IMPACT. VITAIÂ
THE E-MAGAZINE FOR GAME CHANGERS
JUNE 2020 | Issue 02 $ 0.00
5
BUSINESSES YOU CAN START
SMART MONEY
TEMITOPE OLUTAYO + Boluwatife Thompson + Izy Abdul
ON A BUDGET
Get to know the secrets of owning your journey to financial freedom.
EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT! Sponsor Your Dream Goal
Impact Magazine
Contents
14 16 20
01 The Editor's Note Contributing Writers 03 04 Business Minded 5 Businesses to start 06 10 Exclusive Interview
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09 Lara Boss 12 14 Budgeting Using Fintech Wisely 16 18 Consistent workout Izy's moment of truth 19
Smart Money It is easy to think a lot of things when it comes to money. A common habit is spending without looking back when the source of your income feels relatively steady. Let's then start with how easy it is to think you have a mental plan for all the things you want to spend money on.
10
19
06 It is easy to think you have a strict memory for the things you need to purchase on a daily basis and you'll automatically withhold spending on unnecessary items. It is also easy to think you will remember to put money aside for something you want to acquire or build. The truth about mental budgeting is that it may not work for everybody. Mental budgeting is something many of us are quick to embrace, and why not? It is the easier alternative and we seem to have all our plans in our heads and at our finger tips since it does not require as much time to draft. It seems like the smart alternative to planning, only that it’s not smart at all. Our cover star tells us all about planning her finance with a goal in mind and the importance of drafting out a well structured budget on pages 4 and 10. The story of our imaginary, yet relatable character, Lara Boss, further exemplifies our need for a smart budget on page 12. On page 6, Boluwatife Thompson gives us details about five businesses we can pursue with a budget that does not inconvenience our daily needs. If you are thinking about how you can splurge on treats and maintain good health, discipline your body with the right amounts of food and exercise, pages 18 and 20 are the right places to turn. Lastly, don’t forget to read the practical guide to drawing your own budget on page 14 so we can all practice our way to financial freedom.
IREOLUWA BOLAJOKO Editor-in-Chief
Chief Editor IreOluwa Bolajoko Editors Adesanya Samuel Oreoluwa Anako Oluwagbemiga Bolajoko Ajulololuwa Bolajoko Contributing Writers Abdul Izy Thompson Boluwatife Bolajoko Ireoluwa Bolade Adegbite
A Publication by Vitai. Visit our Social Media Pages on Instagram and Twitter | @ireoluwa_vc
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Leftybee ARTWORKS
the love theleftybee@gmail.com
@leftybee of art +234 705 724 3629
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IMPACT FEATURE
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 1
IZY ABDUL Izy Abdul is a BN.Sc degree holder in Nursing. She is also a well devout Christian and an entrepreneur; the CEO of Susset Collection, a fitness enthusiast and a trainer at izysheila of which she also happens to be the founder. She runs a health & wellness blog on Facebook called izy’s health digest. She is an optimistic person, a hardworking and great team player. Izy's love for health, wellness, business and God have greatly inspired her endeavors from which she has magnanimously shared some of her views in a couple of articles featured in the health and finance columns.
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IREOLUWA BOLAJOKO IreOluwa Bolajoko is a graduate of Agricultural Economics. She is one who has grown to be a lover of economics and business indeed. Over the years, she has founded a few entities, some of which have met with total failure or a pause and a few others which have gradually began to gain some life. For her, failure is not an excuse to desist from pushing on. It is from this school of thought that she has founded Vitai, a community for aspiring and established entrepreneurs and a hub for affiliated enthusiasts through which they can reach out to people in need of guidance and direction for business and other related practices. Impact magazine is also one of the most recent media through which Vitai is spreading its tentacles to motivate others. IreOluwa's founding dreams have only just begun as she hopes to forge ahead with the acquisition of more knowledge that she can pass on to others who may be in need of information in order to realize the unapologetic development of her community at large.
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BOLUWATIFE THOMPSON Boluwatife Thompson is a graduate of Agricultural Science. Her love for business is the reason why she currently works as a business research analyst at Sidebrief where she carries out business plan drafting operations and proposal planning. With over three years of experience working with esteemed organisations such as IITA, Harvestplus, Romoke Farms, to mention a few, Boluwatife knows her onions when it comes to business development. As one who is skilled in marketing, project planning and research, Boluwatife's mission is to see small and medium scale businesses succeed.
