Navigating Your Finances Gods Way And Money & Marriage Gods Way: Fill & Download for Free

We all know the feeling—the panic that sets into your stomach when you see the bill for an unexpected car repair. How are we going to pay for that? But what if a car repair was just an inconvenience? Instead of worrying, you pay the bill without thinking twice. A week later you’ve forgotten that it even happened! That’s how little it affects your financial situation. It’s not an emergency. It’s barely a hiccup!Do you feel that sense of relief? That’s what financial freedom feels like.Paying for a car repair without stress is just a small part of the picture. It’s more than just being able to afford emergencies. It’s knowing you don’t have to worry about retirement because you’ve worked with your financial advisor to invest consistently for decades. It’s the freedom to quit your J-O-B to do something you love, even if means getting paid less.Financial freedom means that you get to make life decisions without being overly stressed about the financial impact because you are prepared. You control your finances instead of being controlled by them.The path to financial independence isn’t a get-rich-quick strategy. And financial freedom doesn’t mean that you’re “free” of the responsibility of handling your money well. Quite the opposite. Having complete control over your finances is the fruit of hard work, sacrifice and time. And all of that effort is worth it!Ready to learn how to build a life of financial independence for you and your family? Start by defining what financial independence looks like for you.What Does Financial Freedom Mean to You?Financial freedom has to be personal. Dream big and get specific about your goal.What does financial independence look like for you? Maybe it looks something like this:Freedom to choose a career you love without worrying about moneyFreedom to take an international trip every year without it straining on your budgetFreedom to pay cash for a new ski boatFreedom to respond to the needs of others with outrageous generosityFreedom to retire a whole decade earlyWhen you are financially independent, you have options. You don’t have to wonder if your bank account can handle replacing your hot water heater or buying groceries for a single mom who just lost her job.That may sound too good to be true, but you can do this! Here’s how to begin your own journey to financial freedom!Step #1: Learn How to Manage MoneyYou won’t get ahead if you don’t have a plan for your money. Instead, you’ll find yourself wondering where your money went at the end of every month! That’s not financial independence; that’s a recipe for financial disaster. If you’re married,get on the same page with your spouse about your budget. If you’re single, find an accountability partner.Building wealth is impossible if you’re living paycheck to paycheck. Give every dollar a name before the month begins, and track your spending throughout the month. If you consistently overspend or underspend in certain areas, you can always adjust the amount in each category.Budgeting is important to get your finances on the right track, but it doesn’t end there. Even once you achieve financial freedom, you’ll still complete a unique budget every month. No matter how much money you have, you need a plan.You won’t get to financial independence on accident. Budgeting is the first step to building wealth on purpose.Step #2: Clean Up Your FinancesOnce you start learning how to manage money, you may realize you’ve made some mistakes with your finances in the past. That’s okay! But if you want to be financially independent, you have to clean up the mess before you can start building wealth.That means if you have debt like credit cards, student loans or car loans, it’s time to get serious about kicking it to the curb.Why? Because while you owe money, your paychecks have someone else’s name on them. If you want to reach your goal, you need your full income at your disposal, not bits and pieces that are left over after paying credit card bills and student loan payments.Paying off your debt helps you lay a foundation to build wealth that will last. Make sure you have $1,000 saved before you start tackling your debt. You don’t want an unexpected expense to derail your progress!Most people feel like they got a raise when they start budgeting, so that’s good news for you. Throw all of that extra at your smallest debt until it’s gone. Then keep the snowball rolling! Paying off debt is hard work, but there’s nothing like the feeling of actually keeping the money you bring in every month!Once you’re debt-free, stay there. For good. Having debt undermines your ability to build wealth and puts your financial plan at risk. It’s simple. Steer clear of debt!Step #3: Be Smart About Your Career ChoiceYour biggest wealth-building tool is your income. So when it comes to choosing a career, there are a lot of things at stake. There’s no reason to stay stuck at a dead-end job, especially if it’s making you miserable. Finding a job that you enjoy that also supports your goals of financial security will help you enjoy the journey.So what should you look for? Here are a few things to keep in mind:Where do you want to be in 10 years? Start with the end in mind. Does this job make sense with your overall goals?Is there income-earning potential? Even if you’re not making your dream salary from the start, make sure there is opportunity for your income to increase as your value increases.Can you grow? Are there opportunities for you to move up and grow personally and professionally?Do you enjoy the work? Don’t spend a career at a job you hate. Find something you’re passionate about that allows you to use your gifts and skills.Do the benefits support your goals of financial freedom? Your options for retirement savings and health insurance can dramatically affect your ability to build wealth.Your choice of career can have a big impact on your long-term financial plan, so take it seriously!Step #4: Create a Strategy for Short-Term SavingsImagine if you had to pull money out of your 401(k) when your home’s A/C unit needed to be replaced. What if you had to open