For this week’s MoneyRise User story, we spoke to Olisa an electrical engineer who used to “Yolo” his money away until he realised that everyone needs a safety net.

Hi, Olisa, What do you do?

I am an Electrical/Electronics Engineer and I work in the IT industry.

What does financial wealth mean to you?

Financial wealth to me means options. It is me being able to decide on different opportunities that cannot be accessible to me if I am not financially okay. For example, financial wealth is being able to decide on which schools I want my kids to go to, without money hindering the choices. 

Hm. So when did you start your investment journey?

Growing up, I used to be the type of person that did not bother about investments. I was the “live life as it comes” kinda guy, lol. But I realised that investing is not necessarily about making extra money, rather, a way of securing your future. I thought hard about it and realised that I did not have enough wealth that would shield me from job loss or misfortune and that was when I started taking financial wealth seriously.

What did you do after that realisation?

I started paying attention to investments and wealth growing opportunities, especially in foreign currency, owing to the fact that the naira is not stable and keeps depreciating. That was when I came across Risevest.

How did you come across Risevest?

I subscribed to a financial newsletter on Twitter and they sent me news about financial advice and the rest. I think there was a week where they sent information about different dollar investment platforms and why you should invest in them. They mentioned Rise so I had to check Rise out.

So why Risevest?

In as much as I thought to invest myself, I actually knew that with the work I do, I might not be really able to do it in-depth. So, if I got an investment manager to help me manage my funds very well, why not try it? And that was what Risevest offered.

What is your experience with Rise so far?

In September last year, I created a one year plan and it has been a very lovely experience. My regret so far is not starting earlier; I started with $10 and at that time, it was around 316 naira to a dollar if I can remember correctly. 

I have been wondering that assuming I had the kind of knowledge I have now back then, I would have invested more, but at least, I actually did something. I am also a member of the telegram community and the information that is shared on the group is great. 

Tell me more about the Telegram community.

I actually joined it then because of financial advice. I really appreciate the Saturday and Sunday seminars. I was encouraged to set up an Upwork account and introduced to the world of digital products in one of the seminars. I think it was a session with Moe. It was enlightening and really explained a lot of concepts I was finding difficult to grasp on my own. Sometimes because of work, I don’t really join the seminar, but then I will have to go on the youtube channel and see what I missed.

What kind of investor would you say you are?

As much as I think that I am an aggressive investor, I won’t say I am because I am also conservative. This is because before I jump into any investment, I have to do enough research. I also dabble in stocks, but most of my investments are in real real estate and fixed income. So, in the end, I am a bit aggressive and a bit conservative.

Do you have any investment philosophy?

For me, the philosophy I normally work with is to start early; the more time you waste, the more time catches and you miss out on an opportunity. Always have a plan that you are sticking to. And be disciplined and patient enough to see it to the end.

Since you started investing, what is the most money you have made?

I think that should be in crypto. It was about 300 to 400 dollars in one transaction. I bought some coins and left it and after like two weeks, the coins tripled and so, that was also part of the reason, what made me more confident to do all those stocks and the rest. You can get burnt but you can also get something.

Have you made any losses?

There were also some other coins that I invested in, I won’t call them losses per se, because I am still holding onto them and hoping that they would break even and make a profit. I invested a particular amount and the cost of purchasing the coin declined.

So what did you learn from the episode?

When I first invested in crypto,  it dipped, I sold it, and after a while, it went up, so I understood the aspect of crypto, the fundamental analysis. When it dips, so long as the fundamentals are great, just hold it, it will still come back to normal or exceed your expectations later. 

How do you feel about your investment position today?

When I look back, I wonder what I would have been doing, if I had not started paying attention to these things earlier? I actually thank God for the financial information I’ve learned so far and the steps I have taken to achieve my goals. Learning these things has also broadened my mind to look at other aspects of financial wealth I’ve not considered before. I feel happy.

What advice do you have for a beginner that would want to start investing?

Just start, do your research and due diligence. You won’t have time forever, but for your future self, you have to start immediately.

How likely would you recommend Risevest to new beginners?

Before I did this I had to use it for about a year, get my results before I recommended it to my friends. Just like when I used Piggyvest. I advise my friends to invest with them instead of leaving the money in bank accounts that are just depreciating due to bank charges and inflation instead of growing or yielding interest.