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. Organizers 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.
The majority of people who earn monthly or weekly have one thing in common — spend all of it when it comes in. That is why businesses target end of month or week to organize stuff that people are willing to spend on. Start of month is also targeted because some organizations pay late in the month that money is credited on accounts in the first week.
Usually by mid-month, pockets are dry and that is why businesses targeting salaries avoid organizing stuff at that time. Some organizations realizing 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 how they will survive throughout the month.
When you see people enjoying life in urban centers 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 colorful event hosted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Bank of Uganda.
The idea is to make people in Uganda, regardless of how they earn or live or even 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 to nurture 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, they will never be a time when they earn enough because usually, people adjust their behaviours as fast as incomes increase. Many times, increased expenses aren’t necessarily on priorities rather on lifestyles.
Young people have what they call Yolo, which stands for 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 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 be able to 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 the 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
