Save money into your Susu Account with your Mobile Phone and Scratch Card

SUSUTXT is the exciting new way of Susu that allows a Susu contributor to put money into their Susu account by the use of their mobile phone and SUSUtxt Scratch Card! It is the new Susu standard in Ghana using technology, innovation, integrity and professionalism. Every Susu contributor has an ATM Card (Electronic SUSUCard) with which to access their money at any eTranzact-enabled ATM 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; e.g. UBA, Amal Bank and Intercontinental Bank ATMs. To deposit money into your Susu account follow these 4 steps: 1. For every amount you want to save, buy the equivalent scratch card. For example, if you

want to save GH¢5, buy GH¢5 SUSUtxt scratch card

2. Scratch the back to reveal your pincode

3. Pick up your mobile phone

4. Send the scratch card pincode in an SMS to our short code and after a few moments, you will

receive a confirmation of the success of the transaction. Your new balance will also be

displayed on your phone. To withdraw cash from your Susu Account, use your ATM Card at any UBA, Amal Bank or Intercontinental Bank ATM.

Ten Great Advantages for the SUSUtxt Client:

1) Safety of your hard-earned money Your Susu money is always in the Bank Account.

Excellent Insurance and Pension Houses in Ghana will manage our soon-to-be-introduced Insurance and Pension Packages. 2) Security of the system The transactions take place over secure phone lines. 3) Risk-Management The vendors of the scratch cards pay up-front for the cards and go to sell for commission; therefore, the major risk of collectors absconding with contributors’ money is removed. 4) Convenience: i. Easy savings with your mobile phone from anywhere in Ghana and for any number of times a day. You do not have to wait in a queue in a banking hall...time is money. ii. Easy access to your money with your SUSUtxt ATM Card; that means you are never short of cash with your SUSUtxt account. 5) Comfort You do not have to be shy about the amount you are saving – it could be as low as GH¢2. 6) A credible, reliable, safe and secure alternative to the old way of savings

7) Banking & Technology at your Doorstep to make life easier. 8) We help you and your family develop a Savings Culture in the ease with which you save and the low amount of GH¢2 with which you can open a Susu Account. 9) Peace of Mind As a Susu contributor, you are in total control of your savings and that gives you the peace of mind you need to go about life. Saving has never been so easy! 10) Integrity The Management and staff of the company are trust-worthy Banking & Insurance Professionals

Apart from using your Mobile phone to deposit money into your account, you can do these transactions with the phone as well: Change your PIN // Check your balance // Check recent transactions // Send and receive money with your mobile phone// pay your bills//...and many more Registration as a Susu Client or a sales Agent is easy

* Complete an application form

* Add one clear photocopy of your ID * Receive your ATM Card and a GH¢2 Scratch Card.

email: susutxt@yahoo.com Tel: +233 28/27/26 787 8898, +233 20 816 6428, + 233 24 982 0887 Location: 1031 Feo Eyeo Street, Awudome, near TV Africa, PMB CT 490, Accra.

