If I Don’t Understand It, I’m not Doing it. My Name Is Yinka And This Is How I Make My #MoneyRise

When people ask you what do you do, what do you tell them?

I am a Medical Laboratory Scientist. Well, still a student. And I am a writer.

What does financial wealth mean to you?

It’s being able to support myself financially without having to worry about how I’ll manage in the next couple of weeks or days.

How did you start investing?

Technically, I started since I was young — like way young. My dad is an economist and a stockbroker, and my mum is an accountant. Every time I had a Christmas cash gift, they’ll always ask me if I want to “invest” the money in stocks. I didn’t understand it fully then, but I knew I’d have my money back later, so I always agreed.

But by myself, I started investing about three years ago. I’d ask my dad if I could invest in Nigerian stocks then (now I don’t even know where my money is. But when I started using Piggyvest about two years ago, I used the Investify options to get myself into it.

What happened to the Nigerian stocks you invested in?

To be honest, I’m not sure. I’m not as financially educated as my parents when it comes to the stock market, so I just let my dad handle everything related to that. Considering how many times I’ve heard that the stock market has crashed ehn, I don’t know what would have happened to it. But I’m sure if I ask my Dad, he’ll tell me

How do you approach investing today?

I’m still learning about investing better, but I’m always looking to diversify my investments. The build wealth plan on Rise said I’m a middle-risk investor. I try to put my fingers in everything now. Stocks, Eurobonds, Real estate, agriculture.

I keep one thing in mind sha, whatever I’m investing in is going to be long term.

Break down your investment stack for me

I use Rise mostly, because of the dollar investment. Recently, I think CBN devalued the naira. Anything that moves me out of naira is gold

I use piggyvest mainly to save. I hardly receive money in my normal account again. Everything goes to my piggy flex account. That way, no useless bank charges, atm charges, service charges. They collect charges for everything.

I use Thrive Agric for agro investments. I love agriculture. And I think it’s an industry that everyone should actually look into. I mean, we are all going to need food yunno.

Then I use Realvest because of their real estate plans. I read their brochure and did due diligence before investing. I don’t usually keep up with it tho, compared to the others. But my goal is to buy a home for my mum one day.

What is the investing hill you are willing to die on?

If I don’t understand it, I’m not doing it. There are many scams these days, and small me, I’ve fallen into a few. Now, if I don’t understand how the money is being made, where my money is going and what happens in the company if they are insured or secured, I’m not going to start it.

Also, flee from quick money-making. All those bring x, in 20 days, you’ll have 150% ROI.

You’ve fallen for a few scams?

Well, two different times

Want to share?

It’s funny because now that I think back, I’m like omooo.I think the first time was three years ago. I was in 300-level then. I don’t know how I got into the scam, but they had this whole seminar thing: the whole presentation package and whatnot. I Sha remember the ROI was 125% in a couple of months. I had just learnt what ROI meant and how annual returns worked and all that, so it looked juicy. That’s how half of my savings went.

The second time, thank God it was small money I could live without, but it was still money. And it was very recent sef — one of these forex Tradera things. My friend told me about how they paid her on time. She asked for some money sha to add up to what she’ll put the next time. The whole thing disappeared. It wasn’t my investment, but my money was in it, and I was angry. Till today, it’s stories about how they’ll refund their capital back

What is your wildest gain since you started investing?

Well, I’m not entirely sure. I think a 34% gain sometime last year. It was on one of my plans in Thrive Agric.

But the USA stock market is looking excellent now. I made sure to put more money into it when it was all red. And now that it’s rising, I’m happy

Have you made any loss since you started investing?

Well, minus the occasional dips. Nope.

So what’s the secret to not losing money?

I think it’s about understanding the market. There was a time there was a massive stock crash around 2014. I asked my dad why he didn’t remove the money he had then, and he was like, the market will rise.

But it always stuck with me then. Anytime there is a market dip, if it’s a good investment, it’ll rise..

What’s the hardest decision you’ve had to make since you started investing

Not overspending. I love spending money (I don’t know if there are people who don’t love it), but every occasion is an opportunity to spend money for me. So having to discipline myself each time is hard.

What do you wish you had known before making your first investment?

I guess I wish I understood investments earlier. They don’t teach it in schools, and the little knowledge on economics taught in schools is pretty sad.

I wish I knew dollar-based investments were possible. I mean, the naira is doing terribly (no offence) now, and inflation rates are crazy, so if I knew about escaping the naira earlier, it’d have helped.

What does a dream investment look like to you?

Do you know when Michael B Jordan gifted Lori shares for her birthday?? That’s it. Shares in maybe Tesla, or Amazon. And maybe Dangote shares too since Baba is cashing out.

How does this investment compare with your reality?

We’re getting there. I mean it’s a dream, but yeah, we’ll get there

How do you feel about your current position generally?

I’m happy with it, I could definitely be doing more yh, but I try not to rush myself and compare myself with others. it’s also a plus that I started pretty early, at 18.

What will you tell a beginner about investment?

The first thing I’ll say is to read up about it. And ask questions. A lot of questions. Do research, look for resources and all that.

Then just start. With as little as you have.. once you start procrastinating, it’ll be harder to start.

That’s why I love Rise. Resources are available to learn from, and it’s easy to start with very little.