manage Your Time: Time-Blocking and the Four Types of Professional Time

Allocate specific time windows for distinct tasks, managing life through a calendar rather than a to-do list.

The four types of professional time are:

Management: Meetings, calls, presentations, and email processing.
Creation: Writing, coding, building, and preparing.
Consumption: Reading, listening, and studying.
Ideation: Brainstorming, journaling, walking, and self-reflecting.

Starting on a Monday, at the end of each weekday, colour-code the events from that day according to this key:

Red: Management, Green: Creation, Blue: Consumption & Yellow: Ideation to understand which elements are dominating.

An optimal balance is:

Batching Management Time: Allocate discrete blocks for Management Time.
Increasing Creation Time: Carve out distinct windows for Creation Time.
Creating Space for Consumption and Ideation: Schedule dedicated blocks for reading, listening, learning, and thinking.

How to Fill Your Newly Created Time: The Energy Creators

The ultimate question after creating new time is how to fill it.

Choose activities, pursuits, and people that align with your goals and values. These additional energy creators give insights on pursuing what makes you happy.

Time Wealth: The Energy Creators

Use Your “Time Wealth” to shift perspective.

By cultivating awareness, attention, and control, you reclaim your time and invest it in meaningful relationships, fulfilling work, and personal growth.

The systems provided offer practical strategies for building your time Wealth and achieving a more balanced and purposeful life.

That’s all for now. You can read the other forms of wealth here: Beyond Money: A Guide to the 5 Types of Wealth

April 27, 2025

From Zero to Investor: 3 Investments for Beginners

Inflation is silently erasing your future wealth every day.

When you leave money sitting in a traditional savings account with a bank, it only earns 3-4% interest. Meanwhile, inflation runs at 15-20%. That means the ₦1,000,000 in your savings account today will only buy you ₦840,000 worth of goods next year.

After five years, your million naira will be worth less than ₦500,000 in today’s terms.

Your only solution is to invest.

However, the common problem regarding investments is the fear of loss.

Many people are paralysed by the fear of losing money, which prevents them from ever starting to invest. Fear of loss in investing is like being stuck in quicksand. The more you panic and resist, the deeper you sink.

However, suppose you educate yourself and understand the nature of the risk (the quicksand). In that case, you can find stable points (knowledge) to pull yourself out and eventually reach solid ground (successful investing).

Investing is like Planting a Money Tree

Educate yourself to manage risk, rather than avoid it.

Investments for beginners start with education. Knowledge is your shield, and understanding is your sword. Arm yourself well before entering the financial battlefield.

Beware of information overload when searching for investments for beginners

Investment websites, financial news, constant market updates…

It’s easy to get lost and make impulsive decisions based on fear or hype. Beginner investors are feeling overwhelmed by the flood of information. There are blogs, YouTube videos, X posts, and financial jargon like “dividends,” “bull markets,” or “blockchain”.

The fear of choosing the “wrong” investment amplifies this problem and can force you to keep your money idle in a low-interest savings account, losing value to inflation.

To overcome these hesitations, here are three major investments for beginners you can make right now and the direct steps to undertake these investments:

1. INVEST IN U.S. STOCKS

Warren Buffett got wealthy through this investment.

He transitioned from buying stocks of companies in his country at a young age to owning major shares and eventually owning some of these companies.

Buffett got wealthy for two reasons. The stability of the United States (U.S.) economy was the first reason. And then his consistency, discipline and due diligence.

For U.S. Stocks, think about companies like Apple, Microsoft, or Amazon. Even a small investment in these giants can yield significant returns over time.

HOW CAN YOU INVEST IN U.S. STOCKS?

Today’s technology makes it possible to buy and sell U.S Stocks as a Nigerian.

For instance, I use a mobile app called Bamboo. Bamboo is a platform that allows you to use your Nigerian (or foreign) bank details to access these shares of U.S. Companies. There is also Trove, but I haven’t tried it out.

As a beginner, start with fractional shares.

Many platforms now allow you to buy a fraction of a share. This makes it accessible even with limited capital. So, instead of waiting until you can afford a whole share of a high-priced stock, begin with what you have.

You don’t need 1,000 shares of a top tech stock of a company in the USA to begin your investment journey. Start with 3 and grow from there.

Do your research and due diligence, too. You might find a more secure, faster and convenient way to buy U.S. stocks if your research is done right.

