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4 Ways to Financially Pay Yourself First


There is a common adage that says "As riches increase, the people that eat it increase", This statement has stood the test of time and has been found true in most case studies.
 
4 Ways to Financially Pay Yourself First

You are your greatest asset; Your body, mind and spirit are all you have after the stress of life has taken its toll on you. So, you need to pay attention to yourself.

The society tells you to:
  • Spend
  • Consume
We either spend to solve our wants or needs, and we should be careful to pay attention to our needs more than our wants. We should know that not all products/services should be for immediate consumption. We can learn to defer pleasure to the most appropriate time.

 
You can pay yourself by:

1. Paying off credit debt

Try to offset the debts you might have incurred; it helps to give a good credit score, prevents blacklisting by credit bureau, It prevents embarrassment and also improves your mental health.
 

2. Invest for your Retirement

Create a Retirement savings account (R.S.A.) with a reputable pension fund manager, It helps you prepare well for retirement. You can also invest in some long-term ETFs (Equity traded funds) like VOO, VGT in the stock market.
  • Add to your emergency fund: Emergencies are unexpected happenings, because life events are not totally predictable, we need emergency savings to help when the needs arise. You can consider investing in mutual funds, they can help out.
  • Add to your investment portfolio: Continuously add to your investment portfolio either by dollar cost averaging are strategic placements. 
  Never live bigger than your paycheck, It's financial suicide.
 

Conclusion

You must understand that in the end, your financial growth

The History of Thrift Collection in Nigeria




Alphaeus Taiwo Olunaike is not a name that many Nigerians are familiar with. But once you mention Baba Alajo Somolu, the eyes of millions of Nigerians will light up.
 
Baba Alajo Shomolu was born on the 16th of September 1915 in Isan-Oyin (now Isonyin), close to Ijebu-Musin and Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State, southwestern Nigeria. A woman named Grace Okuromiko Olunaike had given birth to triplets. Immediately she was told that she just gave birth to three babies, her face went sullen. She could not hide the sadness. Her heartbeat increased as tears streamed down herwarm face. She was visibly confused. It was an abomination for a woman to give birth to triplets at that time in Yorubaland. One child must be sacrificed to the gods. One of the babies was eventually sacrificed to the gods. The other two were spared. One of them later grew up to become Baba Alajo Somolu.

Baba Alajo Somolu was three years old when he lost his father. He started his primary education at the Emmanuel Primary School, Ijebu-Isonyin. He had not finished his education at his small hamlet when his paternal uncle, STA Torimoro came and took him to Lagos where he was able to further his education. In 1927, he arrived Lagos and he was enrolled at the St. Johns School, Aroloya. From there, he proceeded to the Christ Church Cathedral School, Lagos, and finished there in 1934. Two years after his education, he was enrolled as an apprentice under a tailor named Rojaye. He was a tailor-in-training for nine good years before he got his ‘freedom’. When he started working as a tailor, he noticed that the income could not sustain him and he needed an alternative. Therefore, when the younger brother of his late dad, STA Torimoro, was going to Cameroon on a commercial trip, Baba Alajo Somolu decided he would also seize the opportunity and follow him too.

Thus, in 1950, BabaAlajo Somolu was on his way to Paul Biya’s nation. Upon reaching Cameroon, Baba Alajo Somolu showed his entrepreneurship spirit and tried his hands on various jobs. He sold goods, newspapers and tried his hands on many ventures. In Cameroon, one of his neighbours was a thrift collector and he gisted him about the business which immediately caught his fancy. As a a result, by thetime he returned to Nigeria in 1954, he already had it in mind that he was going to start the business of ajo gbigba (thrift collection). He was 39 at that time. Before he left Cameroon, he took with him a copy of the thrift collection card used by his Cameroonian neighbour. When he arrived Nigeria, he made copies of the card and the rest is history.

At the peak of his career, he was so hardworking and diligent at his work that sayings were coined in his name.The sayings are as follows:‘’Ori e pe bii ti alajo Somolu, to fodidi oôdun meta gbajo lai ko
oruko eni kankan sile, ti ko si siwo san fenikeni.’’ (Your brain is as sharp as that of Alajo Somolu, who collected thrift for three years and paid back all his customers without writing down a single name and without making a single mistake with the payment)There is also another one that goes thus:

    “Ori e pe bii Alajo Somolu, to ta moto, to fi ra keke”.