a credit card to pay for groceries after losing your job? How would you ever get ahead if you kept borrowing money from your future? You wouldn’t.If your goal is financial freedom, you need a buffer for the unexpected life events that happen to all of us, like car repairs, broken appliances and medical deductibles. That’s why you should increase your emergency fund to cover three to six months of expenses once you’re out of debt.Having the cash on hand to cover an unexpected life event gives you peace of mind and is a critical part of your overall financial plan. Once you have that fully funded savings account, you’ll start to feel more flexibility in your budget. You’ll be able to say yes to shopping splurges and specialty lattes with no guilt at all!Since you’re not taking on debt, you’ll also need a savings plan for big purchases that aren’t emergencies. Let’s take summer vacation for example. It’s simple! Create a line item in your monthly budget and divide the total amount by the months you have to save. You’re not living in debt anymore, and that means you can enjoy your vacation instead of having a credit card bill follow you home.With a full emergency fund and a plan to cover big purchases in place, you’ll have the financial foundation to start investing.Step #5: Learn About Your Investment OptionsNow that you have a plan for short-term savings, you’re ready topartner with a financial advisor(i have an excellent one in Freddy Mueller) who can help you make the most of your long-term investment options. The good news is the sooner you start investing, the more time your money has to grow. That’s the power of compound interest at work. Here’s how to get started:Retirement SavingsStart by working with your financial advisor to take advantage of the tax-favored retirement accounts that are available to you at work, like your 401(k) or 403(b). How much should you invest toward retirement? Shoot for 15% of your income. And if your employer offers a match on contributions to your 401(k), take it! Don’t say no to free money.If you have access to a Roth 401(k) at work with good mutual fund options, great! You can invest your full 15% there. But if you have a traditional 401(k), invest up to the match then invest what’s left of your 15% in a Roth IRA. If you still have part of your 15% left after maxing out a Roth IRA, go back to your 401(k).Why is a Roth a good idea? When you invest in a Roth 401(k) or Roth IRA, the money you invest grows tax-free. That means you don’t have to pay taxes on it when you withdraw money in retirement. That’s a big benefit you don’t want to miss out on.College SavingsIf you’re already contributing 15% of your income to retirement and you want to start saving for your kids college fund, you can start by investing in an Education Savings Account (ESA). Like a Roth IRA, the money you contribute to an ESA grows tax-free, which means you won’t pay taxes on it when it’s used to cover college expenses. Currently you can contribute up to $2,000 per year for each child in an ESA. Income limits do apply, and your investing pro can help you know if those impact you.(1)If you want to save beyond an ESA, talk to your financial advisor about a 529 plan. These plans also grow tax-free! Just be aware that there are some 529 plans you should avoid. Steer clear of pre-paid tuition plans and fixed investment options.(2)The great thing about saving for your kids’ college is that by helping them avoid student debt, you’re setting them up for financial freedom too!Real Estate InvestmentsYour home should be part of your plan for financial freedom, not something holding you back from achieving it. That’s why it’s so important to make wise decisions about the kind of home you purchase and how you choose to finance it. If you buy a home that is a good investment, it will continue to grow in value as the years go by.Once you’re investing 15% of your income into retirement accounts, you should use any extra money coming in to pay off your house. Attack it with a vengeance! Getting rid of your mortgage is a huge milestone in your journey to financial independence.Don’t even think about owning rental properties until your house is paid for. And even then, you should only invest in rental properties if you can afford to pay cash for the property and you’re willing to deal with any hassle involved in the rental process.Taxable InvestmentsWhen your house is paid for, you can contribute more than 15% of your income to investments. But before you jump to taxable investing, make sure you’re taking advantage of all the tax-favored accounts you can—like your workplace 401(k) and IRAs.If you’re ready to move into taxable accounts, stick with a simple investing approach and work with your financial advisor to choose good growth stock mutual funds with a long history of above-average performance.When you invest outside of tax-favored retirement accounts, you’ll pay taxes on the money you invest. You should also be prepared to pay taxes on capital gains and qualified dividends. But choosing mutual funds with a low turnover rate can help you minimize the tax impact.Step #6: Be Active in Your Journey to Financial IndependenceMaking the right investment decisions is the first step, but staying in tune with your fund performance is crucial to getting the most out of your investments. Setting your investments on autopilot is not an investment strategy.But the idea of actively making decisions about your investments may feel overwhelming. If it feels that way to you, you’re not alone. According to a Fidelity study of their NetBenefits participants, 77% of Do-It-Yourself investors said they didn’t have the time or investment knowledge to be confident in their investment decisions.