FINANCIAL LITERACY & PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

 There is no better feeling than making it to a new year. The past year was full of challenges in many dimensions. People lost their lives to accidents. The fact that we have made it into the new year is evidence that God has better plans for each one of us.  The focus of this article is taking stock of the past year in the area of finance. Aristotle noted that an unexamined life is not worth living. It means that if we are to advance financially in 2026 we can not afford to stay the same in terms of our financial knowledge. There are very many successful people in the area of finance and we can capitalize on that to become financially wiser and responsible. A number of working professionals have the capacity to multiply their income. The question is, do they have adequate financial knowledge on the investments they plan to undertake. A number of working professionals start businesses in their villages without first undertaking enough research and in the end they lose it all. ...

 It is the desire of every working professional to improve their income. The question is what can be done in 2026 to multiply our income? The cost of living is increasing every day . One of the secrets that I have observed among employees who earn three times more than their counterparts is continuous learning. The high paid working professionals do not leave anything to chance. They work day and night to invest in themselves. This is not restricted  to going back for advanced studies because today there is a lot of free knowledge waiting to be exploited. There are free courses on internet in various fields. No longer can a working professional be comfortable with one academic qualification.  Brian Tracy noted that the day one graduates is the day their degree becomes obsolete. That is worrying .The introduction of Artificial Intelligence is worsening the matter because tasks that were previously done by people can be done by AI and this means that workplaces will need ve...

 I have been a keen observer of what helps certain employees to multiply their income faster than others. Many times the principles are the same. They do not work in isolation. This is most common with female employees. A number of female employees belong to a number of savings groups where they save little amounts but at the end of the day they amass money. This is a lesson to male employees who believe that working alone can enable one to achieve financial freedom.  Most of the rich people in Kampala belong to groups with like minded colleagues where they share ideas, experience and resources. The Bible says iron sharpens iron and therefore dear working professional, this is a key lesson we can emulate in 2026. It is very dangerous to think we can work independently and achieve massive success. There is power in collectivity and this is why National Social  Security Fund is able to pool resources from many employees and invest in various high yielding investments. ...

 Money is the currency of life. Many dreams have been shattered simply because of absence of money. Many marriages have collapsed because of financial stress. So we have to do something about the financial circumstances. A few months back a young working professional approached me for guidance on how he could revamp his finances and let me take the opportunity to share with you the secrets that i shared with him. Secret 1 : Raise your financial expectations. It is surprising yet true that every great activity should start in the mind. All great companies started as ideas in the mind of a great entrepreneur and today they are employing thousands of individuals. A case in point is Coca Cola which was an idea that was developed and today it is a global enterprise. It is the case with Equity Bank which started as a small building society in Kenya and today it is a financial conglomerate serving over 20 million customers in Africa. In the same way dear working professional you can alter...

 It was Aristotle who noted that an unexamined life is not worth living. We live in a fast paced world where it is easy to lose focus on the most important events of our lives. Today's financial landscape is fast changing and it requires an intentional mindset to overcome the most pressing challenges. To show how important it is to reflect on our financial journey, during the Covid-19 season two young men burnt themselves because they could not cope with the high cost of living. It means that the financial situation can even lead to death if not handled with care. Though handling finances is a personal responsibility, without adequate care and attention it can become a nightmare.  How come many working professionals earn a salary every month but they struggle to manage it yet we find a market vendor who earns less that a corporate able to use their finances well. That contrast needs to be analyzed. I have also visited microentrepreneurs who save regularly in more than one grou...

 It is the desire of every working professional to achieve financial freedom. Why is it the most of us work so hard but still fail to achieve our set targets?  It is partly because we have not mastered to process of managing our personal finances.  The failure of save as soon as we earn. There is a temptation to spend all the money we have as soon as our employers pay us. I have met so many working professionals to struggle to make ends meet even after one week of receiving salary. It is critical that a working professional opens a separate account where he or she can save a percentage of their hard earned money after receiving salary. Failure to use a budget. I have seen so many young working professionals who say they do not need a budget to spend their money. Without a budget it is easy to spend salary on wants instead of needs. A budget is an aid that helps a working professional to analyze their income and expenses so that they can make better financial decisions. Se...

 The question is how 2025 treated you in terms of finances ? Finances play a critical role in all our lives and if we are to ask majority of the people about their greatest challenges it is related to managing personal finances. It is the desire of most employees to increase their income so that they can achieve their set goals. The question is it an easy process? The focus is on how can a working professional multiply their income amidst competing demands in a turbulent economy. Secret one: Set a clear financial target. In my journey as a financial literacy trainer I have witnessed so many people who have left their financial issues to chance. In this way they are not motivated to take initiative towards their financial destiny. In 2026 we need to set clear financial targets that will drive our performance to a better outcome. Secret two: Embrace Continuous learning . Ideas are kept in books and those who embrace continuous learning have a better chance of improving their income. ...

 Life is tough. This is especially the case in the area of finance. A year is a long time and we thank God we have reached this far. The truth is that we might not have achieved our financial goals but we can pick lessons that can make 2026 a better year. I have noticed that the difference between successful people and those who lack is the attitude towards setbacks. If we allow setbacks to define us then we shall be defeated. However if we pick lessons from these setbacks we can become much better. A few weeks back I received a call from one of my trainees that they had lost money to a savings group. These cases are so common especially during the festive season. A few years back a company that promised Ugandans abnormal returns collapsed and left many people in tears. What was really regrettable was that some people used their pension to invest in this company. So various Ugandans including working professionals have made financial mistakes during the year. The truth is that inve...