When 30 years of hard work ends with nothing

By Ceaser Zvayi

 

Yesterday I Realized 30 Years of Hard Work Can End With Nothing when I attended a colleague’s retirement party.

 

They threw him a big retirement party.
Music, speeches, food everywhere.

 

People clapped and called him “a man of integrity”, someone who gave his youth to a job.

 

But when the noise was over, he went home to a quiet, empty room… and an envelope.

 

Inside was his gratuity, just enough to clear debts and maybe fix the leaking roof.

 

Thirty years of service.
No house in his name.
No business.
No investments.
Just a pension that can’t survive inflation.

 

This is the story of millions of people.
We work hard. We stay loyal. We never miss a day at work.

 

But we never learn how money works.

 

We think salary is security.
We call bank savings an INVESTMENT.
We trust THE SYSTEM to take care of us.

 

Meanwhile…

 

Someone who started a small bakery 15 years ago now owns 3 houses.

 

Someone who bought land in 2005 now earns rent every month without lifting a finger.

 

Someone who invested USD2,000 in shares now makes more from dividends than many managers’ salaries.

 

The truth is bitter, Hard work alone doesn’t make you wealthy, financial literacy does.

 

If you keep living the same way, retirement will come with regret, not reward.

 

The world is full of opportunities:

 

Land, you can buy for the price of a new phone.

 

Businesses you can start with the cost of one beer

 

Investments that pay you while you sleep.

 

But if you don’t learn how to multiply your money, you will spend your life working for it, and retire with nothing to show for it.

 

Stop clapping for LONG SERVICE. Start building assets.

 

Stop waiting for a salary increase. Start increasing your income streams.

 

Stop blaming the economy. Learn the rules of money and play to win.

 

Because the day you retire, nobody will remember your YEARS OF SERVICE.
They’ll only ask, “What did you build?”
(copied)

 

*Ceaser Zvayi is former The Herald editor