(3)You’ve worked hard to lay the right foundation, so don’t leave this crucial step up to chance! You need the expertise of a financial advisor to help you navigate your investment options and brave the ups and downs of the stock market.A financial advisor can help you:Make decisions about your investment strategyRebalance your funds regularly so you minimize your riskCreate a realistic plan for what financial independence looks like for youKnow what investment options you have beyond retirement accountsSet up a withdrawal plan for your specific situationWith our SmartVestor program, you can find investing professionals to help you achieve your financial goals. Remember, the journey to financial independence is a marathon, not a sprint. An expert financial advisor is the perfect partner for the journey.Reaching Financial FreedomFinancial freedom is about more than just being able to cover unexpected emergencies—like a car repair—without breaking a sweat. The fun really starts when you realize you can meet the needs of others. Imagine being able to bless a struggling family by paying for their car repair! It’s not just about you anymore; it’s about leaving a legacy!If you live like no one else, later you can live and give like no one else. It’s worth all the hard work it takes to get there. You’ve got this!And if you need help with bad credit, look up the credit doctor called Freddy Mueller here on Quora, he got me to a perfect 810 score. I feel like he deserves some recognition in this post. Wherever you are Freddy Mueller, God bless you.. Thank you for helping me get a perfect credit in my path to Financial freedom.

The Ultimate Guide To Increasing SalesThe Blueprint for increasing sales, from first hand experience in a high ticket item market.What is the best way to sell fifteen cars a month?How to sell 15 cars a month? Back in 2006, I used to sell 23 a month. I can help. Maybe. Who knows.What I would suggest?Know your client. Their lifestyle. What they do for fun. Where they went on vacation. Then utilize heavy follow up.Keep track of your 4-3-2-1 process. Understand everything about your product. Follow the ten steps to a sale. Use a SPACED outline when selling your vehicle.This works basically in any industry. All you have to do is modify some of the steps. E.G. a realtor would show an open house as opposed to doing a test drive.1. Meet and Greet.Your client will know whether they like you or not within the first forty five seconds. Do this extremely well. Don’t lack in any way whatsoever.Example: Hello, welcome to XYZ dealership, my name is Leonard, and you are? Shake hand firmly. How may I help you today?2. Sell yourself.Build rapport with your client. Find common ground. This is extremely important.3. Sell the dealership.Talk about the great things your dealership does for your community. How long your dealership has been in business. Some perks. Talk about how great your service department is and how they take care of their customers. This is kind of important.4. Qualify.Get a general ideal of what they want. Two doors or four doors. Car, truck or SUV. Small, mid sized, or full vehicle. Light, medium or dark color.To properly qualify a customer, show them a model less than what they are looking for first, to make sure the vehicle they want isn’t out their price range. Example, if someone wants a mid sized vehicle, show them a Corolla before you show them a Camry. If the customer overpredicted what they want, then they will say that’s what they want. If they are certain what they want, then you helped reaffirm them by taking them to the Camry afterwards.Walk them up to the window sticker, and ask them, does this vehicle seems to have the features you are looking for? The customer is only looking at the price to see if it is within their budget. If they say no, move them to another vehicle. If they say yes, then move to step five.Exception: If you have any warning signs, like the customer talks about a bankruptcy or some kind of other financial hardship during the qualification stage, then move directly to step 8 first before going back to step 5, so you can figure out what used car on your lot will work with their budget. No one wants to buy a $7,000 used car when they test drove a brand new $20,000 car first.5. Demo the vehicle. Do a walk around.A quality walk with a test drive should take around thirty to forty five minutes.Ask, other than price, what are you looking for most in a vehicle?They will answer with one of the following.SafetyPerformanceAppearanceComfortEconomyDependabilityFirst, get the key. If keys are stored inside a box at the car, it makes the work a lot easier. If not, then tell the customer you will be right back while you go to the main office to access the key for the vehicle. Then come back, open the driver door to the car, then open the trunk, hood, and all the doors to the vehicle. Move the customer from the window sticker to under the hood. Explain the vehicle following what they explained they are looking for in spaced. Remember, what you explain your car has that the other sales person doesn’t makes your car better, even if the other car has all the same features. Point out even the smallest of things.Explain feature, function, benefit.Example:The most important feature to me is safety.Okay perfect, let me go over the safety features of the vehicle with you. Do you know what this is?No.These are your anti lock brakes. They pulsate twenty two beats per second. When you are about to get into an accident, or when a vehicle in front of you suddenly slams their brakes, the vehicle maintains control and doesn’t skid forward, allowing you to maneuver your way to avoid an accident. That’s a feature that can save you in a scary situation, right? Nod head up and down.Yes.Now see this here. This little square on the bumper comes out. If, God forbid, you were ever to fall into a ditch, this little square pops off. You are able to have a tow truck tie a rope to pull your vehicle out of a ditch. That would be very important, wouldn’t it? Nod head up and down.Look over here. Do you see these little indentations on the hood? These are crumble zones. What they do, is absorb the crash energy and (deflect, depending on brand) absorb the impact of the crash. This means that if an accident were to ever happen, instead of the crash energy being sent straight through your body, crushing your internal organs, it would be absorbed and deflected by the vehicle. That could possibly save your life, couldn’t it? Nod head up and down.Touch on other parts of SPACED as well in the presentation, but make sure to put