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TEMITOPE OLUTAYO
BUSINESS MINDED Young Business Minded confectionery expert, Temitope Olutayo, answers the questions you have all been dying to ask.
PHOTO BY KOREDE OSHILAGUN
Temitope Olutayo is a 23-year old
In November of 2018, Temitope
entrepreneur that finds out what
signed up for the compulsory
she wants and goes for it. She
National
Youth
graduated
scheme
prescribed
in
2018
with
an
every
graduate to undertake in Nigeria.
and
Babcock
During her service year, Tope
University. After her graduation,
made several decisions that shaped
Tope had thought she would seek
the beginning of the rest of her life
employment with a hospital where
and would also inspire those of us
she
who are reading to become go-
Dietetics
could
from
render
therapeutic
need of her expert advice. IMPACT MAGAZINE
for
Corps
exceptional degree in Nutrition
nutrition services to patients in 4 |
Service
getters like her.
Unlike many of her pairs, she decided not to succumb to the pressure of running from home during her service year. Rather, she made a decision only a few people in her shoes would and decided to report to her place of primary assignment from home. Tope carefully considered her long term goals and chose financial independence over communal independence. The one year she spent undertaking her youth service was enough time for her to introspect; facilitating her early decision as to what she wanted to do for herself. “I was not really sure what I wanted to do initially, but one thing I was sure about was that I did not want to spend my time and youthful energy working for other people”.
“You will always need first hand experience in the area you choose to establish a business. Acquire it!"
Temitope’s super supportive parents are not left out of this interesting entrepreneur’s testimony as they were instrumental in helping her make the tough but courageous decision of becoming her own boss and owning her own business. The only problem was that her parents were not going to hand her money as they needed her to decide on what business she wanted to start, how much she needed to fund her startup and how she would arrive at making the eventual outcome work. Tope’s decision helped her to spend less and save more from her salary and allowance. She also needed to implement some additional security for her savings in order to prevent her from indiscriminate spending. She then decided to save money the old fashioned way; keeping it inaccessible with a thrift collection group. Tope’s realization that she needed to ‘get ahead’ helped her to plan, and those plans were pivotal to the success of her decision to start a business. Today, Tope owns and runs a cakes and confectionery business called Sweetcreme Cakes. We're very proud of this brand because they deliver quality nutritious products that never disappoint our expectations.
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BUSINESS AND LIFE
5 Businesses YOU CAN START ON A BUDGET WRITTEN BY BOLUWATIFE THOMPSON
With the recent pandemic A simple way to define a business is when a person or organization profits by providing goods or services in exchange for money. Small businesses are very important for the growth of any developing economy as they form the back bone for the same. Now that we know what small businesses are, the question this article addresses is; "what business can I do and how can I sell a product or service to make profit?" Here are five businesses you can start on a budget:
1 Baking and Snack Production
Everyone wants a good snack now and then and this makes the snack production market very lucrative. This is a kind of business you can start on a shoe string budget by making use of your kitchen. These days, you may not need to be an apprentice as a plethora of resources on the internet can help you learn and improve your baking skills. In recent times, all you need to grow your audience and customer base is to take good pictures of your work and post to your social media. It is also important to offer your products at reasonable prices to attract and retain customers. 6 |
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2 Catering (Food Business) This is a very lucrative way of making money. It’s defined as a business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital or event venue. Food is very essential and it is one of the most thriving businesses in Nigeria. To function effectively in this sector it’s important that you recognize your strength and build a niche around it. You can’t do everything or start with everything. So focus on one aspect at a time and become a boss in it. It is also important that you recognize your target market.
"Small businesses are the back bone for growing economies"
BUSINESS AND LIFE
3
4
SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCING With the advent of digitalization, most companies use individuals with a great and interactive community to sell their product. An influencer is one who has the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of his or her authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with his or her audience. Believe it or not, social media influencers are here to stay. They are out-performing traditional advertisements in terms of effectiveness and reach. It is amazing to know that to start influencing, you only need a laptop, a smart phone and internet. So if you are a social media lover, do your research and start earning.
“
THRIFT SALES This is a very lucrative means of survival. This form of business might sound funny but it’s important that we know that in recent times people do this online and make a lot of money from it. You can sell all sorts of products that are not necessarily brand new in this sector including electronics, clothes, underwear, shoes and even makeup items. It is therefore important to know who your audience is and what they need.
