The Financial Wisdom of Small Steps

The tap in my kitchen has a leakage where even when I close it, a drop will still be coming out. I placed a big bowl on it so it doesn't mess up the ground giving me additional stress of cleaning. I did something one day and it was that I wouldn't remove the bowl for some days but to see how the little drop of water would fill it up, so, after 2 weeks, the water almost got filled up. I smiled because it is something that relates well with financial literacy.

There is this common adage surrounding financial education which isn't something I have just come to know of. I have known this phrase for years now and can see how true it is: A little drop of water makes an ocean. Just like the tap story above, it wasn't that I just learnt that phrase which made me think of experimenting with it, but the fact that I wanted to see how long the drop would fill the bowl for me.

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This is one fact I have held onto since I started this adulthood journey and seeing how it has helped me is something I can never toy with. It has taught me patience and consistency. Many people kept appraising me about my consistency on platforms I have joined and how I have stood my ground to gather those little tokens only to see how huge they have become after many months or years because, to them, they don't have the patience and time.

Many of them are always looking for a get-rich-quick scheme but that has never been a mindset for me because there is something I always say to myself, which is to time myself that I will put in my effort for some months, then see how far I have done, and this method has helped me never to stop. This is one reason I don't easily give up when it comes to platforms where I'd earn little cents.

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You see those tiny percentages on curation rewards here on Hive, they mean something when you do not give up because you will come to realise how powerful micro-earning is. I saw a thread earlier this morning on Inleo where the user attested to the fact that micro-earning is so powerful. An individual who underestimates the power of gathering little cents would come to realize how foolish he or she has been and would regret not taking the opportunity when he or she should, but fortunately, it is not always too late to do that.

I have this app that I have been using for over 3 years now. It is called Cowrywise. A lot of Nigerians would know this app which is an investment or saving app where you put in your money and it gives you daily returns. I saw it as an opportunity to throw in my money every time I did not need it and would give me daily returns. As low as those returns have been, they kept me going because it was an advantage for me, and it is far better than leaving it in an account where, instead of topping it up for me would keep deducting with excuses of card maintenance fees, message alert fees etc.

Whenever I need money, I go there to withdraw, whereas those little cents would have accrued to a substantial amount which would bring me a smile, appreciating myself for not underestimating those little cents. Today, I still make use of the app. It all started when I was earning 0.02 naira some years back on my savings till it got to over #100 daily and if one should calculate that monthly, it means I would be earning over #3000. The more money saved in the app, the bigger the returns daily.

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It was a surprise to me that my house rent hasn't been collected since I moved in in January, and in order not to spend it, I pushed it into the app and have been receiving daily returns instead of sleeping in my account where it would keep reducing because I believed in a small amount turning bigger someday. Whenever I open the app and see the progress, I smile because when I need any emergency help, I turn to the app to take from the returns that have been yielding nice for me.

The financial tip that a little drop of water makes an ocean has taught me the value of patience and consistency, never giving up because, at the end of the day, there would be a big reward for me. Having to save every time has been a habit for me which I have built for a while now. Saving as little as a thousand naira or more isn't a tug of war because I am someone who wants to build a financially stable life for myself and never to be a liability for anyone. I understand the value of saving and how someday would come to generate lots of money for you. It is not only about saving but about saving in a place where you'd get interested.

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_{Both images belongs to me}