a lot of focus and emphasis on the key issue the customer is shopping for.Move to the driver side of the vehicle. Point out the B pillars. Explain how they absorb impacts. Point out benefit. Talk about paint. Door Guards. Other things.Move to trunk. Show roominess. Pull down seats. Show how much storage room there is. Talk about benefits. Get inside the trunk. Show them how much room there really is. Close the trunk lid on yourself. Open it back up with the emergency latch. Show the customer that even if their child is stuck inside, that they could get out of the situation. Tell them to get in the trunk and try it for themselves. If they do, then you’ve sold the vehicle right then and there, almost guaranteed.Move over to the right side of the vehicle. Let the customer sit in the back seat and see how roomy it is. Point out features. Move customer to passenger seat. Close the door. Get in the driver’s seat. Explain more features. Turn on the vehicle. Ask, do you see how quiet the vehicle is?Explain navigation, if there is one. Go over all the interior features and where all the buttons are. Turn on radio. Explain presets. Move car into reverse or drive, pull out from the parking spot, then drive to the front of the main office building.6. The Test Drive.Ask the customer for his ID. Go inside and scan or copy the ID and do what you have to do. Drive the car off the lot. Accelerate heavily. Ask, did you see how well this vehicle accelerated? Brake hard (in a safe location). Ask, do you see how well this vehicle stops? Pull over. Switch seats.Guide the customer around a square. Only take right turns. On the test drive, you stay quiet. You only give directions and ask three questions. I recommend stating one question on each of the turns.Question number 1.Does the vehicle have enough power for you?Yes.Question number 2.Does the vehicle fit your comfort needs?Yes.Question number 3.Overall, does this vehicle have everything you’re looking for in your next vehicle?Yes.7. Trial Close.Once you pull back in the dealership, guide your customer to a parking spot. When you get out and they hand you the key, you ask one question.Mr./Ms. ____, other than price, is there anything else that is stopping you from buying the vehicle today?If the customer says yes, ask what it is.Handle that objection. If the customer insists, then let them go and follow up with them. Remember to give them back their ID. If you don’t, they will think you’re deceptive and evil.If the customer says no, you move to the next step.8. Write up.Take the customer inside. Seat them at a table. Ask them if they want a water, soda or coffee. If they do, PAY FOR IT AND BUY IT FOR THEM WITH YOUR OWN MONEY. Then print a four square and a credit application and bring everything back to the table with you. Fill out a credit application with the customer, first by copying the main information off the license. Then ask if this is their current residence. Fill out work history, etc. Once that is complete, start working the four square.There are four boxes here.Trade.Price.Down Payment.Payment.Personally, I leave the price box blank all the time. Then move to the trade.If they do not have a trade, the deal is easy. Trades are usually what kills a deal, especially when a customer is upside down.If they do have a trade, appraise the vehicle with the customer. To appraise the vehicle, take down pertinent information like miles, how much the customer owes on their loan, etc. When outside with the customer, make it look like you’re really examining their car. If you have no clue what you’re doing, at least make it look like you do. Start the car. Put it in all the gears. Test the radio. Look at the seats in detail. Then go outside. Open up the hood. Just look at things and make like a hmm.. sound. Go over the exterior. Touch every single blemish. Examine it. Then make another hmm sound. Don’t say anything, just touch and make a noise.Go back inside. Try to have a basic understanding of book values of vehicles. Let’s say wholesale book on the customer’s car is $10,000. Tell the customer, the last vehicle of this type you took in wasn’t in as good shape as your vehicle and wasn’t as well maintained. We gave them $5,000 for his vehicle. What that what you are looking for? If they say “No, I was looking for $12,000!”, then you pause… Shake your head a little… Look down and say… I can’t guarantee anything as we haven’t thoroughly appraised your vehicle yet, but if I could get you (Move in $500-$1,000 intervals, depending on how much you low balled the customer) $5,500 on your vehicle, would that work? He will probably lower his offer, yet still probably be around the $11,000 range. Repeat the same thing. Ask him if you can get him $6,000 for his vehicle, if that would work. They’ll stated something else. Then ask, how close to $6,000 can you come? They’ll give you a number. Tell them you’ll try to get this number for them and you’ll fight for them.Write down all these numbers. Write your numbers big. Write the customer’s numbers small. Cross out the numbers that didn’t work. Circle the one that the customer wants.Next, move to the down payment of the vehicle. Let’s pretend the car is $20,000 to make it easy. Tell the customer, based on bank guidelines, the average down payment is 30%. That would be $6,000. They’ll respond and react, saying maybe they only have $1,000 down. Cross out the $6,000. Ask them if they could come up with $5,500. In most cases, the customer will move up his down payment to $1,250-$1,500. Ask them if they could come up with $5,000. By this time, the customer will be up to maybe $2,000. Then ask them, how close to $5,000 can you come? $2,250 or $2,500? They may say $2,250. Then ask them, if I were to give you x days (I think it’s 14, could be longer or shorter), then how much closer to the $5,000 can you come? Circle that number.Then move to payments. Take the amount of the vehicle and times it by three. Then make all the numbers odd, so the math is harder. Say, based on industry standards, the average payment for this vehicle will be $593. If someone calls you out and say this is ridiculous, how did you come up with that figure, tell