IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING WEALTHY AND RICH

 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 a lot of money, he or she is wealthy? We have seen some sportsmen who made a lot of money and they became bankrupt. The question is what went wrong?

Having a lot of money but without the fundamentals of budgeting and saving is a recipe for disaster. This is because one can easily spend their money without guided planning. We have seen so many rich people lose their money to gambling and other get rich schemes. Also we have seen entrepreneurs who started from scratch but with a vision and determination and today are global entrepreneurs. A case in point was Colonel Sanders who started KFC with a chicken recipe that was rejected by several companies but due to persistence he kept on pushing and today KFC is a global empire. What about Professor Mohammad Yunus who started Grameen Bank in Bangladesh as a project to help he underserved and today it is a pace setter in the microfinance industry across the world.

HOW TO MAKE WISE USE OF FINANCES

1.Have a long term vision for your finances

2.Save as you earn

3.Seek financial mentorship 

4.Be a continuous learner

5.Celebrate small wins 

6.Live within your means.

There seems to be a difference between wealth and rich. Society has made us to believe that having a lot of physical cash is the major indicator of wealth. This has led to a lot of frustration especially among the youths,

Phillip Kiryowa

Personal Finance Coach(CPC,CMA)

Advanced Empowerment Link

+256752615916

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