By Denis Jjuuko
If you frequent Kampala or even Uganda’s entertainment places, you will notice a trend. Owners of these places leave no stone unturned in the last week or the first week of the month. That is when they expect bumper sales. Organisers of music concerts, brunches, picnics or whatever fancy name they call them target these two weeks. Mid-month is considered a low season.
If the owners are targeting an informal sector, the weekend, particularly Saturday, is the best one. Saturday is pay day for people who earn weekly wages. People who spend the whole week working get their money on the last working day of the week.
Both people who earn monthly or weekly have one thing in common., spend all of it when it comes in. That is why businesses target the end of the month or week to organise stuff that people are willing to spend on. The start of the month is also targeted because some organisations pay late in the month that money is credited to accounts in the first week.
Usually by mid-month, pockets are dry, and that is why businesses targeting salaries avoid organising stuff at that time. Some organisations, realising the need for their staff to have money and avoid requests for advance payments, pay at least every two weeks. That ensures liquidity for the staff. They can also concentrate on their jobs without worrying about how they will survive throughout the month.
When you see people enjoying life in urban centres at the end of the month, you might think that they have a lot of resources. And then a few weeks or days later, reality sinks in. Yet those are the lucky ones to have a job with regular income. Many people rely on incomes that are irregular from informal employment, making it difficult to plan. An illness, a harsh weather event or loss of income usually plunges the family into financial uncertainties, and it happens quickly. Sometimes, hitherto happy families break down.
This calls for improved financial literacy that is practical so that people can withstand shocks but also be financially responsible. The good news is that there is a plan for it. Last week, I attended the launch of the financial literacy strategy for Uganda at a colourful event hosted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Bank of Uganda.
The idea is to help people in Uganda, regardless of how they earn or live or even their gender, make “informed financial decisions throughout their lives and use available financial products and services safely, responsibly and productively.” This is envisaged to be achieved by equipping “the general public with practical financial knowledge, skills, and nurturing positive financial behaviours through appropriate delivery mechanisms.”
The partners in this journey acknowledge that awareness alone won’t do it. Interventions will have to be practical competencies such as budgeting, saving, responsible borrowing, digital financial safety and enterprise finance. Helping individuals, households and enterprises translate knowledge into positive financial habits and responsible financial decision-making is considered critical.
Of course, improving earnings is important to be able to save. You can’t save what you don’t have. But also, many people claim that they can’t save anything because they aren’t earning enough. For most people, there will never be a time when they earn enough because usually, people adjust their behaviour as fast as their incomes increase. Many times, increased expenses aren’t necessarily on priorities rather on lifestyles.
Young people have what they call Yolo, which means you only live once. But people don’t only live once. They live all the time. They only die once. Yolo is the reason entertainment owners target the last or first week of the month. They know someone for just one weekend and will try to live like a millionaire, whereas they are not. They don’t think of savings. They always say, what if they die. But the question should be, what if they live?
Luckily, unlike in the past, there are now many ways to save. Millions of Ugandans have mobile money accounts. By pressing a certain code on their phones, they can save some money every day while earning some interest on a daily basis. It takes time to grow savings into something tangible for most people. But so are most things in life. Patience is critical.
If you are among the people being targeted by leisure and entertainment places every month-end, you are probably in trouble. You are not saving and investing enough.
The writer is a communications and visibility consultant. djjuuko@gmail.com