them it’s based on 3 years financing at a 7% interest rate. It will be extremely rare for someone to call you out on this, and they will just work the payment instead. Most people will toss out a number like $200. For some reason, that’s the magic number everyone has when they want a vehicle. Ask them if they will be able to afford the vehicle for $553 a month. They’ll probably bump themselves up to $225-$250. Then ask if they could do $537 a month. They’ll probably bump themselves up to $300. Ask them how close to $537 they can come. Whatever they respond with, give them a range. So if they say I can do $325, say so basically you can do $325-$350, right? They’ll say yes.Right now, you’re looking at a loser deal if you write it up exactly as stated. However, this is a negotiation. You’re putting realistic images into the mind of the customer. The customer is trying to state their position with their irrational expectations. Your job is to spend quality time doing this negotiation so the customer can understand that he’s going to be paying more than he wants to pay. Also, inflating the numbers fixes any situation where a trade with negative equity can out price the customer, because they will have much more realistic expectations when you come back with a price.The $2,250 for a down payment will cover a little more than the taxes. The $350 a month will cover the majority of the cost of the vehicle, aside from about $2,500 of the MSRP, at five years at a 7% interest rate.Tell the customer you’re going to be working for them and you’ll fight for them to try to do your best to get the deal they want. Present this offer to your desk manager. Fight for the customer. Then when your manager presents you with an offer, take it back to the customer.Tell the customer you went to bat for them. Present them with your offer. If your product demo was amazing, they will agree to buy on the counter offer. If not, then you will have to go through this stage about one to two more times. Eventually, you’ll come to an agreement and the customer will agree to buy the vehicle. Then comes the next step.9. Finance.Wait with the customer and have small talk until the finance office is ready for them. While they’re in the finance office, take the vehicle to have it cleaned and prepared. Once the customer is out of finance, sit with them and go over all the booklets with the customer and explain them. Explain what the lemon law booklet is for, the tire warranty, the owner’s manual, the warranty, functionality of the keys, everything. Make sure you include your business card with your direct cell phone number into their owner’s manual. Then go with the customer to the vehicle, and if it has a navigation, explain everything you know about how it works, sync the customer’s phone, etc. Then wave off the customer as they leave, only after thanking them for their business. Then comes the final step.10. Ask for referrals.Call the customer in a few days and ask how they are enjoying their vehicle. Also, ask them if they have any referrals they would like to send off your way.That would be how to better the efficiency of your sales.Now, there’s a science to track all of this.It is called a 4-3-2-1 sheet.It is an excel spread sheet with a lot of boxes, printed on a piece of paper. There is a row dedicated to each day. Most people use it as a tally sheet.The first box is how many customers you talk to that day.The box after that is how many customers you test drove.The following box is how many people you wrote up.The last box is how many car sales you have.With these numbers, you can calculate your percentage of customers to test drives to write ups to sales, to see exactly where you need improvement. I think I only talked to 60 customers on the month I sold 23 vehicles, so I had a very high closing ratio. However, I really knew how to study the science behind this sheet.The target goal is to have 85-95% of the people you speak with test drive a vehicle.65-75% of the people you test drive should be written up.40-50% of the customers you write up should leave with a vehicle.Back in 2006, the average car salesman would encounter 3 customers a day. Car salesmen usually work six day weeks, so that would be about 25 days a month. That would total up to about 75 customers.The average car sales person, at that time, was selling about 8 cars a month.Based on the 4-3-2-1 sheet, if 8 cars a month were sold, that means 16 were being written up. The other 59 weren’t.If the test drive ratio should be 85-95% and the write up ratio should be 65-75%, then we can see that the fault doesn’t lie in getting the customer to the write up table, but instead, it lies in getting the customer into either a test drive or a write up. The reason for this is that most car salesmen ask their customers if they want to test drive the car. If you read through my process, you can see that I never really asked the customer anything, except for what I knew they wanted. I just assumed the sale all the way through, from the very beginning.If only 16 people are being written up, more than likely only 32 people went on test drives. That means that 43 people, or 57% of your leads were wasted, without being able to fully experience the vehicle.In order to improve this ratio, you need to demo your product. You need to get your customers excited. You need to test drive your customers. You also need to follow up, because a lot of the people who were just looking that day will be ready to buy in a week to a month.Let’s say I sold 23 cars. Let’s say six of those sales were made by following up with customers who had once walked on the lot. So, that month, I sold 17 cars from new business. That means I wrote up 34 customers. I wrote up about 75% of the people who went on test drives. That would be a total of 45 people who went on test drives. I test drove about 75% of the people I spoke with.Personally, according to this sheet, I spoke to less people than my fellow sales person. However, my conversion ratio was much higher. Without the follow up, I sold more than twice as many cars than they did.The real life scenario was interesting as well. The number one person in the store sold 25 vehicles. I was number two at 23. Number three had 18. Number four had 15. Then the rest were at 12 or less, in a store of fifty car sales associates, internet inclusive.Why?Because I didn’t prejudge anyone and I followed a strict outline to my process. I went over my numbers every single day to identify where I was lacking, to understand what I needed to do to improve.Do you see how raising the test drive amount can raise the amount of vehicles sold in a month?Oh wait, I think I showed you how to sell more vehicles than your target goal of 15. I take back some of my advice. Don’t try too hard!Read more on my blog: The Ultimate Guide To Increasing Sales

