START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE : A JOURNEY TO FINANCIAL ADVANCEMENT

 For the last 5 years I have been providing grassroot financial literacy training to countless youths. I should admit that Ugandans are resilient in saving. I have been amazed that a number of ordinary women especially in rural areas save in more than one group while in Kampala people who earn much more than these women struggle to save. What is the missing link? How can a market vendor who earns far less than a corporate have more evidence in terms of saving?

Having interacted with very many university students in terms of financial literacy training I have concluded that sometimes education is a bottleneck to saving more. A number of youths point out that they have nothing to save or they will save when they accumulate money. The challenge is that the big breaks come too late. A number of university students assert that they will start saving when they acquire a job but today formal jobs are scarce. A Daily Monitor article of 24th May 2025 showed that many youths who form over 70% of the population were addicted to gambling. In fact the article showed that some university students gamble their tuition with the hope of attaining quick wealth. This is against the principle of long-term wealth creation.

It seems that in acquiring long term wealth every person should embrace saving with a purpose and appreciating that every coin counts. The most successful people are the most frugal when it comes to finances but a number of youths spend without a budget. Some spend to impress their peers. With an increase in digital options for borrowing a number of youths take on bad loans without guidance. Thus there is a lot of financial distress in society.

The so many successful stories that I have witnessed among the youths that I have trained have given me confidence that it is not the amount of money that one earns but rather the discipline and commitment to accumulate wealth. 

HOW ONE CAN ACQUIRE A PLOT OF LAND BY SAVING ONLY 3,000/= PER DAY 

The goal is to buy a plot of land 

Cost of the goal : 1,000,000/=

Time period : 12moths (1 year)

Monthly installment: 1,000,000=/12= 83,300/=

Weekly installment : 83,300/4= 20,825

Daily installment: 20,825/7 = 2,975

The implication is that when a person saves as low as 3,000/= per month he or she will acquire a plot at the end of the year.


May the above example motivate us to save .


For individual and corporate financial literacy training contact :

Coach Phillip Kiryowa

Personal Finance Coach (CMA)

Certified Master Trainer, Bank of Uganda 

Founder, Advanced  Empowerment Link

0752615916

For Financial freedom and Sustainable Enterprises


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