(You are so intelligent like Alajo Somolu, who sold his car to buy a bicycle).

For Baba Alajo Somolu to collect thrift and financial contributions from his countless clients without writing down their names and then returning to pay them as due and as scheduled at the end of every month for years without making any mistake points to a very sharp memory. Many people actually think the story of Alajo Somolu is of myths and legends and that he does not exist. But  he did truly exist!

After establishing his Popular Daily Alajo Somolu thrift collection business, he got a bicycle that he planned to use in moving around collecting money for saving from his customers. Then he called an older relative and hinted him of the business, seeking his counsel, advice and suggestion. But he was shocked.His elder relative took a good look at him and thoroughly discouraged him. He told Alajo
Somolu that thrift business was not for people like him, that is was a very difficult and challenging job and he even counted about six people who had started the business of thrift collection but ended up bankrupt.He summed it up by telling Alajo Somolu to try another business as he will not succeed in thrift collection.

Therefore, when the younger brother of his late dad, STA Torimoro, was going to Cameroon on a commercial trip, Baba Alajo Somolu decided he would also seize the opportunity and follow him too. Thus, in 1950, Baba Alajo Somolu was on his way to Paul Biya’s nation. Upon reaching Cameroon, Baba Alajo Somolu unleashed the ferocious entrepreneurial spirit that was in him. A very determined fellow, he tried his hands on various tasks and duties in Cameroon. He sold goods, newspapers and tried his hands on many ventures. In Cameroon, one of his neighbours was a thrift collector and he gisted him about the business which immediately caught his fancy. As a a result, by the time he returned to Nigeria in 1954, he already had it in mind that he was going to start the business of ajo gbigba (thrift collection). He was 39 at that time. Before he left Cameroon, he took with him a copy of the thrift collection card used by his Cameroonian neighbour. Upon reaching Nigeria, he made his own copies of the card and he named his own venture Popular Daily Alajo Somolu.


After listening to the demotivating tale of his older relative, Alajo Somolu headed to the place of his own elder sister, named Sarah. He explained that he wanted to leave the tailoring job and all that was on his mind to his dear sister. She listened carefully to all he had to say, believed in his passion and took him to a clergy who prayed for him and gave him all the support and encouragement that he needed in his new venture. He also preached to Alajo Somolu to be very honest in all his dealings, and that once he was fair and just, his business would bloom.

An elated Alajo Somolu and his delighted sister left the place of the cleric full of thanks and gratitude. In September 1954, Alajo Somolu went out for the first time to collect thrift from his clients. He had launched his business and he had great hopes. Unfortunately, not a single person patronized him that first day. Many of the market women even taunted him saying he would just collect their money and vanish into the thin air. But he was not discouraged with the negative atmosphere. He persisted in riding his bicycle from stall to stall, from shop to shop until some of the market women pitied him and decided to give him a trial and gave steady contributions of some kobos.

At the end of the first month, all his clients got their money complete and not a dime was missing. Baba Alajo too also made his own profit and he was doubly delighted that his clients had renewed hope in him and that the new business was actually more lucrative than the tailoring he was doing. With time, the news of his honesty, transparency and hardwork spread and his clients swelled in number. Baba Alajo’s prosperity too also shone and he built his first house at No 10, Odunukan Street in Ijesa. He later sold the house to the Deeper Life Ministry and built another one at Olorunkemi, Owotutu Area, Bariga, Lagos.

In a shortwhile, his fame spread like wildfire. He was the thrift collector for the entire axis covering Awolowo Market, Oyingbo Market, Olaleye, Mile 12, Ojuwoye, Baba Oloosa, Sangross and of course in Somolu (Shomolu) where he got his nickname. His customers fell in love with him for his truthfulness, his ability to save them from financial ruins by providing life-saving loans and most importantly, for his outstanding memory. He did not also use a calculator and there were no computers either. The most amazing part of his prodigious memory is this: he does not only pay back the exact amount to his clients, he also pay them back with the same notes and coins that they contributed with. He was so exact that if a client should write down the number on his notes, he would be astonished to get the same notes back at the end of the month. Such brilliance!

Anytime one of his vehicles returned after a trip of thrift collection and the car had depreciated to the point that it is no longer economically viable, he just sells off the car and buys a bicycle instead. Therefore, when people noticed that one of his vehicles was missing and a brand-new vehicle had appeared instead, they will say:

    Alajo Somolu has sold his car to buy a bicycle.

