Cutting back is the theme of the hour. We save water, heating costs and power. It’s no longer so easy to indulge yourself. Or is it?

I still believe that this is the best time to do some good savings! When costs are high for most products and services and disposable incomes are at their lowest. An interesting trend has occurred over the past few weeks with banks reducing their rates from between 21% and 19% to between 19% and 18%.

However, the lending rates are still at their highest with some banks maintaining between

28% - 25% therefore confirmation my previous pronouncement that Ugandan lending rates are still the highest considering the regions averages.

It is not all gloomy, even with this gloomy picture painted by economists, scholars and the press we can still make the best out of it. The reality is that this situation will get worse before it gets better but it will get better. Authorities in personal finance have proposed that “it’s more fun spending savings than saving spending”.

The real question is which side you would rather be caught at considering that every crisis is eventually overcome. For the speculators this might not be the best time to consider foreign exchange products as they at their highest. And for those worried prospects there is a lesson to learn some where.

For most of the second half of 2008 and some part of the first quarter of 2009 we experienced foreign rates at their lowest coming close to 1600UGX for 1USD but over the past few weeks we have witnessed a more than 45% increase to about UGX2, 165 per 1USD. These means for those who speculated this trend and actually invested in foreign exchange products about the period mentioned, the gains were tremendous and they laughed all the way to the bank!

It is upon this background that we need to consider putting aside some funds in form of savings. There are many products in the market that can give you a favourable return on your investment. Most banks have introduced bonus savings accounts which give between 8% - 12% interest on savings and the interesting thing is that the costs on managing these funds are minimal.

One bank for example has an investment account which offers 12% return on investment. Other products include the super savings account which gives a monthly return on investment of 3% with charges only when you withdraw. A financially prudent person is informed about the existing products and all it takes is a little bit more research by contacting your bankers and reading various literatures available at most bank outlets.

The best way to increase your savings is automatic transfers which can be done by instructing the bankers to create standing orders to the investment accounts. There is never a small amount to start with when it comes to savings. I remember one individual telling me that he started with UGX50, 000 the equivalent of USD40.00 for twelve months; his bank balance was bigger at the end of the period by UGX600, 000! Indeed small wins and discipline lead to big wins!

When you start out like this there are a lot of lessons to be learnt. First you are developing a culture that never existed at all “the culture of savings!” and two you are growing your wealth!

And finally, I can still indulge myself irrespective of the economic crisis. All I have to do is look for ways to cut down on major spending whereas maintaining a favourable and sustainable lifestyle.

Good morning daddy,

Good morning Bella,

How was your sleep?

My sleep was fine!

What did you dream about?

Mummy and Daddy

Did you talk to Jesus?

Yes, and he said he would buy you a good house and a good car!

We have been having this interaction since she started talking. And at 31/2 years now she knows dads dreams. Although she can’t quite comprehend them she “understands” his frustration sometimes.

Isn’t this what most of us undergo most of the time? Thinking when will I complete the unfinished structure or when will I start at all? The pressure that comes with the growing children and the peers! There is no time like now to start on the road to financial freedom through improved savings and reduced domestic spending.

Every crisis is a blessing in disguise as spending reduces a new discipline is learned with continuous spells of low incomes. Alternatives need to be sought to finance those unfinished projects without necessary increasing debt. The corporate world pronounces that better policies and lower costs can almost guarantee you a healthy and successful entity.

But isn’t also true to our personal finances? Small wins and discipline equals to big wins which is the theme of this blog! Effective management of personal finances begins with understanding debt. 

Anything that provides long-term value or the repayment matches the useful life of the asset.  It is likely that we have debt in the form of salary loans, auto loans or a mortgage. Effective management of finances requires that we know where our money is going and making deliberate decisions about how it should be spent.

When you keep track of your money you minimize the risks associated with the debt problem.  This requires that you use a budget. However, the question that occasionally pops up in peoples minds especially here in
Uganda is whether really to take up a loan. And for what purpose the loan should be for?

With the increased cost of money and the supposedly stringent application procedures many potential applicants have been discouraged away from financial products. The fact is we can’t do without these products especially for the financially literate persons.

Completing a home requires large sums of money which are not readily available considering that our incomes are lower compared to the region averages. So the catch here is really what is the purpose of applying for a particular financial product as opposed to other products?

Knowing that in most cases assets are financed by liabilities is the beginning for those starting out for their search. An additional consideration should be the long term value provided as a result. So what loan product is the best? That depends on the individual and in which bracket of the “food chain” they belong!

My daughter prays for a car and a good house every day and has been doing so for the last 2 years! What is my priority here? You guess is as good as mine!

Adapted from the secret scrolls message from Rhonda Byrne Creator of “The Secret”

In the moment that I discovered The Secret I realized that I had been living my entire life backwards. If things were good in my life, I was happy. If things were difficult in my life and everything was going wrong, I was stressed and miserable. In my ignorance, I had been misusing the law of attraction all of my life. But all of that changed when I had the knowledge of The Secret.

To live in accordance with The Secret and the most powerful law in the Universe, we must be in Joy first - and then everything will change. To live our lives by emotionally reacting to what is happening outside of us is misusing the law! As we react with negative emotion to any difficulties, we attract more negativity into our lives. We cannot defy the law of attraction, which operates on the most microscopic levels of vibration, and with absolute exactitude.

You must be in Joy first. And then your life will change into Joy.

Difficult times are the greatest opportunities in disguise. When we face difficult times we have to put in determined work to get ourselves into Joy. But let me tell you, when you can get yourself into Joy despite what is happening around you, your life must change - it’s the law!

In addition, as you become Joy in difficult times you are becoming the master of your emotions, the master of your life, and the master of the law of attraction. Difficult times are your greatest opportunity to practice yourself into Joy.

Of course if your life is going along swimmingly then it is very easy to be in Joy. During those times your Joy is most likely a reaction to the good times. But the magnificence and the power that you really have within you will be seen when you can be in Joy during difficult times. It is then that you will see the true power that you have within you, because as you hold to Joy, you will shift all the energies of the Universe, and your life and your world will change.

The cause of everything is within you, and the effect is what you experience in your life. You have the power within you to change everything by putting yourself in Joy. You can change everything so easily by becoming Joy first! And nothing can change until you get yourself in Joy, because that is the law of attraction. Like attracts like! The energy of Joy attracts energy of Joy!

Do whatever it takes to find your Joy, and then keep yourself in it no matter what. Keep ramping up your level of Joy every day. There is no limit to the levels of Joy you can reach. You will see change to the degree of Joy that you can attain and maintain. The higher the Joy you can create within you, the more spectacular the change, and the higher the Joy, the faster the change. Once you get yourself in Joy it is easy to maintain it, because your emanation of Joy attracts more Joy. The law of attraction will continually send you more feelings of Joy.

You cannot criticize or blame or complain when you are in Joy. You cannot be afraid when you are in Joy. You cannot speak negatively when you are in Joy. You cannot harm another when you are in Joy. Negativity cannot reach you when you are in Joy.

When you are in Joy you are compassionate. When you are in Joy you are considerate and caring. When you are in Joy you love others. When you are in Joy you appreciate everything. When you are in Joy you are in love with the world, and the Universe is in love with you.

Be in Joy. Seek it with all of your heart, and you will find it.

May the Joy be with you,

Rhonda Byrne
The Secret… bringing Joy to billions