FINANCIAL LITERACY & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

  Attitude determines altitude . Dr. Victor Frankl witnessed many of his close family members being killed in gas chambers . What a horrible moment for any human being. On a daily he could see people who lost hope in living due to harsh circumstances . He notes that a person who is devoid of hope is likely to die. Hope is a key concept in life and in building our financial lives. As a financial literacy trainer I have interacted with very many people who have various views about money. I can attest that I have met some trainees who have a positive attitude towards life and are taking meaningful initiatives towards altering their finances. I have also met some trainees who have intentionally focused on sabotaging their financial lives. To them they feel the battle is already lost yet they are still alive. The role of a coach is to challenge a client's assumptions. The dominant beliefs that we hold determine the actions that we take in life. The question is why should we give up on ...

 As a Financial Literacy Trainer I have always been intrigued by the difference between wealth and rich. Wealth refers to a person's overall net worth that is assets , investments and financial resources. Wealth represents a more stable and long term financial situation built overtime through smart investments, savings and financial planning. Rich is defined as a person's temporary financial state often measured by income  or owning valuable assets but does not mean long term financial security. So the question is where the majority of Ugandans belong? I can not assert that I have an answer to this important questions but rather I can only give personal views. What I have observed is that Ugandans are very hard working and enterprising people. They want to earn money and this is very important because money is the currency of life. Without money one can even lose their lives. In the quest to earn money does this mean that most Ugandans are rich. Does it mean that when one has ...

Everyone desires financial advancement. A number of people have various approaches on how to improve their finances. However the dominant voices that I have heard relate to activities of making money instead of planning on how to create wealth. We all know that when a storied building is being built a lot of attention is placed on the foundation. Those buildings which are haphazardly built collapse in a short time. In the process of building wealth a number of people neglect the process of building healthy financial habits and they regard them as a "waste" of time yet these are very critical steps in building a sustainable financial base. A lot of literature has been written about the role of mindset in enabling a person to build their wealth. Unfortunately a number of people neglect this process. Harv Eker in his book Secrets of A Millionaire Mind noted that rich and successful people think long term . It means that they do not focus on their current circumstances. As a Fina...

 We are products of our thoughts. A friend of mine reminded me that the world is created by our thoughts . Many times we have allowed our circumstances to define us. Life is not static. The fact that we have seen people from less fortunate backgrounds change their financial fortunes is a reason enough to believe that no situation is too hard to change. We tend to forget the power of the mind in altering our life circumstances. As a Financial Literacy Trainer I have first had experience in that because I have trained thousands of people across the country. The stories we tell ourselves play a critical role in shaping our financial destinies. In his profound book called Think And Grow Rich : A Black Choice: Dr. Dennis Kimbro cites examples of several black Americans who came from less fortunate backgrounds and have contributed positively towards the economic development of America. They simply believed in the American dream. Some are immigrants who came to America as slaves. A case i...

 It is a great opportunity to make it into a new year. There are plenty of people who did not make it. What does the new year promise to offer us? It offers a blanket cheque of abundance. Life is a series of choices and it is up to us to decide what we want. If we choose abundance and are committed towards creating it will manifest. Unfortunately many time we do the contrary to our goals and aspirations. We have the power to realize our God given potential if we believe in it.   Why is financial planning critical in the journey to financial advancement? It is because just like any area of life without planning we can never realize our potential. When one reads books about financial advancement, they all relate to planning. Very few people have altered their finances through wishful thinking. Finances play a critical role in our lives and we can never leave them to chance. A financial plan redirects our efforts towards managing our finances better and we are able to make r...

 A brand new year is a season of new beginnings. However we need to be careful how we approach life in the new year. It is easy to enter the new year with an old mindset and it will upset our progress. If we hold on what failed in the old year no matter what we do in the new year will not succeed. Our mind plays a very critical factor in ensuring our success. If we focus on the negative side of life we are likely to achieve negative results.  Each and every person is full of potential. But those who excel in life are those who make intentional decisions that despite their imperfections they will choose to do the right things so that they can alter their lives. Life presents a lot of opportunities but the key question is are we ready for them. The youths have plenty of opportunities but I have interacted with a number of them who confess that they do not see the opportunities. One of the biggest challenges that the youths face is that they want ready made job opportunities yet ...