Although it was said before in many different ways, Stephen King put it best in his 1982 collection of novellas Different Seasons: “There is no harm in hoping for the best as long as you are prepared for the worst.”
The statement rings even truer today, as the world is in its third year of battling covid19, something any ordinary person would admit they hadn’t anticipated in their wildest dreams.
With new disasters looming such as a war in Europe and the correlating economic shocks already adding pressure to economies, industries and people trying to recover from covid19, it is more than ever necessary to prepare for the next disaster.
This was the thinking of newly appointed CEO and secretary to the Trinidad Building and Loan Association (TBLA) Christopher Lewis.
Lewis qualified as an accountant and became a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in 2004 and an affiliate in 2009. He became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of TT (ICATT) in 2016. He also has MBAs in telecommunications and in finance.
In an interview last week Monday, he said TBLA, with 131 years of history, was able to manage its way through two world wars and is now managing its way through its second pandemic. He said through the company’s family-oriented business module and low cost financial products, TBLA can help people prepare for whatever comes next.
You better save that money
In TT, where many people live day to day and paycheque to paycheque, the pandemic came as a total curveball – one which ate up most people’s savings.
Now as the world seems to be emerging from the shocks of the virus, one question looms: what happens after covid19?
Lewis told Business Day that even after a disaster such as a covid19, people will still have to take care of their families and maintain themselves and their homes, just as they did over 100 years ago.
“Historically, the Spanish Flu (1918-20) came just after WWI (1914-18). After that, the world didn’t end. But when WWII (1939-1945) came around, no one saw that coming. So it seems that we came full circle for the past hundred years.
“When we emerge on the other side of these disasters, you still have your family to see about and you have commitments to meet. Instead of spending money vie-ki-vie, now is the time to invest and save.”
Lewis said saving money comes down to a mindset, and advised that people sit down, track their spending and have a comprehensive plan for the month or even the quarter.
“People would tell you they have no money, not even $100 to spare – but you can almost guarantee that on a weekend you can find them with a box of fried chicken or a beer. Can they not, for one week out of the month, invest that money, and in the other three weeks enjoy themselves? People have to ask themselves, 'Yes, I have a salary, but how do I spend that salary?'”
[caption id="attachment_943856" align="alignnone" width="753"] The Trinidad Building and Loan Association (TBLA) CEO Christopher Lewis says the pandemic has shown why financia
