The sudden demise of a good friend through a car accident years ago, got me to ask myself a whole lot of questions.

He was on his way to visit his newly born child and the wife when he met what will be his untimely death.

This brother cared so much about his family and would do everything in his power to provide the best he could for them. But the sad reality today is that He is no more”.

But now that he was gone:

1. Could the wife afford the school fees of the private school his adorable kids attended or she needs to downgrade to a public school?

2. Can she keep up with the rent?

3. What about the maintenance of the car?

4. Will the utilities choke her little income ?

5. Can she afford to take the kids to all the fun places they ‘ve become accustomed to?

The mere emotional toll the sudden lost of a loved one can have on you is phenomenal, especially your spouse, whom you envisage growing old and navigating the uncertain storms of life together.

That said it is unimaginable for the young wife to also bear all the financial burdens of the family in addition to her grief when the husband is no more. The sad reality is it happens so often.

She had to contend with the total downgrade of the quality of life just to be able to survive with the kids. It’s normally such a pathetic life that will even cause her dead husband’s corpse to cringe uncomfortably in his grave.

So as young husbands what can you do to mitigate some of these harsh realities?

Educational Policy with insurance component that takes care of your kids through tertiary education in case you are no more

Don’t start building your dream house right away, focus on securing a basic structure that can comfortably accommodate your nuclear family. I will even advise that share the plot of land with a good friend, so that you even have something left to start the building right away. After you’ve weaned yourself off rent and fully serviced your bank loans, you can now plan towards that dream mansion of yours and build at your own pace.

Invest in a personal/ life insurance package that can advance some lump some to cushion your family when you are no more. The least thing you want to do is to leave your spouse with debt from funeral expenses when you are no more

Have a will, clearly spelling out beneficiaries of whatever little assets you have acquired so far. Some external family members can get funny ideas about your property when you are no more. Make sure your nuclear family is protected with the right backings of the law.

Can you start some small business with the initial aim of getting enough proceeds to take care of home expenses? This pandemic has taught us that household essentials will always be critical. Can you get into buying and selling ?

Also are there opportunities to reduce household expenses ( especially food) by cultivating a garden? Rearing livestock? Fish farming? All these you can do profitably on a small scale .

As they say, life begins at forty , so be determined at by the time you attain this magical number (40yrs) , which amounts to fifteen years of your working life on the average, you would have implemented the basics discussed above.

Before you start murmuring that you don’t earn enough to implement these things , just imagine the discomfort you would cause to your dear wife and those lovely angels and take the faith to start, no matter how small . You would be amazed at how quickly you will progress.

For the wives as well, don’t throw any opportunity to build wealth or financial independence because you got married. Life can be very complicated, so explore and build a business module that can help you afford the lifestyle of your dreams in the future.

We appreciate the fact that you want to look good always, but be discreet with your spending and do well to invest part of all your earnings( minimum 10%) consistently Into your future

Above all, never forget the God factor.