Why we should prepare Personal Budget

A budget is a statement or a schedule of how our future income will be spent. A budget must be a positive, pro-active tool that frees us to accomplish our goals and look forward financially. Everyone who wants to live a life of financial freedom must prepare and stick to a budget. A budget helps us • organize our finances • control our spending • begin saving money consistently • start getting out of debt! • stop overspending before it happens. In budgeting, we look forward more than backward; we emphasize the "big picture" A budget must be able to give you an instant picture of the balance in your bank account - plus what the money in the account is for. A Budget therefore protects you from inadvertently spending money that is being saved for a special budget purpose on the wrong item (for example spending the money for your child’s school fees on household electronic item!) this can also be described as impulse buying. In spite of the advantages of a budget, it would not work without the financial discipline of the preparer or owner. Strategies in setting up a budget • The first significant step is to change your thinking about money, shift your attitude toward spending, actually focus on saving money, planning ahead and driving for success • Develop a greater awareness of how you earn, manage, save and spend money • Awareness of how others would lure, entice and want you to spend your money (advertisers, retailers, and manufacturers) • To stop participating and playing the “Keeping-up-with-the-Jones’s game,” living with a false sense of wealth and security, while over-extending your self and financial resources, beyond your means. Do not envy others and lust after things that they might have or even worse, get deeper into debt to compete or keep up appearances. It is counterproductive and can ruin lives! • Delay purchases – learn and do, sometimes without having to buy! • Set solid financial and budget goals for yourself and your family that you can work on individually and collectively to achieve together • Set spending limits and stick to them • Do not make ends meet utilizing credit cards or visiting the ATM or cheating on your budget • Understand your income – know where the money is coming from and how it varies throughout a one-year cycle • Understand your expenses – monthly and irregular, unexpected expenses • Set a few realistic financial goals • Know your own habits - spending, temptation- and where the areas of risk and exposure are. • Set up savings and spending mechanisms that work, savings and investment accounts and have the right number of credit cards • Make an income plan – detail is important • Plan your obligations and must pays – bills, tithes etc • Plan your necessities and look for ways to economize • Set aside pocket money for daily incidentals • Create a family allowance to cover entertainment • Create a personal allowance • Live happily on a budget • Welcome to frugal living mode! Cutting back on living expenses – alternatives for simple living • re-examine why you work and how you live • stop tossing your hard-earned cash away • shopping, overwork, stress and debt (some refer to this as an illness quipped: ‘Affluenza’!) • celebrate when you have money left over at the end of the month – indulge a little and reward yourself – rewarding patience and persistence! Not just the doing good and sticking with it We do it right when we apply wisdom (best choices and decisions), discipline (sticking to it), honesty (no cheating), persistence and celebration. At the end of everything, please remember to donate to Charity/ credit: The Internet

turning your hobbies/gifts into cedis

How can I turn my hobbies or gifts into Cedis? Hair plaiting, Baking, Sewing, Cooking, Shopping skills, Language skill, Piano skills, the list is endless. Let's say Dzifa is an Ewe but speaks fluent Ga. Her neighbours are Ga. They are friendly and pleasant family. Can Dzifa turn her language skills into cedis? Let's know what you think.

the history of susu

According to Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia, Susu collectors are one of the oldest financial groups in Africa. Based largely in Ghana they provide (for a small fee) an informal means for Ghanaians to securely save and access their own money, and gain limited access to credit, a form of microfinance. Money looked after for an individual by a Susu collector is held in a Susu account. A Susu collector can often be recognized by his distinctive coat of many pockets. The susu (savings) informal accounts used in the Caribbean and among West Indian immigrants to the United States is similar. They run their businesses from kiosks located in the market place and act as mobile bankers. Deposits, often of low but regular value, are usually taken on a daily basis over the course of a month. At the end of this period the susu collector returns the accumulated savings to the client but keeps one day's savings as commission. Susu collectors may also provide advances to their clients. Called esusu collectors in Nigeria, the 1990s saw significant growth in the number of clients per susu/esusu collector, and growth in the size of individual deposits, according to Aryeetey and Udry (1995).The term may originate from Yoruba, and thus may be linked to the arrival of Nigerian traders in Ghana, according to Aryeetey and Gockel. The word susu is also used in reference to rotating savings and credit associations in Ghana and the Caribbean. K. Little's 1957 article in American Anthropology, as well as the book Traditional Peoples of the World by National Geographic describes susu groups in this context. Both Aryeetey and Gockel (1991) and Little (1957) are cited by Ellen Bortei-Doku and Ernest Aryeetey in Chapter 5 of the 1995 edited volume, Money-Go-Rounds.[2] Susu collectors provide many Ghanaians who would otherwise be denied credit with access to money they need to start up small venture projects that in many cases benefit the community as a whole.