It is still possible to make it in life

Raised in a family of 12, our parents believed in hard work and planning for short and long-term investments. Being a big family of seven girls and five boys, they bought land that was well-utilised to survive the economic times.

At the end of every year, we met to review family performance, make financial plans and discuss projects that would be accomplished in years to come. We worked as a team in growing food crops and each of us was expected to add value to the family’s well-being.

From that experience, I learnt that a family is more of an entity. Without proper planning and a culture of involving spouse and children to work and manage finances, a family is bound to fail.
Our parents used available resources to manage family responsibilities. We reared cattle and the milk proceeds catered for house expenses such as feeding, toiletries, laundry and medical bills.
Besides growing food crops, we invested in tea plantations, eucalyptus and pine trees for long-term. This involved a lot of input of manure and fertilisers especially for the tea plantations.

Planning
You need to plan for old age through investments that can sustain you and your immediate family no matter the challenges or responsibilities you are having now.
Good financial skills require accountability. But this is something you need to inculcate from an early age. Our parents taught us how to be accountable for our actions and money. We started making our shopping lists at a tender age and dad tasked each one to defend their items and amounts. We were also required to mention three major things we had done to deserve the money.

Although I did not like it then, I’m proud to have been raised that way.
My mother, a teacher by profession, relentlessly taught us while my father, a social development worker, wanted to solve a problem in society.
Being formally employed should not limit us to push our nets for big fish. More so, diversifying investment is very important to breakeven in economic hardships.

What strategies have you laid down to sustain you and your family in this economy? Are you thinking of investing more or you are spending all you have hoping that the future will take care of itself?
Asset
Your brain is your greatest asset. God designed us in away that we have to think, plan, imagine and innovate.

I have failed many times but I have not given up. Why? I take failure as an opportunity to learn and plan smarter to soar to great heights.
It is possible to make it in life if we change our attitudes from thinking ‘It is too hard, I can’t do it,’ or ‘it is too late or too early.’ Now is the time to do something that will have a good impact in your life, family and society.

My family background could have contributed a foundation to my education and upbringing but I have to build the walls myself because I have a destiny to fulfill and so do you.
Consider where you are and where you have come from as a foundation.
Many times we have to figure out where we want to be after five, ten, twenty or even 30 years from now.

Experience
While in S.6 vacation, I identified a need of supplying mandazi in one of the secondary schools where my young sister Christine was studying. I made a budget of what was needed to start and shared it with my late dad. I requested him to lend me Shs150,000 which he did.

That is how I started making and distributing 200 mandanzi daily at the school. Since each cost Shs200, I made a daily sale of Shs40,000. I also religiously saved Shs10,000 daily, money that later inspired me to open up a bank account in Stanbic Bank.

My savings over three months had accumulated to Shs600,000 after paying off the starting capital of Shs150,000. I was able to cater for my pocket money for the first semester at university and my parents were relieved.

In life, we all have chances. But how well do we utilise them? There comes a time in everyone’s life where we feel stuck. Perhaps you are feeling stuck because you need to make a change in your life, chase your passion or move away from situations that no longer bring you happiness.

SUCCESS TIPS
Have a defined purpose in life. Most self-made millionaires pursued some major purpose in life - a dream or vision they were chasing. They built goals around their dreams and never quit.
Create multiple streams of income. 65 per cent of the millionaires have at least three streams of income. This creates a hedge against failure and poverty. When one stream suffers, the others come to the rescue.

Save money. Most rich people save 20 per cent or more of their income. They began saving long before they became rich. They used their savings to make more money by taking certain calculated risks.
Stick to a budget. One of my favorite subjects: budgeting. It’s not a four-letter word. How can you know where your money is going if you don’t budget? How can you set spending and saving goals if you don’t know where your money is going?

Ms Annet Katusiime is a certified trainer in financial literacy.