5 DROP SHIPPING Drop shipping is a retail fulfilment method where a store doesn’t keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product using the drop shipping model, it purchases the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. As a result, the seller doesn’t have to handle the product directly. It is a form of business that you can start with very low capital. What you need is your laptop or smart phone, internet data, and your social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, to mention a few. These platforms usually serve as an online store.
Figure out your dream, choose your business, and make an impact.
”
"BUSINESS IDEAS DON’T HAVE TO BE ENTIRELY NONEXISTENT TO BE UNIQUE NEITHER DO THEY HAVE TO BE COMPLETELY GENIUS TO THRIVE. All it may take to succeed may be to identify your target market, brand yourself appropriately and do something different to get your customers’ attention. It’s important to note that you need to choose your niche and work hard at being good at what you do. Make sure you understand your market so well that you can sell it to anyone, anywhere, and at any time.”
Boluwatife Thompson
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Order today on @fivefeetoutfits
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Sweetcreme Cakes 01
Featured Chef: Temitope Olutayo. CEO, Sweetcreme cakes
02
Business Location: Sweetcreme operates in Ibadan. Oyo State, Nigeria.
03
Social Media: Instagram @sweetcreme cakes; whatsapp+234706 666 9862
04
Offers: Small Chops, Cakes, Desserts, Cocktails, Confectionaries
05
Healthy Corner: Contact to consult for tips on How to Eat and Live Healthy
IMPACT MAGAZINE | 9
BUSINESS MINDED VITAI'S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TEMITOPE OLUTAYO ON HER BUSINESS STRATEGIES
TELL YOU WHAT? In an Interview we had with Ms. Temitope Olutayo on the 8th of April, 2020, the cover start revealed some of her business secrets to us in what we now have packaged under a few topics that just might interest you. Why you chose to start a food (baking) business: The thought of starting a business can be scary to many people. It can also be a confusing feat in deciding what we want to do and how to go about. Here’s what Tope had to say about how she got the courage to execute her business plan and why.
“Initially, after I graduated from school, I thought of a million and one things I could be. I was not really sure what I wanted to do, but one thing I was sure of was that I did not want to work for other people. I figured I could use the energy to build something that would be of value to other people. I love food, I love cakes too. I could say the idea for my business came from my deep seated passion for baking”.
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Skill requirement and Training: For someone who had an impressive background in Nutrition and dietetics, who also had magnificent cooking skills passed to her form home, we wondered why Tope still needed to get some training in the art of baking and she had this to say; “Starting your business without getting the required skill is very dangerous. You may have the passion but you will not have the competency and this is more important if you want to keep your customers on account of quality products. While learning on the job is a possibility, it is much harder and may take you longer to figure out the key success secrets on your own. Getting some training also helped me to build a network I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise.” Money decisions you made to start your business: While some schools of thought posit that money should be one of the last things to be considered when drafting a plan, it does not cancel its importance when we are undertaking the execution of a business. Tope told us how she prioritized her funding decisions and strategic financial plan to fulfill her business goals. “You can’t always rely on loans and gifts if you are serious about starting a business. Setting money aside no matter how little you earn, goes a long way and is important to see that you meet your business goal. I had to prioritize my spending, spend only on what was important and save the rest in a place where I could not access in order to uphold discipline. It is important to decide exactly how much you will need to do whatever because it helps you to set realistic goals without necessarily needing external financial aid.”
INTERVIEW TOPE'S CAKES ARE A WORK OF ART INSIDE AND OUT. YOU WOULDN'T KNOW TILL YOU TRY IT!
RELEVANCE OF FOOD BUSINESS Now that small businesses are taking the heat of the pandemic attack, we had to ask Tope about how her business is thriving in this period and what her thoughts are on the prospects and sustainability of starting a food business. “Now and after the corona virus era, food business is and will continue to remain relevant. It is therefore a good kind of business to start. However, you must be strategic about your marketing. Food is now very expensive because it is the only commodity that people cannot do without. Farming is also one of the top essential services today and cannot close down in the midst of other business closures. Many people are already in the food business and it can be daunting to desire to start in the midst of heavy competition. The truth here is; there will always be need for mouths to be fed and you must position yourself, strategize and market as best you can.”
