Vocabulary.com gives the meaning of ‘sacrifice’ as “a loss or something you give up, usually for the sake of a better cause”. In other words, to sacrifice means “to give up (something valued) for the sake of other considerations”.
In order to achieve success and stability in your finance, you must be willing to make sacrifices. These sacrifices can come in many forms, from forgoing immediate wants and needs to working longer hours or taking an extra job. However, financial sacrifice can be difficult for some individual as it requires a shift in mindset and a willingness to make the sacrifice. What one person considers a sacrifice may not be the same for another. All that matters is looking beyond immediate wants and needs and thinking about the future.
Let me tell you about Jennifer, a young lady who was determined to make something good out of her life despite the difficult circumstances around her. After struggling through school and completing an NCE programme in a college of education, Jennifer got a job as a teacher in a nursery school six months after graduation. The pay was meagre, but she knew she could manage. It was just the beginning, and she had been brought up to value little things. But she also knew she wanted more out of life, even if her destination was still far off. So, beyond her meagre earnings from the nursery school where she taught, she started organising home lessons and set a two-year target for herself to return to school for a degree course. Sacrifice and self-discipline were needed to achieve this target. She made inquiries and learnt of an insurance savings policy called Personal Pension and Investment Plan (PPIP), which allowed for a minimum duration of one-year savings and maximum duration determined by the assured. She took out one of such policies and channelled all the money she made from the extra lessons into the policy while surviving on her meagre salary. It was not easy, but she had to do it. At the end of two years, Jennifer had accumulated a total sum of N480,000, enough to see her through a two-year degree programme in education. Still, she had to do it on a part-time basis because she needed to continue working and earning in order not to exhaust her savings. Long story short, Jennifer is today a lecturer in the Department of Education in a Nigerian university, has authored several books that are bestsellers, and is on the verge of completing a PhD programme.
Of course, while she was saving up, Jennifer had to forgo a lot of things – Asoebi, expensive clothes and shoes, fancy bags and other things that some ladies are willing to die for. Today, proceeds from just one of her books can buy her as many of those things as she wants. Her sacrifice has paid off.
When you give up what you love, not what you don’t need, that is a financial sacrifice. Jennifer gave up all the good things she would have loved to have so she could raise fund to further her education. She made her decision with the end point in mind.
Don’t overspend on immediate needs and leave little for long-term goals. There are many sacrifices you can make to achieve financial freedom. It all starts with knowing what it is you are trying to achieve financial freedom from. Most likely, you have realized that your financial spending is on the high side and you need to start spending less. If so, there are lots of things you can do to reduce spending, but it really should start by understanding your current financial situation. If you don’t know, find out how much you spend on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Once you have done that, start cutting off unnecessary expenses. Cut down on expensive things you really don’t use and go for things you need, and they don’t really need to be very costly. Budgeting can help you make financial sacrifices more manageable. When you are making sacrifices, it can be helpful to see the bigger picture and understand why you’re making these sacrifices. By setting goals and tracking your progress, you can see how your sacrifices are helping you achieve your goals. For example, if you’re saving for a down payment on a house, it can be challenging to give up on most or all social interactions or entertainment. However, when you see your savings account grow, you’ll be more motivated to continue making these sacrifices.
Living below your means is a key component of wealth accumulation. Embrace frugality by carefully managing your expenses, avoiding unnecessary purchase by prioritizing savings. Imbibe discipline, save money, then invest rather than spend. Financial sacrifice is self-control; it propels you to consistently make financial choices that may not offer immediate reward but a ripple effect on your financial future.
Whatever sacrifice you decide to make in the area of your personal finance, start with some baby steps because financial freedom, independence, success or growth – whatever you choose to call it – does not happen overnight. But when you grow to the level of financial independence, all the sacrifice will be worth it. “What you do becomes who you are,” to quote Aristotle.