2. INVEST IN MUTUAL FUNDS

A mutual fund is a form of collective investment where money from many investors is pooled and invested in various securities (such as stocks, bonds, treasury bills, etc.) under the supervision of a fund manager.

In simpler terms, Mutual funds can be imagined as pizza slices where you are able to get extra value (in this case, profit) usually exclusive to the table of the wealthy.

I love mutual funds because of their stability, diversification and relatively competitive returns.

Invest in Index Funds, too.

An index fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks a specific market index, like the S&P 500. A Nigerian can now invest in an S&P 500 index fund through a platform like Bamboo or Trove, gaining exposure to 500 of the largest U.S. companies.

Generally, investing in mutual funds reduces individual stock risk and saves you the time and effort of researching and managing individual securities.

HOW CAN YOU INVEST IN MUTUAL FUNDS?

You can always purchase mutual funds from licensed and authorised asset management companies.

For instance, I invest in mutual funds through Anchoria Asset Management Limited. There is also Stanbic IBTC and Zedcrest.

As usual, I advise you to gather knowledge and seek guidance before purchasing mutual funds.

3. INVEST IN CRYPTOCURRENCY

This is the most futuristic and arguably a debatable investment path on this list.

Think of cryptocurrency as the digital frontier of finance. It’s exciting and full of potential. But crypto is also with its own set of unknowns and risks.

For example, Bitcoin is a currency based on complex digital technology and solely traded on the Internet.

For a start, explore established cryptocurrencies like Ethereum or newer, promising projects with strong underlying technology.

HOW CAN YOU INVEST IN CRYPTOCURRENCY?

In the past, I used mobile apps like Luno and Trust Wallet to buy and store my cryptocurrency.

And the returns were really impressive. Personally, I am still sceptical about how these digital currencies operates. So what I do now is to buy a small amount of crypto in Naira, withdraw the capital after a few months and leave the remaining volume in my crypto wallet.

Better safe than sorry. Maybe you can try this method too.

I have also found a safer, faster and better platform – Coinveto. The founder, Ofoegbu, is my friend, and I have bought cryptocurrencies from him and recommended his services to others for over three years. Great guy.

You can check the platform too.

The most important thing is… You must embrace technology and the role it is playing in modern society.

Technology is accelerating rapidly, entering virtually all sectors of the economy. And Money is one of them. So, endeavour to balance both your knowledge and experience before venturing into any investment.

Treat your investments as a diversified garden

Think of your financial portfolio as a garden that needs constant attention and care.

U.S. stocks from big companies are like reliable fruit trees that provide regular harvests (dividends). The sturdy trees that grow slowly but provide shade and stability to your garden are the mutual funds. Then, you have some exotic plants (cryptocurrencies) that can either thrive dramatically or wither unexpectedly.

Each plays a role in the overall health of your garden.

Be a good gardener. Your investment portfolio will always need regular review, rebalancing, and sometimes, complete restructuring. Be the investor who knows how to adapt to these conditions.

Investments for Beginners must go this route

How to Go from Zero to Investor.

You don’t have to start big.

Start small because these methods far surpass leaving your money in the bank. What people also don’t realise is that your financial confidence compounds like money. Every small win gives you courage for a bigger step.

Your first ₦6k might not double, but your belief in yourself will.

For example, if you earn ₦120,000 monthly, commit to investing ₦6,000-₦12,000 consistently each month across your chosen platforms. Bamboo for U.S. Stocks, SEEDs by Anchoria for mutual funds, or Coinveto for Cryptocurrency.

Don’t overanalyse until you are paralysed.

Pick one platform. Invest a small amount. Learn from action, not just research.

Diversify like a Chef, not a gambler.

Start by allocating 50% of your investment contribution to stable stocks (e.g., S&P 500), 30% to mutual funds, and 20% to crypto. Then rebalance quarterly or yearly.

This is how investments for beginners work.

What if You Lose Money?

All investors lose money.

The key is losing small to learn and earn big. Never be discouraged by short-term fluctuations. Rather, focus on long-term growth. Investing is often a marathon, not a sprint.

Most beginners quit because they expect instant profits. Investing isn’t gambling. It’s planting seeds and nurturing them with patience.

You wouldn’t dig up a mango seed after 2 weeks and complain it hasn’t turned into a tree, would you?

Invest your time, knowledge and then your money in these investments.

Investments for Beginners