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LARA BOSS
EP 2
AN ORIGINAL STORY WRITER: BOLADE ADEGBITE
The day had now broken and Lara could see the sun emerging from the night clouds. Rays of light coming from the sun went straight for the objects scattered about Lara’s room and began to bounce off and into Lara’s eyes, revealing the clutter, even the unsightly mess that she called a room. The break of the day brought with it some sense into Lara’s head. “Goodness me! What is this mess?” Lara lamented loudly, she scolded herself too as she started at one corner of the room where her clothes were strewn all over and around what was supposed to be the laundry basket. “How have I been living like this?” Lara hardly had any time to herself to clean up her house since most of her time was devoted to work and outings.
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She lived the kind of life in which she did her laundry once in a while, outsourced the cleaning of her house once a week and hardly cooked any of her meals. Where she lived was one of the coziest one-room apartments in Surulere. Her bed occupied a third of the room and the bathroom was made to fit only one person at a time. It was still 7:30am and Lara had already gotten herself tangled in some much needed house-keeping duties. Ms. Janet would call by 9:00am and start off today’s meeting, I had better hurry up so I can get a considerable lot of these chores sorted out.
Lara thought to herself as she continued to put her things away; separating clean from dirty, folding the clothes and beddings that were strewn all over the room, putting away her bags and shoes into a tidy fashion and trashing irrelevant that were found in the process. Among these pieces of paper, Lara realized quickly that most of those she removed from her bags were receipts; many of which their sources were now unknown, typically unrecognizable, and the information on them were illegible after spending many weeks in the raffle draw container Lara called a bag.
LARA BOSS
Just as she was Seated on the floor in a corner of the room, Lara was sorting the paper pieces when a notification came into her phone. She reached out to grab her phone from the outer edge of the bed close to her and unlocked the phone impulsively. Lara hissed and said, “They are debiting my account and are telling me to stay safe! How will I be safe when they’ve removed all my money for card maintenance? Nonsense.” she dropped the phone beside her hastily and in annoyance and then continued to shuffle through the heap of receipts. She was once again reminded of her many thoughtless and spontaneously frivolous spending and then began to think. “Lara you cannot continue like this o. How long will I continue to spend like an irresponsible teenager that has been starved of an allowance? Which reminds me; my rent is due next month o, how much do I even have left in my account?” she said as she picked up her phone with much greater speed than that which she had used to drop it. She opened the debit notification from her bank once again, but this time to view her balance. It did not fail to leave her in a state of even more worry than a few minutes before. Her eyes dilated as she now began to think aloud to herself. With both hands behind her head and starring at her phone on her laps, she said, “Eh! This will definitely not be enough to pay up for my due rent. Even when Ms. Janet pays next month’s salary, it still won’t be enough. Except I beg Mama again so that I can pay her in installments like I did the last time.
Only that she does not like that sort of thing and I promised to pay a lump sum this time around. Oh, how did I forget I was supposed to put money aside for this? Lara had spent too much as usual and without any savings or micro investments, she was going to go against the promise she had made to her Landlady, Mama, the previous year; when she had promised to pay the full rent at once . She could finally recognize her financial lapses as they now starred at her through the eyes of paper pieces all over the floor; unequivocal evidence of her lack of responsibility. Something needed to be done about this situation as Lara now decided she could not continue without having at least some sort of plan. She reached out to the pile of books in the far corner of the room, grabbed a new journal and
said,
“from
now
on,
I
will
document
my
transactions, my needs, my spending plans, my saving plans and my goals in this book. I will draw up a budget that will help me to plan my finances every month. This has to be a better way to approach my life as an adult and my spending habits.”
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MONEY AND INVESTMENTS
BUDGETING BY IREOLUWA BOLAJOKO
That mental check and balance, which may sometimes be brief or may take a while, is something everyone who cares about financial stability must pay attention to. When it comes to spending, different people have varying reactions depending on preexisting motives. Ranging from happiness to guilt, with excitement, anxiety and indifference included in the spectrum, our attitude
to
spending
is
largely
dependent
on
personality, purpose and planning. For this reason, it is important to talk about budgeting when we talk about spending. A budget can be defined simply as an act of creating a plan to spend money. It can also be said to be a financial plan drafted for a defined period, usually a year. Budgets have long been interpreted as a limitation to spending. However, the definition of a budget is more valid when it is said to be a limitation to unnecessary spending and a true plan for financial freedom. There are many different types of budgets that can be drafted depending on what they are required for. However, for the sake of this article, we will focus on If you are making money, it is probably a good idea for
personal budget since this is not an accounting journal.
