KENNEDY MUSONDA
MY late father was, in my view, the most dedicated employee of the government that I ever knew. I think he reported for work as early on his first day of employment in 1961 as he did on his last day of employment at the close of the millennium. He used to tell me “a police officer is never late for work”.
My father rose through ranks from a Constable in the colonial government to Assistant Commissioner in the third republic. Although he had worked for more than 30 years, his pension was shocking, to say the least. What he got as a pension was equivalent to my two months’ pay I used to get when I was in full-time employment. My father was devastated when he got his pension. One day he looked at me and sternly warned me with sadness in his eyes and said: “I do not want any of my children to work for the government.”
I have not written this to discourage people from working for the government, not at all, but to make a point. My point is that there are many people that work for a long time and live very well when they are working but end up wallowing in poverty due to a number of reasons.
However, not all these reasons will be discussed but only four most critical reasons will be discussed in this article and those that will follow. The reasons include failure to plan for end of employment, not doing whatever it takes to acquire financial education and entrepreneurial skills, failure to change employee mindset, and not acquiring wealth creation core values. The first reason will be discussed in this article while the rest will be discussed in the articles that will follow.
Many well-to-do employees are ill-prepared for end of employment such that those who lose employment end up wallowing in poverty. Many of these employees never prepare for retirement or end of employment until very late. This puts them at risk of ending up wallowing in poverty when they are no longer in employment.
Those who are lucky to retire with a handsome package squander terminal benefits in a very short period of time mostly due to unprofitable and high-risk investments that they make. The major contributor to all these financial problems is the lack of financial education, entrepreneurial skills and a wealth creation mindset.
When is the right time to start preparing for end of employment? You must start preparations on your first day of employment because no matter how good the job is, one day you will leave it. There are a number of reasons why you should not wait until the last minute to start preparing for end of employment.
First, no one can tell exactly when they would lose employment. Second, it takes time to adequately prepare for that time. Third, you need to gain experience in whatever you will be doing after leaving your job. Starting a new thing without experience after the end of employment is very risky and quite ‘dangerous’.
What is involved in preparing for end of employment? There are critical things that you need to do.
First, you must know what it costs you to maintain your current lifestyle. Second, you need to be clear of the lifestyle you want to lead at the end of employment and how much that is likely to cost you.
If you do not know how to calculate all this, you should sign up for the up-coming seminar during the first week of December, 2014. Only limited spaces are available. Just send an email to kmusonda@gmail.com to request for details.
Third, you must determine the value of the assets you should acquire that will produce an income to enable you live the kind of lifestyle you desire. Third, ensure that you develop a plan on how you will acquire those assets and start immediately to implement your plan.
If all this is challenging to you, you should sign up for the seminar. Many people do not want to invest in preparing for end of employment thinking it is expensive. They would rather spend money on having fun. Whatever price you pay for a seminar or consultation will be cheaper than retiring without preparing for end of employment. Next week, I’ll discuss the second critical reason why well-to-do employees end up in poverty and die poor.
The author is a business and wealth creation expert.
Mobile: 0977/955-526-404
Email: kmusonda@gmail.com