Dearest readers,

Since February 2006 I have been faithfully writing on the subject of personal finance, teaching you about the essentials of managing, multiplying and maintaining your money. It has been my pleasure to share all the money lessons I’ve learnt while searching to find answers to solve my own financial challenges.

Over the last five years, I have been honoured and humbled by the hundreds of readers who have shared their testimonies of how my articles have encouraged and enlightened them towards improving their financial situations. In fact, I have been privileged to meet and become friends with some of my more enthusiastic supporters.

Despite all the naysayers and negativity in the country, I have always held firm in my belief that it is possible for each and every one of us to be successful with money. Once a determined effort is made to learn and apply all the important principles that govern money, no one should continue to experience financial distress indefinitely.

However, as I write this article, I must admit that my heart is a little heavy. Yes, I have been preaching about the principles of money success and practising positive thinking about our problems, but this cannot be enough.

I recognise that a whole lot more needs to be done if the people of Jamaica are truly going to experience a change of economic fortunes.

Fighting financial despair

While some of you may think that I have the solutions to your varied money issues, I often get disheartened to read of the level of hardship that so many people are facing. In some unfortunate situations, there really are no easy answers to give.

What do I say to parents of an autistic child who are facing expenses of over $200,000 per month just to ensure that the special needs of their son can be met? Where do I begin to help an elderly woman who is forced to sell her home and look for a new income source because her husband’s serious illness wiped out their once-robust nest egg?

How do I give practical advice to a single mother of three who is struggling to eke out a living by operating a little corner shop in a depressed inner-city community? What can I do to help a father who borrowed money after being made redundant, and whose loan repayments are now in excess of his monthly income?

It’s not only individuals who are in financial distress. Recently, an educational institution was forced to close its doors after many years of operation because of its inability to collect millions of dollars of outstanding fees. So many formerly profitable small businesses have collapsed, bringing down the hopes and dreams of their owners, employees and dependents.

Where are the answers?

We are not short of official plans and projections about how to solve the financial problems of this country. I think Jamaica has some of the most learned and accomplished economists in the world, and yet our people are still impoverished and our standard of living continues to decline, despite cheerful pronouncements to the contrary.

While there are various community groups, private sector organisations and concerned individuals who are carrying out activities to alleviate the economic challenges around them, these efforts may be too disjointed and isolated to make a real difference. There needs to be a concentrated campaign that produces the tipping point that will bring lasting change.

For me, I am not satisfied to write week after week about money success principles while so many people are hurting financially. Readers, this is an open request to you to help me find the answers to these issues. Let’s start the conversation going to see how we can find ways to pull back our beloved country from the abyss of economic destruction.

A glimmer of hope

I know that we can solve our problems together, because there are many concerned and dedicated people who desperately want this country to be fixed. I recently met a Jamaican-born woman who had travelled all the way from Michigan in the United States, just to visit an institution and bring donations for its educational programmes.

This donor shared how she had responded to an appeal on a local radio station that streamed on the Internet, and had rallied her colleagues to help. Within a few days, she had collected hundreds of items, with more offers of assistance coming in daily. She confirmed that many persons in the Diaspora were willing to contribute towards the country of their birth.

I am also heartened by the various overseas investors who continue to flock to our shores, and bring in their money to start new ventures. In one newspaper report, a European business owner declared that Jamaica was a prime investment location, and that there was more opportunity here than in his own homeland.

While we have been waiting for a long time in a desolate economic wilderness, I do not believe we will remain there forever. There are too many people who believe in our ability to succeed as a country for us to wait in vain.

Copyright © 2011 Cherryl Hanson Simpson. No reproduction without written consent.

Originally published in The Daily Observer, June 9, 2011

Read other articles about Jamaica’s financial future:

We Will Rise Again in 2010! Financial Education for all Jamaicans

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Cherryl is a financial consultant and coach, founder of Financially S.M.A.R.T. Services. See more of her work at www.financiallyfreenetwork.com and www.financiallysmartonline.com. Contact Cherryl