How can I protect myself from scammers?
Oluwatosin Olaseinde
Founder, MoneyAfrica & Ladda | Fintech | Edtech | World Economic Forum Young Global Leader | Linked In Top Voices Finance & Economy 2020 | Mandela Washington Fellowship | Financial literacy expert
Good morning and how are you doing?
Friday letters are usually dedicated to taking questions from our community. Do you have a question for us? Please feel free to?
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Question?
How can I protect myself from financial scams and fraud?
Answer
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Protecting yourself from financial scams and fraud is important to safeguard your finances and personal information. Take note of the following ways to help you do so.?
2 . Verify the authenticity of any communication you receive before responding. Check the contact information and domain name of the sender or caller, and look for red flags like misspellings, grammatical errors, or unusual requests.
3 . Use strong, unique passwords for all of your financial accounts and enable two-factor authentication when possible.
4 . Avoid clicking on links or downloading attachments from unknown sources, as these may contain malware that can compromise your personal information.
5 . Keep your personal information secure by shredding documents containing sensitive information before disposing of them, and only providing personal information to reputable sources that you trust.
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6 . Be wary of "get rich quick" schemes or investment opportunities that promise high returns with little risk. These are often scams designed to trick people out of their money.
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Question?
I find it hard to budget and I always spend more than necessary. What are the basics of creating a budget and sticking to it?
Answer
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Creating a budget is an essential step in achieving financial stability and achieving your financial goals.? The first step is to Identify your income. Start by identifying all sources of income, including your salary, bonuses, and any other income sources. Next, make a list of all of your expenses, including fixed expenses such as rent, utilities, loan payments and variable expenses such as groceries, dining out and entertainment.
Prioritise your expenses based on your needs and goals. Pay your essential expenses first such as housing, utilities and debt payments before allocating money to discretionary expenses. Discretionary expenses are the expenses that you can choose to spend on non-essential things like entertainment, hobbies, vacations and luxury items. These are not essential to your daily living, and you have the “discretion” or choice to spend or not spend your money on them.?
You should also allocate money to your savings goals such as an emergency fund, retirement savings, or a down payment on a home. Set realistic goals for your spending and savings based on your income and expenses. Make sure your goals are achievable and align with your long-term financial objectives.
In addition, keep track of your spending by reviewing your bank statements regularly. This will help you identify areas where you may be overspending and where you can cut back.
In conclusion, your budget is not set in stone, and it is okay to make adjustments as your income and expenses change. Regularly review your budget and make changes as necessary to ensure you are staying on track with your financial goals.
Great news!
MoneyAfrica has started its podcast series.?
We launched our first episode yesterday which was titled, “Outlook for 2023”.
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