you to understand a few things about budgeting. It
Personal budgets are very useful in managing your
becomes more important to learn about budgets and
finance over a defined period and a written form of it
how to go about having one when you’re spending
can help you keep track of your present and future
money. I bet the next question you would ask is what is
transactions in order to ensure you maintain a healthy
a budget and why is it so important? We’ll get to that
lifestyle.
shortly. For many people, it is easy to skip this article and deem
BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS
it unnecessary because you have been spending and
Since this article is focused on personal budgets, there
making money without having to draft out a written
is no hard and fast rule to what must or must not be
budget. Hitherto, things have been fine. While that may
included in your budget. This means there are flexible
be a common occurrence, if you would think about it
ways in which you can develop your own budget and
just for a bit, you would realize that for every
some important points to note when doing so include;
expenditure and revenue that occurs in your account, there is a mental calculation, compartmentalization,
Priority
prioritization and opportunity costing of account that
When planning your expenses, be sure to prioritize
you do to make sure things are balanced.
your spending.
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SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS Put the things that are urgent and important at the top
Forecasting
of the list. Giving and saving, followed by food, shelter,
Extending your budget into the future allows you to
utilities, transportation and clothing are items that you
have a calculated idea of how much you will be able to
may want to consider accordingly on a priority list.
save for long term financial goals like starting your
Period
business, buying investments or saving towards your
It is important to clearly map out the period over
retirement.
which your budget will span. Standard budgets are
The hardest part of having a budget is making sure you
usually drafted annually. However, your personal
stick to it. It is easy to decide what is important to be
budget could be broken down to span for shorter
done and when to do it; the hardest part however is
periods and could cover from one to six months. This is
summoning the discipline to do it. This is where having
a proven hack that helps to uphold your strict policy for
a goal in mind and written clearly in your budget
spending money.
comes in. It helps you to track your progress while
Components
keeping your goal in sight and to remember why you
In your budget, you may want to do a quick Google
have chosen to spend wisely; cautioning indiscipline.
search to ensure you are on the right path in creating
Remember to be realistic in drafting your budget. Every
your template. Some of the things that should not be
month or chosen period will be different and such
left out include; expenditure, revenue, savings and
allowances must be considered to avoid beating
saving targets, goals, emergency or miscellaneous
yourself up about indiscipline. After developing your
expenses, among others. Creating a buffer in your
first budget, adjust and reuse your budget template
budget or setting aside some money for unexpected or
subsequently since you would need to budget for
miscellaneous expenses is a realistic touch to your draft
varying circumstances every now and then.
and should always be included.
Schedule
IMPORTANCE OF BUDGETS
Another point to note when making a budget is setting
1. Budgeting helps you to determine whether you will
up
your
have enough money to do the things for example,
withdrawals and expenses while being as realistic as
starting a business. It helps to prioritize your spending
possible helps you to check the way you spend money.
in such a way that whatever amount that you may not
For instance, if particular dates are set monthly for
have deemed enough will be focused on endeavors or
withdrawals and expenses for necessities like food,
expenditure that are more important to you.
electricity bill, rent and so on, you already know that
2. Budgets help to keep you out of debt. It is a way in
these are constant items you spend your money on
which you can balance your expenses with your
monthly and you don’t need to spend on anything else
income. It is important to make sure we don’t spend
apart from miscellaneous expenses which you should
more than we make or if we ever have to do so, we
already have a budget for.
must have an established plan to work your way out of
a
schedule.
Picking
specific
dates
for
Establishing Assumptions
your current debt.
Relating assumptions to trends like drop in sales,
3. Since budget is purposeful spending, it helps you to
probability of increased cost and overall economic
know and track where your money ends up every
market conditions helps you to have an idea of such
month. Without a proper track record, we may not be
periods when you may need to spend more or less
abreast of the way we allocate our income. Our ability
than what you have budgeted for. Budget for every
to quickly forget details especially when it includes
kobo of your naira as much as you can, but remember
figures therefore necessitates a record keeping system,
to consider trends from previous periods and make
no matter how small or informal, to remind you of the
your assumptions to give allowances.
things that are important to spend your money on.
