STOP WORRYING ABOUT THE PAY-DATE WAIT BY WILLIAM LUBUULWA

For Jean Mayende, it wasn’t a lack of savings that led to her living pay-date to pay-date. In fact, the 45-year-old Nabbingo resident had had her National Social Security Fund monthly obligations diligently remitted. However, when she lost a job, she realised her money was out of reach, and she had to resort to very frugal living. 
“We tell people to put money into retirement accounts where they can’t touch easily,” Mayende says, “but we need an emergency fund to carry us through ugly situations.”

Mayende eventually landed a job of marketing agriculture produce and was able to put away some money in an accessible savings account in a bank for a year’s worth of expenses. This was achieved after going through a period of stretching one salary to the next. 
We all have our financial challenges but people end up living pay-date to pay-date for a number of reasons. They could be forced into the situation by events outside their control, or it could be the result of financial choices they make. Either way, it is not an enjoyable way to live. Here is how to get out of the pay cycle and on a comfortable budget.

The first major step one should take is to cut spending. If you have a written budget, and still do not have any extra coin left each month, the rational thing to do would be to reduce expenses. 
Mayende says her period of pay-date to pay-date living was a little more manageable because she already had a history of frugal living upon which to fall back. After graduating from university in debt, she discovered how to survive without much money. Today, she has long serviced her debts, but she is still cautious about her spending. 
“If you can’t pay cash for something, it’s probably not a thing you really need,” she says of most purchases.

Saving a million Shillings a year
For those who are trying frugal living for the first time, here is my submission on ways to save just a million Shillings a year. Perhaps many Ugandans cannot save Shs1m because of their monthly incomes and responsibilities, but the suggestions below can be very helpful.
As you leave home, pack personal lunch rather than eat out in a posh restaurant. I am not talking about fast foods here. Simple packs like chapatti and beans (call it kikomando) can do. It does not hurt to carry drinking water to your workplace instead of buying a bottle or two of mineral water every day.

Eat light and cut down on meaty foods. Although eating a lot of meat can be a sweet thing to both the young and old, it can cause unnecessary discomfort to the daily consumer in terms of health yet it is also costly.
Some people are passionate about laundry and do it almost all the time throughout the week. This wastes a lot of water, soap and personal energy. To save on money spent on water bills, laundry should be done once or twice a week. You should also consider using gas instead of electricity; and always have your cooking done in a short time to save gas or charcoal. But the greatest step to save is to stop impulse shopping - become a critical consumer by ending unplanned shopping.

The above may not seem to amount to a lot of monetary sense, but someone who follows these suggestions continually could save up to a million Shillings per year to begin a modest investment. 
Nonetheless, it is pointless to put in practice all the above money-saving approaches at once to make a positive difference. I would suggest that you go slowly on a new approach after introducing one for some time. Check your weakness, and put a spending limit on the items/areas that greatly consume your would-be savings.

But the best way to jump the pay-date to pay-date wait is to think of innovative ways of growing one’s incoming money. Do whatever it takes to find legal ways of increasing availability of cash in your possession. Although money-making ideas may not be as numerous as cost-cutting alternatives, there are still adequate ways of bringing in more money into your pockets. These ideas might be useful: if your current employer is comfortable with it, get a second or even a third job outside the hours of your present work; ask for a promotion if this is appropriate; or return to college for more practical and relevant skills which could lead to a better-paying appointment. 
Of course, some of the above routes may take time and, going back to school, is very expensive these days. But still, increasing one’s income remains the best approach to breaking the pay-date to pay-date cycle, so long as you stay clear-headed during spending. Little behavioural changes can add up to become enough savings in your bank account.

Handling your money situation
Let me share my experience at a recent editors’ conference. A female colleague confessed to me that she had a budget shortfall every month. She, however, explained that she planned to open a side business to cover the shortage. The fault I had with her, just like with many others, was that she did not believe in having a written budget. 
“Don’t start trying to earn more money until you are able to direct all that you have what to do,” another colleague who had heard us, advised.

In a number of situations, making more money may not even be necessary to address an apparent scarcity. Many people may be having enough money to cover their necessary expenses, but they could be reckless spenders. 
“Sometimes it’s not a money problem,” a third colleague said, “it is always lack of financial discipline.” Indeed, as this friend noted, many people are exceptionally badly behaved in management of personal finances.
Simon Kasirye, a Kampala-based publishing expert and author of ‘Vision 2040: How You Can Prosper as Uganda Prospers’ is very passionate about personal finance management and economic patriotism. He advises that the best way to gain control of your finances is to take advantage of wise counsel and decide how to spend your money. 
He recommends government to take centre stage in sensitising all the youth financially irrespective of their education levels. This, he says, can help them manage their finances and keep them out of the pay-date to pay-date imprisonment.

“Youthful Ugandans should take advantage of our soils and benefit from agriculture. There is a lot to do in agriculture even when you are a salaried employee. There is viable business in agriculture,” Kasirye further advises.
He suggests having a written plan that looks at two or three months into the future, so as not to be caught off guard by impromptu expenses; and not to be a financial prisoner of the pay-date.

Living pay-date to pay-date may be temporary for some people, but many workers live such a distressing life perpetually. Mayende knew she would ultimately earn enough to give her financial relief someday, but it was an endless struggle to meet her personal needs. “Sometimes I couldn’t even buy simple clothes in a flea market,” she remembers. 
While extra income can fix gaps, living pay-date to pay-date has more to do with an individual’s lifestyle than their income. We know that Ugandan MPs earn well over Shillings 15m but some of them constantly battle with financial lawsuits; yet we see many financially sound teachers who make a miserable half a million Shillings per month!