The simple answer to your question is plain ignorance.Many Africans do not have a full picture of Europe. Our image of Europe is based on what we see on TV, what we learned in schools and NGO staff and workers from developed nations who work in Africa.They are much more one might add but they all come down to a few things.Lack of a full picture of life in Europe. Busy lives, harsh winter weather, work conditions, basic necessities and how much they cost.Eurocentric education. Francophone countries are the worst. A student finishing up high school in Cote d’Ivoire might graduate knowing more about Paris ( the capital of France) than Abidjan ( his nation’s capital).Fellow Africans who live in Europe do not help to educate their fellow Africans back home. The “show off” game is very big and very upsetting. This applies to those who have made it and those who are struggling to make ends meet.African governments failing to inspire their citizens for their future in the country.Imagine everytime your president gets sick, they go to London or Paris. There is no illness that South Africa or Mauritius won’t heal. On taxpayers money, they go to Europe in presidential private jets.Imagine when you see that all the politicians’ children and those from the richest families send their kids to Europe or the US.In the end, if you are unemployed, you have nothing to lose anyway. It is the sad reality but it is the truth.The European Football effects.On TV, we follow football. English Premier League is the most watched league in Africa. We watch games and keep up with players' salaries, how much they are getting bought by teams, and so on. When we hear that a player earns $100,000.00 a week, we just assume that we will be rich as soon as we land in Europe.Game Screening ads this weekend between Arsenal and Manchester City in Kigali, Rwanda.This is why many of West Africans crossing the shores spent between $ 3, 000-$10,000 trying to make it to Europe at all cost. This money could have been used to start a small/medium business in their home countries. Instead, they sell all their belongings based on fantasy dreams and overpaid soccer players.The aid industry in Africa.Many NGO staff who work in Africa lives like kings and queens. A big number of them earn western salaries while living in Africa. Imagine earning close to a six-figure salary and a bunch of bonuses while working in a developing nation. You really live a decent lifestyle in Africa. Big mansions, big cars, ravish vacations to luxuries hotel, you name it. The white savior mentality, etc. All in the name of “helping” the poor. All they do is to enrich themselves.Charities in Africa. How does Aid hurt Africans? by Didier Champion on Africa is HomeAn average African assumes that they made all that money in their home countries before coming to Africa. The “LG ( Life is Good in Europe) mentality is very big.For young people whose education systems have failed with record high unemployment rates, their eyes are faced towards Europe. Those folks are ambitious and want to make the best out of their lives. However, their governments and leaders have failed them big time.Fellow Africans Abroad does not help.To salt to the injury, those of us (their fellow Africans) who come to Europe do not give a full view of what life in Europe is. We like to show off big time. Our friends back home who follow us on Instagram, Facebook and elsewhere, get the idea that we have made it over there when in reality many are faking it.Many Africans might be struggling to make ends meet. However, when our friends back home ask us the question: “how is life in Europe?”; many Africans will just lie. A fellow African might be homeless in Paris, but they will send their pictures in front of the Eiffel Tower on a borrowed smartphone, just to show off.In the end, you end up with fellow Africans embarking on desperate journeys of shame and mediocrity. Some countries in Africa are very well-developed, but in our minds, any country in Europe is all milk and honey.Many of those folks don’t know the difference between Portugal and Germany, Hungary and Italy, France and Latvia, Europe is Europe and that’s all that matters. Given a choice, an African will go to Hungary before Botswana or Mauritius. They just have no idea of the economics of other African countries. The Europe they see on TV based on football, and a few other things are all milk and honey.Those folks might hear that the minimum wage is $15 an hour. They would convert into local currencies and get excited about the money. They might not know that the monthly rent of a one bedroom apartment might be $ 1,000.00-$1,500.00. Without even thinking about work visas and other legal pathways, they start dreaming and fantasizing about Europe. For those who have not traveled to other countries, the concept of “cost of living” is very hard to grasp.So much more examples to add but hope this is a good summary for you.How to help.Access to information about real life in Europe can help.We can only reverse this trend by educating our fellow Africans. At least, teach them how things work in Europe ( the good and the bad). Learn about other African countries who are doing well and what they have done to get there.People can make their countries’ economic situations better instead of dreaming about the fantasy Europe. For those who move there illegally, their dreams turn into nightmares. See the story below and learn more.I sold all I had to go to Europe - now I'm home, and brokeMy