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USING FINTECH WISELY WRITTEN BY IZY ABDUL
Financial Technology, popularly known as FINTECH has indeed become a word recognized by the dictionary and has come to stay. As a matter of fact, Fintech has this day become a competition to actual banks, as it has broken the barrier of movement, time, distance, work and speed. Financial Technology is an economic industry composed of companies that use technology based software to make financial services more efficient. This includes your business transactions, your day to day money transactions such as loans, savings and transfers, to mention a few.
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It is really easy to use and reduces the stress of making numerous trips to the bank whenever the need arises. It is for this reason that even banks now have mobile applications in order to stay abreast with their competitors. Fintech is gradually seeing a redefinition of the way banks operate, even in the setting of their interest rates and the frequency with which they appropriate loans due to the competition they pose in some developed countries. As a synergy between finance and technology, it can take the form of software, a service or a business that provides technologically advanced methods for financial effectiveness.The software aspect of fintech is
what many of us are familiar with today and some of the most prominent applications include mobile payments, automated investment applications, crypto-currency, crowd-funding platforms and online lending businesses. . In this article, we would be shedding a bit of light on Investment applications and crowd-funding applications.
SAVINGS AND INVESTMENTS
The rise of the development and use of investment
Afrinvestor
applications and crowd-funding sites in many different
Afrinvestor is an online trading and investment
forms as we have now began to see today is
management portal. This is yet another fintech
instrumental to the development of many economies
application where they deal with investment and
especially developing economies since savings and
private banking to empower brokage clients to take
investments are now being made accessible to just
control of their investments. Some of the services they
anyone.
offer include sales of stocks, bonds and treasury bills.
In the light of all the praises for Fintech, a good point to
Other impressive services they have available are asset
note is that there are many financial aid systems that
management and investment research. It’s highly
have emerged since the beginning of the technology
profitable and trustworthy. A caution to this tale would
era and the need to understand what they are about
be for you to be careful when trading bonds and stocks
and how to use them to our advantage is becoming
so you are sure to get your return intact, or to hold back
increasingly important.
from carrying out the investment at all because the
Some investment and crowd-funding applications that
stock market rises and falls within a particular period
have gradually begun to gain attention and trust for
and could be a gamble when trading.
use in Nigeria include; Agritech Platforms Piggyvest
Agricultural technology or Agritech platforms generally
Its name was coined from the old piggy bank or the
use the crowd-funding variety of fintech. These are
native 'kolo' ideas which helped save money in small
usually a safe way to invest because agriculture is a
bits until a specific period of time when it would have accrued to a sensible amount of money. But unlike the
‘
necessity of life. Systems like theses are funded by many people and are therefore usually insured against
old fashioned piggy bank, Piggyvest is an online
the unforeseen risks that are involved in agricultural
application which offers 10% interest after three
production. Investing with an agritech platform may be
months of saving your money. The longer you leave
a wise way to earn an interest on money locked for a
your money there the more your interest builds up. The
period of time especially during this corona pandemic.
application also has other features including flex
They are designed to encourage digital farming, and to
savings where you can save in naira or dollars and
become safer options for investors therefore making
investment sites where you can buy shares temporarily
farming more profitable by attenuating risks and
in their partner companies and get a stipulated interest
delivering return on investments. The investors in
on your money invested. I for one enjoy it a lot because
question are usually not required to own farming lands
I use it and it has really helped me save and spend less
neither do they have to buy. The responsibility of
on unnecessary things.
acquiring land, paying workers and burning cash on and management rests solely on the shoulders of the
Cowry wise
investment
company.
This was coined from the word 'cowry' which used to
platforms
be a means of transaction way back in time. Cowry
Republic, Groupfarma, Farm Sponsor, Requid, Thrive
wise helps you invest in low, medium and high risk
Agri, to mention a few.
in
Nigeria
Some
examples
include;
of
these
Farmcrowdy,
Farm
investments depending on the choice of the individual. The application also features a savings tab from which
What are you waiting for? Take that bold step now and
you can get 10% interest on your savings.
create
an
account
with
any
of
these
Fintech
applications today!
