FINANCIAL LITERACY & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

 The most successful people are daring. From the late Steve Jobs of Apple and Bill Gates of Microsoft they all listened to their guts. I recently visited the university students who were showcasing different products at Makerere University Entrepreneurship Expo at Freedom Store. I was impressed with their level of innovation and creativity. Some of the questions that I asked some of the students was whether their businesses were registered. The answers were not very convincing because it seemed most of them were still in mentorship stage and I do not blame them because they are still students.  My major point is that we need to reach a point where students jealously protect and test their ideas in the real market. I have often told Business Administration students that they should be the leaders of Uganda's economy since they study business courses but I have been surprised for a business student says he or she lacks a job. If they lack jobs then it is an opportunity for them to cr

 I want to become a billionaire is a desire a certain university student had. Every person has dreams but many dreams die before they are implemented. Had Bill Gates given up on his dream we would not have Microsoft. Had Thomas Edison given up on his dream we would not have the electric bulb. Had the missionaries given up on setting up schools and hospitals, we would not have Mengo Hospital, Nsambya Hospital and so many others. Robert Schuller wrote a book called T ough Times Never Last But Tough People Do . Dr.John Maxwell wrote a book called Failing Forward . Dr. Dennis Kimbro wrote a book called Think And Grow Rich : A Black Choice. In Think and Grow Rich, Dr. Kimbro cites many black Americans who grew from rags to riches. He cites an example of Oprah Winfrey who was born in an abusive family but had that dream in her that kept her moving. Today she is one of the wealthiest women in the world. Her story continues to inspire so many people to keep dreaming. What about Dr. Ben Carso

 A certain youth asked me during a recent financial literacy training what he could do to increase his finances. That is a dominant question in majority of our minds. We can not have a good life when our finances are not in order. It is always a struggle to accumulate money. In fact the Bank of Uganda 2023 statistics show that only about 3% to 5% of Ugandans are able to make regular savings on their accounts. Harv Eker in his book Secrets of a Millionaire Mind noted that rich and successful people think long term. The key question is why do we as a society struggle with money? Could it be the structural nature of our economy? Could it be related to the education system? Could it be our culture? I do not have an adequate answer. But what I have observed from people who have altered their finances is that it starts with changing our mindset about money management. If a young child is beaten to death for taking 200/= then expect that when such a child grows up he will have a negative vi

 On 31st October Uganda joined the rest of  the world to celebrate the international world savings day. It is worth celebrating this day because savings play a critical role in developing individual, family , community and national lives. Without enough resources society is characterized by distress and there is an increase in mental health and crime.  According to Uganda Bureau of Statistics research 3% to 5% of Ugandans save their monthly earnings on a regular basis has a lot of implications on the welfare of Ugandans. Some of the questions to ask are, where do most of Ugandans save? What are the spending habits of Ugandans? Is there a lot of unemployment that prevents them from saving? During the Covid-9 and lock down period we witnessed two young men who burnt themselves because they could not cope up with life. If someone can end their lives due to lack of money ,then financial literacy training can not be ignored. The witnessing of so many jobless youths with a pale future in tow