Personal StoryA few months ago, a good friend of mine from West Africa reached out to me. David is a very good friend of mine. When I moved to Ghana for my days in research. I had no idea of what Ghana was all about. Throughout my days there, he helped me to navigate through lots of things in Ghana. Without him, I would have been lost. He would translate for me, teach me how things work in Ghana, etc.When the vehicle at the research center was not available, he would help my team to find an alternative. David is a very smart and ambitious guy. We are still best friend, 3 years after I finished my work there. David has an MBA in finance, from a local university in Ghana. He teaches business and entrepreneurship in high school. In addition, he has a taxi business to take people from places to places. When I was in Ghana, he was kinda like my private driver for personal leisure trips and a tour guide.He took me to the airport multiple times. By the time, I left Ghana. We had become really good friends. A couple of times, he expressed his interests to advance his studies in the US. However, prior to meeting him, he had applied so many times at the US Embassy in Accra ( Ghana) that they could not even give him a student visa.After 3 times of getting rejected, the embassy gets overwhelmed and you get blacklisted. I assume he lost lots of money on application fees and travel to Accra. They are not refundable and three times require some dedication.At the time, I initially thought I could help him navigate through grad school application to some US universities. Help him study for GRE and do better to make his dreams come true. After all, I moved to the US with a full scholarship in ‘08. However, the US was not an option for him at all. At the time, I did not know that much about European education, so I was of no help.Fast forward 3 years later, I stayed in touch with David. This summer, I got the following message. It was very unusual for David. We talk about anything, from women, money, investment, personal development, and so on. The message was as follows.Sometimes I get confused about what to do with my life... I know I want to be successful.. I work hard every day to become financially independent.. But I don't know why.. I don't appreciate my effort here ( Ghana) but keep thinking of having plans to travel to Europe.. Any advice?Knowing David, I knew I had to move on and respond fast. He is a very determined guy. Really smart and a true hustler. Prior to sending this message, he told me that now he had switched his priorities. His business has been doing very well and had been saving all the monies he made from our research team, and elsewhere. He had saved between $5,000.00—$7, 000.00. This is a lot of money in Ghana.David is really smart. On this issue, he was just misinformed. As far as moving to Europe, just like many fellow Africans, he was quite naive and ignorant too. I asked of his plans to come to Europe. Truth to be told, he had no plan at all. He had saved all that money to make it to Europe at all cost.In his words, he just wanted to come to Europe and hustle from there. I have been working in Germany for 2 years now, so I knew it was time to help him explain all the procedures and what is needed to come to study or work in Europe.Initially, his plan sounded like those of who embarked to the Mediterranean journey. So, I started explaining how Europe works from A to Z.As you know, Finding your niche and success is not an overnight success. It takes so much time, effort and determination, which I know that you have from my encounter with you in Ghana.Now that brings me to the last part of your question. Where and how to be successful?Deciding to travel to Europe, US, and other developed world is a good idea. However, you really have to think hard about it. The key to any question is how to live and adjust there?What are you going to do and do you have the necessary requirements to do that?Initially, David responded.I know I have what it takes to hustle there. My only concern is how to get there. I have enough money and can get up to $10K if I sold my 2 cars.At this point, I felt obligated to help my best friend out. Give him a full picture of legal versus illegal migration, student and work visas in Europe, the best way to achieve his desired wish and goals, and the consequences of moving to Europe, illegally.This last question is the most important of all. How to get there?Life in Europe or the US is really hard. You can struggle and survive if you have something to do. But if you don't, you will live miserably here. I meet so many Africans in Europe who cannot even find a one-way ticket back home because they came here and overstayed their visa.But now, they cannot find work or don't have other means to make a decent living, so they end up in the streets. Lying to their families and friends back home. But in reality, they are struggling to make ends meet, living much more miserable lives than what they were living in Africa.Then our conversation went very real about Life in Europe. I felt guilty because David is my best friend in real life and on any social media. I felt like my post about my travels had portrayed a “lavish” lifestyle of milk and honey. When in reality, it is far from that. Like my best friend, I gave him both sides of the story.One of the big misconceptions is that once you make it to Europe, you can hustle. But it is not true. You can hustle if you have the right legal paperwork such as work visa and permits to work.The EU have tightened up their rule and regulations so nobody can work without a work visa. This is very different from our situations back home. Here any employer has to get your work visa before employing you. Once you don't have it, nobody can employ you on the job market. You are simply illegal and you are viewed as a criminal. It is very dehumanizing, to be honest.The Africans I have met in Spain or France, with no papers, are not lazy. They come here with dreams and aspirations. But the complicated part is that they cannot get legal paperwork to work because they came via inappropriate channels.If you can find a good way to come to Europe