Tag Archives: create wealth

Financial Freedom

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” and the desire for freedom is entrenched in the hearts of people worldwide. While we may enjoy personal liberties here in Jamaica, how many of us can say that we are financially free?

Freedom is usually defined as being devoid of restraints on thought, speech or actions. To be free, you must be able to make choices for your life without any restrictions, apart from legal considerations. When it comes to money, do you believe that you have the ability to determine your financial destiny?

If asked “What does financial freedom mean to you?” different people will provide diverse definitions. One basic concept of money freedom is the ability to finance your preferred lifestyle without stress or debt. To be financially free, you should have autonomy in your income and time to live as you desire. Continue reading Financial Freedom →

Financial Priorities

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A Guyanese colleague shared with me her concern about the financial practices of many Jamaicans with whom she interacted. After spending a few years managing a project in our country, she observed that the attitudes towards saving, spending and debt were very different in the two nations.

One major point of divergence, she noted, was that most Guyanese people were very focused on saving to buy a home as their first priority. The consultant remarked that you would hardly see persons in her country driving a car if they did not already own a piece of property.

Another point of difference was that most Guyanese were very embarrassed about having debt that they could not afford to pay. Indebtedness was taboo and there were even cases of persons who attempted suicide because they were so devastated about their unpaid financial obligations. Continue reading Financial Priorities →

Giving Thanks for 2011

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“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; … it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.”

This quote from the Charles Dickens novel, A Tale of Two Cities eloquently expresses some of the conflicting realities of Jamaica in 2011.

As we approach the end of another year, it might be tempting for us to become cynical about our nation’s growth in the past and potential for the future. Politicians, psychologists, financial analysts, civil society groups and ordinary citizens all have varying opinions about the economic challenges that hinder our progress.

With ‘Brand Jamaica’ continuing to ride high, why is it that we couldn’t take advantage of our tremendous popularity and goodwill to reap financial benefits in 2011? Continue reading Giving Thanks for 2011 →