Have you ever fallen victim of a scam? If yes, our correspondence, Akinjobi Oluwagbemisola has met up with Financial Jennifer to ensure that you regain your confidence in investing and you bring to book scammers who come around you next time.
GWC: Can We Meet You?
JENNIFER: I am Jennifer Awirigwe, also known as Financial Jennifer, your Money Cheerleader. I am a Certified Financial Education Instructor, an Investment Banker and a Chartered Accountant. If the conversation is about women and money, count me in. Hence, the bulk of my time is spent educating women on personal finance and helping them understand that there is no limit to the wealth they can build as women. Did I mention that I like money? Lol, well, I do.
GWC: Lol! No one hates money, I guess…
What were your aspirations regarding your future as a young child?
JENNIFER: Well, I wasn’t one of those children that knew what they wanted to be when they grew up. I can't remember any career aspirations as a child. But I have always been money-minded. I did my first business when I was in primary school.
GWC: Hmmm…What are your present aspirations for the future? Do you have fears regarding them?
JENNIFER: Oh, that one is easy, I hope to see more and more women taking charge of their finance. At this point in life, I am about to become that person that millions of women would point at tomorrow and be like, “I am financially empowered because of her”. Now, I reach over 120,000 people with my teachings, I hope to multiply that number in the nearest future.
Fear? None comes to mind. It’s a whole lot though building a career in the investment industry and at the same time feeding my passion for educating women about their finance.
GWC: Who was a role model figure for you as you grew up? How Did They Influence You?
JENNIFER: It’s more like who they were … over the years, there have been different women killing it in their sectors that I admire a lot for different things. Their work shines through, they invade male-dominated industries and thrive. They are vocal about what they believe in. And many of them do all of these while maintaining beauty. If you think I am business smart, wait till you meet my mum - Elizabeth Awirigwe, she is something! See the wonder Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is Doing with her writings, Arese Ugwu with her book “SmartMoneyWoman” opened our eyes to our money matter, creating magic with the book while living the baby girl's life, Tomie Balogun made us embrace coming together to build wealth. I have learnt a lot of things from these amazing women and many others.
GWC: Wow! Whenever you felt like quitting, what or who has stood as a source of motivation for you?
JENNIFER: Have you seen the messages I get from women in my community? Let me share one with you, - “I know this is late, but I think I came across you through my friend Anita, and I keep thanking God for her. Meeting you turned my life around financially, I now save, invest, and started a business and for the first time, I am consistent with them. Thank You So Much, Financial Jennifer. God bless you abundantly”.
Messages like this are all the motivation I need. Knowing that I impact a lot of women keeps me going.
GWC: You are a big fan of investing, what do you think about the trend among youths today who think it's safer to spend all without investing anything? What is your advice on these?
JENNIFER: It’s not just youths. I don’t think investment has ever been trendy with any generation. And that is part of the reason I do what I do, to make people see the need for investment. How can you not like the idea of your money working for you, which is what investment does all because you don't understand why or how to? Hence, the need for financial understanding at this time is an asset. We are young, this is the best time to start planning our lives and retirement. The decision you make today determines how happy or stressful your retirement age will be. What do you choose? To plan and invest accordingly or be stuck in the rat race?
GWC: So many youths, most especially females have fallen into scams and are unwilling to take the risk once more. How can they come out of this mindset and can they prevent being scammed in the future?
JENNIFER: Sadly, that is the fact. Many of us have been burnt in the past. The tiring part is that investment itself has been made to suffer for Ponzi schemes. People get swindled of their money by scammers and thus, they blacklist investments. We need to be able to differentiate between investments and Ponzi schemes. When the interest rate is unreasonable, when you cannot understand their business records, when their people are without track records and when they are desperate for referrals, be very careful. These could be signs that a scammer is out for your money. Every investment has an aspect of risk, but with credible investments like stocks and regulated fixed-income instruments, you understand clearly what your money is being used for.
GWC: Amazing! Thanks for sharing this maa.
What would you love to say to encourage youths and young adults who wish to step into the deep waters of cryptocurrency and the stock market?
JENNIFER: Educate yourself to understand how these investments work, don’t delve into what you do not understand, be aware of the volatilities in both markets and know that a long-term mindset will likely pay you more. And please, make sure you are well diversified. Don’t have all your eggs in one basket.
GWC: From your personal experiences, how best can a female gain financial independence?
JENNIFER: As a female, aim for financial wellness, strive to grow your income sources, have a plan for your money and most importantly, have the mindset that there is no limit to the wealth you can build as a woman.
GWC: Interesting! Thank you for sharing these financial tips with us, Jennifer. We appreciate this. To our audiences, you can get more financial advice from our guest by following her on Instagram.
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