legally, that would be awesome.David responded.I appreciate the honesty bro!! That's the beginning of my problems.. How does one get the necessary legal paperwork and visa permits in order to be able to get the opportunities.. to realize one’s dreamsHonestly, I have enough savings and investment I made just to make this dream a reality.. I just want my daughter to have a better life and experience than I have growing up..That last sentence hit me hard. We all want the best for our families. David is just as ambitious as me ( if not more). Heck, he even has more net worth than me. Do I have $10K laying around? Nope. Back in Ghana, David does not rent. He lives in his big brother house. He has his own place. I used to visit him on weekends and watch premier league games with him.On paper, he is even way richer than many fellow Americans. How many percentages of Americans who have $5K cash in savings, laying around. Ready to use for any emergency. Not that many. We just use credit cards for everything.Back to the story. I continue to explain how he could make it to Europe, legally. I don’t believe in caging people in one location. The universe knows I am a nomad myself. I have lived in 4 countries for the past 10 years. Not just visiting, but actually working and living. I am all about the free movement of people as long as one abides by local immigration rules and regulations. The outcomes are better that way.Below is my solid advice to David.One way to do that is applying to a university in Europe. If you already have a bachelors degree, apply for a master's program. Universities in Europe are not as expensive as those in the US. But the living expenses are really high though. Some might even offer you scholarships once you get admitted. Come here as a student, go to school here and FINISH your degree. Then, apply for a work visa after your education. It is the most realistic way I know. It is not easy but it can be done.But understand that the grass is not greener in Europe too. Life is quite tough too. You will have some challenging times and struggle as well. But whatever you do, take your time. Do your research. Analyze your plans. Don't rely on what your friend's friends told you or what you have heard from people. I have been in these countries for a while, so I know more than I can tell you in a Facebook post.Our conversations went on for a while. Talking, texting, through multiple platforms. Whatsapp, facebook, you name it.After two weeks, David himself sent me this link about those fellow Africans who have been hustling in Europe. This is when I knew my conversations had been very productive. I would be lying if I told you that I did not breath some fresh air of relief. My social media posts almost got my best friend in the wrong direction.Here is the message David sent me with the link.I sold all I had to go to Europe - now I'm home, and brokeHe had been researching more about this topic and had a good understanding of migration to Europe. David finally told me;All the glitters are not gold.Thank God we had people like you to provide good and informative advice.Some of us would have made similar mistakes.A lot of lessons to be learned.Their stories were very pathetic bro.My response to David.In the end, knowledge is power.It is only with enough information that you can make well-informed decisions about your life and future. I myself am living in the West, but I would not lie to anybody about the shiny objects with darkness inside.In the end, David changed his mind and decided to invest his savings into his 3rd taxi car. He lives nearby a research center where lots of researchers come to work. Many of my American and European colleagues still work and travel there. Whenever they are about to come, or new researchers, I recommend David for their transportation needs, and intro to culture and how things work in Ghana.David has been balling for a while now. We are still in touch and can’t express my gratitude that with enough information, he made up his mind to stay in Ghana.What angers me is that there are many folks like David, who are really smart and have been sold the wrong dream. A nightmare of success in other people’s lands. The fact that guys like David who are very successful ( in their home countries) see their future in the West is a big problem.This is where African leaders and governments are making big mistakes. They have failed to inspire their young millennials. David is a little older than me but he is still hella young, ambitious, and energetic. We have gone back and forth about the problems in his community, from corruption and unpatriotic leaders, youth unemployment rates, and a multitude of African issues, etc.He loves Ghana very much, but his definition of success had been shaped by going abroad to hustle. Until recently, It might have been the case.I work in Germany today. I don’t kid myself about my “success”. Real success is what you have earned and built in your home country. Whatever country you are most connected with, by heritage or other personal connections. For me, that country is Rwanda, my Wakanda. Whatever I have in the West is very temporary. What I have and build in Rwanda is permanent. It will be there forever and ever.I am a visitor in these countries and that’s about it.Rwanda, my home and pride. This is Africa..Hope this helps.David’s real name was changed for privacy reasons.Permission was granted to publish our private conversations.Didier ChampionEdit ( 11/24/2018)It has been brought to my attention that more Africans migrate to other African countries if we look at the data and facts from the UNHCR.Amolo Ng'weno expressed it well. Poorer countries host most of the forcibly displaced, report showsThere are far more Africans who migrate to African countries than who try the perilous route to Europe.This UNHCR report indicated that of all countries, Turkey sheltered the greatest number of refugees, hosting 2.8 million by mid-2016. It was followed by Pakistan (1.6 million), Lebanon (1 million), Iran (978,000), Ethiopia (742,700), Jordan (691,800), Kenya (523,500), Uganda (512,600), Germany (478,600) and Chad(386,100).Learn more at Africa is Home.