‘Learn to make your money work for you’ – Emmanuel Asuquo’s message in his new book. [Picture: Emmanuel Asuquo]
The headlines about the economy are scarcely positive: recession, inflation, job cuts. Many might have turned to ‘side hustles’ to cushion the blow, others have clung to jobs they didn’t enjoy in the first place. What if there was a way out of the rat race?
Emmanuel Asuquo is a financial advisor and founder of The Eman Effect. Drawing from his experience at several big-name banks, including Barclays, his new book Get Your Money Right: Understand Your Money and Make It Work for You seeks to do exactly that.
Growing up in Tower Hamlets, East London, in the United Kingdom (UK), Asuquo long observed the way his parents worked. He’d see them work hard, earn their money, spend it.
His mission now, he says, is to teach people how to make their money work for them – not the other way around. The way he sees it, money is a tool.
“People really want to work hard and really want to make money, but a lot of the time we haven’t learnt how to make money work for us, how to use money as a tool to make it work for us,” Asuquo said, in an interview on Salaamedia ahead of the official book launch.
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Generating wealth
While many might patiently work on starting a business, some might fall prey to get-rich-quick schemes offering immediate returns. Most might continue to work from paychek-to-paycheck, their consumerism-fuelled greed convincing them that a shopping spree might soothe their nerves.
“We are taking other people’s money to buy things that are going down in value,” says Asuquo. He then goes on to explain why the best way to use money is not to spend it, but to invest it in assets that can yield an income.
Having worked at banks like HBOS, HSBC and NatWest, he should know a thing or two about how banks operate to generate wealth. The main lesson, he says, is that “banks don’t use current accounts or savings accounts. Banks don’t keep their money in a current account or savings account – banks invest your money”.
“When you see these bank buildings, they have floors of people who are using the money that you leave in the bank to invest it. If the bank is not using a current account, if the bank is not using a savings account, why do you keep your money in there? They make money off your money every single day that you leave it there.”
The bottom line, he suggests, is that people need to understand the value of their work. From this point, they would be able to learn to use their money wisely. He sets out the path to better financial habits in his book, which is now available at bookstores in South Africa.
