Tag Archives: Jamaica

Financial Education for all Jamaicans

Financial Literacy, , , , ,

“He who knows not and knows he knows not, is simple; teach him” – Arabic proverb

The road to financial achievement can be a difficult journey for many persons. The passage to money success is frequently encumbered by deep potholes and unexpected speed bumps. In fact, most people never end up attaining their goals, as along the way they detoured from the straight and narrow path of making smart financial choices.

Over the years, I have realised that the number one reason that most people falter on the route to financial freedom is that they aren’t aware of what it takes to be successful with money.

Thanks to improved access to communication sources and lessons learnt from the recent financial fallouts, more persons have become concerned about their lack of knowledge about financial matters, and are desperately seeking answers to their problems. Continue reading Financial Education for all Jamaicans →

Making Money With Personal Services

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As we continue to highlight practical options of generating income to make ends meet or save towards future goals, today we will look at some of the ways to earn from providing personal services. Depending on your background or natural talents, you may find one of the following opportunities ideal for you:

Self-defence Training

In today’s society, there is a high level of anxiety caused by crime and violence and the perception that personal security is at risk. While others focus on worrying about the problems that exist, true entrepreneurs pay attention to the opportunities that they present.

One possibility for income earning is teaching others how to defend themselves in the event of an attack. If you have training in the security field or excelled at a self-defence course, you could provide this worthwhile service to help persons overcome their fears. Continue reading Making Money With Personal Services →

Making Money With a Vehicle

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The purchase of a vehicle is often viewed as a necessary investment for many Jamaicans who are forced to struggle with an unpredictable public transportation system. However, after the initial euphoria of gaining their own set of wheels wears off, new drivers quickly realise that owning a vehicle can sometimes be a very expensive affair.

Most people opt to take out a loan in order to obtain the funds for their vehicle of choice, but the required monthly payments can put severe pressure on their budgets. Add the costs of petrol, insurance, licensing fees, servicing and major repairs, and it becomes clear that vehicle ownership is definitely more of an expense than an investment.

The good news is that your vehicle can actually provide several opportunities to generate income that might not only cover the upkeep charges, but leave you with a tidy surplus to boot. If you’re looking for ways to earn more money, you may find a suitable option in one of the following ideas: Continue reading Making Money With a Vehicle →

Making Money With Food

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It’s been said that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. This saying certainly rings true for not just Jamaican men but women as well, as it is part of our culture to enjoy a good meal. Practically every month a food festival is held somewhere in the country, and people will travel far and wide to partake in the offerings.

With the universal love for eating out, it’s ironic that the restaurant business holds the dubious distinction of having a 90 per cent failure rate. Although researchers debunk this statistic as an urban myth, many persons are still wary of venturing into the food industry because of its varied challenges.

Despite the possible setbacks, there is nothing as satisfying as food preparation for those persons who are naturally talented in this area. The good news is that you don’t have to inject significant financial capital and spend extended hours to benefit from the food business, as it also presents several opportunities for earning part-time income. Let’s look at some tantalizing options: Continue reading Making Money With Food →

Making Money With Your Home

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Over the past weeks we have been encouraging persons to get innovative in looking for ways to become more productive. It makes no sense to merely complain about a shortage of money – you have to focus your efforts on creating solutions to earn more. Fortunately, there are dozens of methods of generating income; it’s wise to choose one that best fits your personality and situation.

In your quest to improve your finances by finding a practical means to earn more money, you may encounter some roadblocks. You may have a job that expressly prevents employees from marketing things at the workplace or having any outside employment.

You may find it hard to discover your inner talents to exploit for profit. Maybe you’re hopeless at sales and couldn’t even sell water to a thirsty person.