But Alajo Somolu knew what he was doing. To him, what is the point of maintaining a car that was not bringing in profits anymore? It was better to sell it and buy more Raleigh bicycles to access all the hitherto inaccessible areas. Let me state here that many of his customers stayed with him for decades and many up to the time he died. They described him as a very friendly, reliable and honest man.

He was also praised for his willingness to help others. When he died, one of the other thrift collectors in the area named Oladini Olatunji said that there was a time when he ran into some financial troubles with his business and it almost became a huge debt on him but it was baba Alajo Somolu that helped him pay off the entire debt and saved him from bankruptcy and he never told anyone. For this and many more, all other thrift collectors looked up to him as their father figure and even held the alajo (thrift collector) meetings in his house. He was happily married and as at the time he was alive, he was the Layreader and Treasurer for 30 years at the Anglican Church that he attended at Somolu.

Alajo Somolu continued his job with joy until 2010 when he was 95 years old. He really wanted to continue the job but his children insisted that he had to go on voluntary retirement and that it was time for him to rest. Even though Baba Alajo Somolu followed his children’s suggestion that he retire and not go out to receive thrift collections, his clients did not let him rest. They had so much faith in him that they personally went to his house to give him their daily contributions which they then returned to collect at the end of every month when it would have accumulated to a sizable portion.

On the 11th of August, 2012, Baba Alajo Somolu breathed his last. He was not sick but died due to old age. From a humble background and with little formal education, Baba Alajo Somolu was able to modify ajo, the traditional banking system and became a pioneer in his own right. He was clearly a fulfilled man as with the proceeds from his job, he was able to build houses, send his children to school and sustain his entire family.


How to Secure your Bank Cards in 2025

 

In this era of cashless system that we are in, most of our financial transactions can be done using bank cards which could either be debit or credit card. This means that the slightest carelessness with your card or its details that makes it gets into the wrong hands can cause you loss of money and put you in a very bad place financially. Hence why we need to put some effort into securing our bank cards and handling them carefully. The following are various ways on how you can secure your bank cards and protect your finances.
 

1. Take extra measures before using your card for online transactions 

Many of us make payments for our online transactions with our bank cards. However, the first step you should take before you put in the numbers on your card and make a payment is to ensure that the website is safe, secure and reputable . Stick to the retailers that you're familiar with and if you aren't familiar with a site, do some research to find out more about it.Avoid shopping on public Wi-Fi as well as it can leave you vulnerable for hackers to access your confidential financial information and bank cards details. Also, never allow your browser to store your bank card details on a website you can take a precaution against this by turning off the Autofill function on the web browser that you use to previously made purchases.
 

2. Protect the PIN of your bank card

This is point where I advise you to guard your pin like your life depends on it as its exposure can be very fatal.
The Personal Identity Number (PIN) can provide a problem free access for others to use your card and withdraw as much as possible from it. Your pin definitely goes a long way in determining the degree of your bank card security. Take your time to curate a strong and unique pin for your bank card that cannot be easily guessed. Do not use numbers that you use for other purposes such as pin to unlock your phone.

3. Be aware of your card activities 

No matter how well you are trying to protect your pin and carefully navigating through online transactions, you also need to always check your bank card activities.You may not see the need to check frequently because nothing has happened to your card but you need to be proactive and check your bank card activities regularly. You can do this by checking your online banking application or by reviewing your bank statements frequently to stay updated about any issues. If there are errors or suspicious withdrawals,make sure to get in touch with your bank immediately.

4. If you notice anything suspicious, report to your bank 

When you notice any suspicious activities with your bank card, make a quick move by reporting to your bank as soon as possible. There are several means by which you can reach your bank,you can either call their hotline, send a direct message on their social media accounts or visit any of the bank’s branch. This is also necessary if you lose your bank card as you should immediately  ask for the lost card to be blocked and request for another.


There is an increase in the number of cyber crimes and financial fraudulent activities since we have now adopted the cashless policy which is why as much as we are enjoying its comfort, we have to be careful and make moves to protect our finances. 
In conclusion, you can also try to use other method of making payments like the QR code payment option or mobile transfer to make your bank cards less exposed and vulnerable to wrong use.
 
 
 
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4 Ways to Financially Pay Yourself First

The History of Thrift Collection in Nigeria

How to Secure your Bank Cards in 2025

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