My Ugandan Story: Five Tips for Achieving Financial Freedom

By Patsy Mugabi

Money & Creativity Coach

Uganda celebrated 58 years of independence earlier on in the month and I have been trying to envision myself at 58. I would hopefully have retired and maybe that can help you form the image or help us tell a better story.

When I think about our finances this independence season, I think majorly in line with financial freedom. I’m thinking about what other small tidbits I can do to help me be better by the time I’m turning 58 or things that can help you and I achieve financial freedom better.

Here are my five tips for achieving financial freedom:

Automate your savings or money systems. To make my money work for me, I must automate my savings or money systems. The only way to do this is to have a standing order with the bank or if I’m saving with an investment club, I put that money aside and have someone hold me accountable like to make it automatic. But for any sum of money that comes in, I’m able to put it aside towards a particular cause.

Pay yourself first on whatever income that hits your account/ your wallet. (This point is closely related to point one.)  Am I able to pay myself something to motivate myself to make more money?

Solve more problems. This is something I learned from Moses Mukisa in his book`Straightforward Financial Growth.’ What problems are around you that you can start tapping into and turn what you already know into another system or income stream? I feel like as Uganda we are still grappling with quite a number of problems that can be improved. So I cannot implore us enough as a people to have more fun with our finances.

Think of a budget as a tool that helps you achieve that financial freedom rather than a tool that restricts you from spending your money. And there’s a budgeting technique that I always refer to when it comes to this, called passion budgeting that helps you plan or spend better especially after your disposable income. 

Disposable income is the income that you have after you`ve paid for all your necessities. That’s why I would implore us as a people to try the passion budgeting technique. I have already shared how it works at length on my YouTube channel where I try to break it down from a Ugandan perspective.

Invest in yourself because you can afford it by reading blogs like this or signing up for a class that you really wanted to attend, listening to that live podcast, engaging with a coach if need be.  Invest in yourself because you can afford it.

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Mugabi Patsy is a Personal Finance Blogger & Femme Money Moves Ambassador. A powerhouse dedicated to empowering millennials in achieving their financial freedom by slaying bad debt and making their money meet purpose through budgeting, saving, and investing systems. She currently runs a blog and a Youtube channel which avails life-changing financial education for the millennials across her social media.