If you have a challenge identifying a viable product to sell or making use of your talents to serve others, don’t despair. There may be several earning opportunities lying undiscovered right at home. Many people don’t recognise that their residences are ‘lazy’ assets – they have monetary value but never contribute any income into their pockets. Continue reading Making Money With Your Home →

Multiple Streams of Income

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“Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there he placed the man he had made. A river flowed from the land of Eden, watering the garden and then dividing into four branches.” – Genesis 2: 8, 10 NLT

When it comes to their finances, many people are currently experiencing severe drought conditions. The reservoirs of their bank accounts are running dangerously low, as the constant outflows of money are not being replenished by new inflows of savings. The Jamaican proverb, “Rain a fall, but de dutty tough,” aptly describes the inability of their scattered income showers to nourish their parched budgets.

Some persons whose steady earnings have regularly flowed from their work pipelines, now find their taps painfully dry. Everywhere you look, people are engaged in a desperate search for fresh income sources to meet basic requirements and to store up for the future.

While the drought analogy might be appropriate for the financial challenges that many of us are facing today, remember that money is still in abundant supply even though it might not be obvious in our pockets. Continue reading Multiple Streams of Income →

Networking for Earning

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Over the past weeks, we have been examining the age-old question “How can I earn more money?” If you’re seeking an answer to this problem, but you have insufficient time to increase your income, then you may have to change your method of making money.

As discussed, most persons earn a living by pursuing linear income, and have to continually put in work time in order to get paid. Linear income puts a ceiling on your earning ability, as time is a restricted resource. Also, if you have to physically stop working for any time above your vacation or sick leave allowance, your income is negatively affected.

Looking for options, we considered residual income, where you are able to earn continually from some type of work or investment that you carried out once. For example, you can earn residual income on royalties from book or record sales.

We also examined leveraged income, in which you can multiply your total income by utilising the efforts of other people. If you employ others to work in your business, then you make use of this type of income. Continue reading Networking for Earning →

Using OPT to Earn More

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One of the biggest financial challenges many persons face today is the need to earn more money to make ends meet and achieve their goals. As most people obtain their incomes by selling their time for dollars, their ability to increase their remuneration is severely limited by the number of hours in a day.

Many employees and self-employed persons neglect to pursue earning options from sources that are not wholly dependent on their physical efforts. They believe that work security lies in their own ability to complete a task and receive a payment for it.

In reality, this is not a very secure way of earning, as circumstances such as pay cuts, job loss or illness can derail expected income.

One solution to this problem is to create a passive income source that pays you repeatedly without your continued personal effort. As your earning potential is not completely dependent on your time, it is easier to make more money to supplement your regular pay cheque and channel excess money to invest in long-term goals. Continue reading Using OPT to Earn More →

How to Work Less and Earn More

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With some amount of trepidation, you decide that you’re finally going to get a grip on your budget. Armed with months of bills and receipts, you painstakingly recreate an outline of your spending plan for the year. After adding up all your expenses, you’re shocked to see that the total monthly income needed to finance your lifestyle is way in excess of your current earnings.

“That explains why I’m so dependent on my credit cards every month,” you mutter to yourself. “I’ve got to reduce these expenses if I’m ever going to get out of debt.”

Determined to cut back all unnecessary costs from your overblown budget, you examine each expense category for items that you can do without. Unfortunately, your search reveals that you already exist on the basics – any reduction will only lead to deprivation for you and your family.

Frustrated by your budget-trimming attempts, you decide to take a hard look at the income side. “My salary is just not enough,” you admit. “What I need is a way to make some more money.” Continue reading How to Work Less and Earn More →

Help for Young Jamaican Entrepreneurs

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Last week, we looked at the important role that youth entrepreneurship plays in the overall economic development of Jamaica. Unfortunately, despite aspirations to create their own income sources, many young people struggle to find ways to achieve their business dreams.

It’s a common belief by new entrepreneurs that the route to business success lies in easier access to start-up financing for their fledgling operations. The reality is that an injection of money can sometimes be insufficient to help an enterprise prosper if the owner is inexperienced in business.

From observing the mistakes of many young entrepreneurs (myself included), I know that working capital will often be misused and wasted in the hands of someone who is just starting out in business. The saying “Experience is the best teacher,” could very well have been written by an entrepreneur who gained worldly wisdom after several costly business errors! Continue reading Help for Young Jamaican Entrepreneurs →