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HEALTH & WELLNESS HOW TO BE CONSISTENT WITH YOUR EXERCISE ROUTINES. WRITTEN BY IZY ABDUL
Exercise should be done by everyone whether young or old, thin or fat, obese or underweight because we all need to maintain optimum health. We were created to move. However, our ever increasing need for sedentary lifestyles like; sitting at the office table for hours on end under air conditioning and driving over even short distances, has greatly decreased our activity levels and by extension, the body’s ability breakdown substances properly and rid itself of waste to keep our body systems properly functioning. It is important to note that this kind of lifestyle is cumulatively deleterious to our health and has been greatly facilitated by an increase in the adoption of technology in this generation. In order to extend our years on earth and stay healthy through it, regular exercise is a lifestyle requirement. It is for this reason that I will be recommending a few techniques on how to be consistent with your exercise routines by doing the following; Set achievable targets Set a realistic time to work out. short bursts of time like 30 minutes per day and 4 - 5 times a week, are good ways to start a consistent routine. Doing this along with the next few steps helped me personally to go from a size 18 to a size 8 to 10 in a matter of months. One of the toughest decisions I ever made in life was to adopt a daily workout routine but I stuck to my guts because I knew I did not only need regular exercise to lose weight but I also needed it to maintain and adopt a healthy lifestyle. Set yourself a reminder Reminders are an important part of staying true to your routine because as humans we could get caught up in too many activities during the course of the day and may forget to exercise or decide to procrastinate.
Have a workout goal Goals have been known to motivate people’s actions for success. It is therefore a good idea to have a workout goal before you start. If your goal is to lose a certain amount of weight, or to maintain a particular weight this goes a long way in helping you to choose your routines. It also gives you enough motivation to push yourself to commit to your workout routines even when you do not feel like it. Getting up every day to exercise may be a little bit easier when you remind yourself why you chose to star t on your exercise journey in the first place. Start small I would never advise a beginner to do 2 hours of work out on their first day. It is not feasible especially if the person does not have a workout history. If you start hard with your routines, it may lead to exhaustion and discourage the individual from continuing with the routines. Extreme pain and soreness should also be expected at the beginners risk and expect not to be in a lot of pain that can even discourage you. Spice up your routine Exercise can be boring when it is done in silence. You can make your routines more fun and exciting by playing music or a motivational piece while exercising. Working out with friends can also make things more interesting. This can help you to be more accountable and committed to your workout routines. Switching up from one form of exercise to another from time to time can also make things more exciting. Some other exercises that we can consider include yoga, Plyometrics, cardio, aerobics, full body hit workouts, skipping and many more. Finally, stop making excuses and start today! Now is the best time. Cheers to a better and healthier life.
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IMPACT MAGAZINE
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
IZY ABDUL
"Of what benefit is life if you can not enjoy the goodness of it due to poor health?" For me, health and wellness, and more specifically fitness, is my life. My fitness journey began as far back as 2010 when I was really obese and was just growing incessantly fat. I weighed about 90 kg and fluctuated between large sizes. I looked older than my age, I was asthmatic with a chronic stomach ulcer and in addition, I had a lump in my body. I was always feeling tired and having to deal with lots of headaches was draining. These occurrences drowned my self esteem but I usually would mask all those feelings confidently that no one ever could guess there was anything wrong with me physically and mentally.
After I graduated from the University, I realized a lot of people were going through similar health and weight challenges and I was more than happy to help. With so much time on my hands, I figured it was finally time to start a fitness page to help people get healthy, come out of weight related health conditions and other lifestyle diseases as well as psychological breakdowns. Today I run a blog on Facebook called Izy’s health digest, and a fitness page @izy_sheila on Instagram. I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me to keep fit.
Deep down I knew the kind of life I wanted for myself and so I asked God for help and direction and began several researches on diet and exercise. My faith paid off because the lump I had disappeared completely in only 3 weeks. I also only used one inhaler since the asthma diagnosis and never needed any again. Much recently, I have done all kinds of fasting including intermittent fasting, fruit fasting, water fasting and dry fasting, all in a bid to lose weight and have not developed an ulcer. I have lost so much healthy weight and I have been able to maintain it with a healthy diet and work- out routine.
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STAY FIT WITH IZY
On fitness Visit Izy Abdul's Page on Instagram to help you keep up with health and fitness routies @izy_shiela
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IMPACT MAGAZINE
HEALTH AND WELLNESS.
Health Blog Get expert advise and go to tips from an experienced nurse and fitness enthusiast Visit Izy's Facebook page. @izy's health digest
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