Tips To Manage Your National Service Allowance As a Personnel
The kind of enthusiasm and willingness national service personnel exhibits when entering into service is not the same when exiting service. Most especially as the jobless situation in Ghana today, national service serves as an immediate and temporary employment to fresh graduates. Forgetting that they would rather leave service in a year time frame, most personnel enjoy their allowance prodigally without a second thought, while leaving service with no “kobo” to boast of. Most personnel start their national service with well drawn plans but mostly fail to make their financial goals reality before completing service. This may not be sincerely personnel’s fault, the payment schedule and amount duly paid are major reasons. Unless you carefully plan to manage how to spend your national service allowance, you may exit same as you started. As an out gone national service personnel I will take you through how I successfully managed my national service allowance and started a money making business with it after exiting service. You may comment below or send a mail to [email protected] if you have any additional info.
Scope Into Allawa
As mandated by law, all students graduated from accredited tertiary institutions in Ghana are to embark on a one year mandatory service to the nation. At the course of serving the nation, personnel are offered allowance as incentives to grease their elbows during the service period and that’s exactly what we are discussing here. Though the amount of national service allowance is not encouraging (currently at Ghs559.04.00) but with proper management and planning, you could make the most out of your allowance before exiting service.
Factors Which Limits The Proper Management Of National Service Allowance
There are bunch of factor that are considered to limit the ability of personnel to properly manage their allowances into good use as in-service personnel and at post-service.
✔ Lower service incentive: The allowance of (Ghs559.04 currently) is barely low incentive to personnel and sometimes limits the ability to save some money.
✔ Place of posting: The geographical location where personnel is posted is another factor as some may be posted far from home, town or even to a different region. This may cause personnel to spend a lot of their allowance to accommodate themselves.
✔ Delay payment of allowance: As fresh service personnel, allowance sometimes take up to three months before duly paid. Some personnel may have to borrow money, go for loans and credit and pay back with interest in order to accommodate themselves till allowances are paid.
✔ Accommodation factors: In-service personnel would have to pay huge sums of money for rent in order to accommodate themselves, most especially those posted to different cities.
How Then Do You Manage Your National Service Allowance?
Now back to the subject matter of this post on managing your national service allowance, and to utilize it well after service. I may not be all right to tell you how best you need to utilize or spend your allawa, yes because we have different choices and meaning to “good use” but what I deem as proper management tips may help you make the most out of your service allowance. It worked for me and over 30% of other service personnel, hence would be considered as proper management tips for utilizing your “allawa”
1. Draw a financial goal for the whole service year
It’s very important to draw financial goals for the whole year of service. This will help you make priorities and target to achieve them. Considering the amount of the allowance, you may not make huge goals but rather make priorities that are parallel to your monthly earnings. This may include budgeting and prioritizing goals.
2. Make savings
Irrespective of your expenditure, make sure you pay yourself after receiving your allawa by saving a considerable percentage. Not in the same account through which you receive your allawa, open a different account purposely for your savings.
3. Make an investment
Consider making investment with your savings, as it’s said ” save to invest “. Considering the amount you earn you may not be able to make huge investment but you can consider small capital investments that gives profitable returns.
4. Consider a lower cost accommodation
You should consider a lower cost accommodation at your place of posting. Most personnel like to live impulsively with huge amount of cedis for rent. You know not where fate will throw you after service so “make hay while the sun shines” don’t spend huge amounts on rent and other stuff, it will drain your money and you will only fetch disappointment after service.
5. Never take a loan that will be paid with your allowance
Don’t repeat the mistakes some of us did whiles in service, you will realize how meager your allawa remains after deductions and the frustration alone is a headache. And I will always repeat, never take a loan that will be deducted from your allowance, if you do unless otherwise, it will be a recurring thing until you complete service. And oh! You may leave service without saving anything to support yourself.
6. Don’t live beyond your means
You should consider to live a simple life at post, knowing clearly that the meager allowance can not contain opulent lifestyle. Live a simple in-service personnel life to avoid incurring debts instead of acquiring benefits during and after service.
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