CHRONICLE OF A MARRIED MAN

 When I was working in a private company, there were many beneficial things that I didn't know. These things are what the artisans and small business owners know and do to build their own houses, expand their businesses, send their kids to school abroad, etc.

When you calculate their monthly earnings, it may be smaller than what you earn in the corporate world in a month and you wonder how they do it.

One very important one is Cooperative Society.
I never really knew much about this except that it was a borrowed course when I was in school and I have even forgotten what I read about it back then. I also used to hear people say they got loans from cooperative society but I didn't really have interest in how they operate.
As I left the corporate world, I met people who encouraged me to join one as it is very beneficial to them. After much pressure, I decided to join one through one of my friends and as I type this, I still regret why I did not join years ago.
There are many benefits in cooperative society. Just look for a registered one that has been in existence for long and has a good structure and many members.

The one I belong to, here are some of the things they do for members. Just be responsible as a member, you know what I mean. Attend meetings, at least once in a month (they hold weekly meetings), pay your dues, pay back any loan you took as at when due, have something doing that generates money, don't stand as guarantor for an irresponsible member, they can stain your white.

1: It helps one to save. You have a savings plan where you save a certain amount every week, you can collect it when you have a need or you can take a loan.
You can borrow a short term loan called carpet loan which doesn't exceed 500k. You can also borrow a long term loan in millions , depending on how much savings you have. This long term loan is triple of your savings. So if you have 300k in savings, you can borrow 900k, if you pay back at the right time, you can borrow more and if your savings increase to 1m, you can borrow 3m, etc. These loans come at very low interest rate , as low as 2% and you pay back weekly over several months. Some people took out loans to relocate out of Nigeria.

2: Another benefit is that they encourage members to have landed properties. The cooperative society buys a large expanse of land and share to members per plot. You pay for the land weekly over several months. After payment, you can take loans to develop the land.
They also do this for cars and houses. They even do it for commercial vehicles, tricycles and motorcycles, thereby providing means of livelihood for members who lost their jobs and those who want to add to their incomes.

3: They buy foodstuff in bulk directly from the manufacturers or suppliers and share to members, you also pay for this weekly like loan. They do this every month. As I type, I have rice, vegetable oil and beans in bulk in my kitchen which I'm paying for weekly. I collected it early this month. Others collected beverages like Milo, milk, cornflakes, semovita, yam flour, onions, palm oil, etc.

4: Members give contracts and jobs to one another. The cooperative body also gives contracts and jobs to members in different fields.

5: It is helpful when one is celebrating and needs people to grace the occasion. They come in their numbers in aso ebi and make your party colourful.

6: They contribute money for any member that is celebrating or hosting any party e.g weddings,
naming ceremony, burial party, retirement party, etc
They contribute for anyone that lost a relative too.

These are just the benfits that I remember.
Look for one today and join.
I heard government workers have theirs too.