GhanaWeb Feature by Stella Dziedzorm Sogli
Ghana’s economic status has sunk in the last few years as its currency continues to lose value against major trading currencies, especially the US dollar.
Whenever the question of the worth and value of money comes up in recent times, the posture of some Ghanaians suggests that they may no longer be interested in the subject of how bad the country’s standing is.
Also in recent times, the costs of basic needs, from food, clothing, shelter, and other needs have become very expensive. This has left many Ghanaians in the state of living from “hand to mouth,” which suggests that as soon as their salaries hit their accounts, they get into a spending mode.
This leaves little to no room for savings and investments, the perfect recipe for wealth creation.
This article is basically to address salaried workers, not people with generational wealth, multiple sources of income or business owners.
It would have been ideal to use the country’s minimum wage in the breakdown, but everyone knows by now, that that is woefully inadequate for even a somewhat key standard of living.
Unfortunately, some people earn that low in Ghana today; in 2025!
I digress!
But here is a practical question; how long and what would it take to become a dollar millionaire and earn $1 million as a salaried worker in Ghana today?
How about we explore for how long a person would need to work to achieve this landmark?
Using today’s [March 19, 2025] exchange rate of $1 to 15.42 and assuming this rate is constant, here is how long it will take the average Ghanaian who works a 9 to 5 job to make $1 million in his lifetime, without ever touching his salary.
$1 million is GH¢15,420,000. Assuming you earned GH¢4000 monthly, you would make GH¢48,000 yearly.
You would have to work for 20.8 years to make GH¢1,000,000. Therefore if $1 million is GH¢15,420,000 you would need to work for over 300 years consistently to make $1 million.
Here is the math: if 1m = 20, 15m=?
As ridiculous as this may seem, this is the reality of many Ghanaians. Some Ghanaians may never have the opportunity to boast of having $1 million, whether in liquid or in assets.
This emphasises the need for Ghanaians to invest in the idea of holding leaders accountable for how they manage the economy.
The reality too is that some people do not want to be a million-dollar rich; some just want to be able to live comfortably and take care of their families.
Others want to have enough to be able to extend a helping hand to others and create opportunities for impact.
With that being said, the question remains, “Is $1 million enough to change your life?”
SSD/AE
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