The Akamai Global Money Page

The employment terrain in the last 20 or so years have been marked by changes like divestiture or privatisation (government pulling out of the business of managing businesses); retrenchment or downsizing and early retirement. Employers have also moved to consolidate pay so that instead of multiple allowances the employee gets a consolidated pay. Some stronger organisations still continue to provide health allowance, but usually in the form of health insurance. By taking up the insurance premium the employer gets a more definite cost for the health of its staff and passes the uncertainty on to the insurance provider. While employers have gradually (in some cases) drastically moved away from looking after the welfare of their staff, the employees have not been prepared for this change. It is becoming more common for organisations to employ independent contractors who are responsible for all insurance and tax obligations related to their contracts. The message being communicated by the ch...

The Money Page: Welcome to James Abola's Money Blog

By James Abola Dear Friend In 1996 my employers transferred me from Gulu to Kampala. When I got to Kampala I joined a group of young people who met regularly to pray. Being fresh from Gulu I regularly brought the conflict in northern Uganda as a prayer item but it always met with lukewarm interest. I have thought long and hard about this matter and the only conclusion I can come to is that many people do not know the real picture of what has been going on in northern Uganda for the past 20 years. I have taken the liberty to share with you the little I know about the pain going on in Northern Uganda in the hope that it will encourage you to take positive action to lessen or better still overcome the plight of “those people.” Since Mr Olara Otunnu, the former UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Children opened the debate on a genocidal programme in northern Uganda, many people have jumped into the fray. Olara’s first volley was fired during the November 2004 Sydney Peace Pr...

By James Abola It seems there is a conspiracy among many professions to lock other people out of their fields through the use of jargons and abbreviations. I once attended a meeting in the education sector where everybody was talking in abbreviations which made no sense to me as an outsider. Since I had been brought in as a consultant, I had to swallow my pride and request them to use proper words and not acronyms. The field of finance is not any better either with things like Repos, buy, sell, options having meanings that by pass non financial mortals. The trend in most economies now is for individuals to take personal charge of their investments including retirement planning. This makes it more vital to know what is meant when the ‘financial types’ get talking and selling to you products. I have come to learn over time that interest rate can mean many things and should not be taken at face value. When looking at interest rate many aspects need to be taken into account: what time peri...

By James Abola Two men were asked to explain how the world came into being. One answered, the universe is a result of a major event termed the “big bang”, which made random matter to become organised as we see in nature and living things. No, interjected the second fellow, the big bang theory doesn’t add up, because if it were true then tell me where did the matter needed for the bang come from? He continued to assert “the universe is the work of a supreme and ever present being, who is responsible for its design and order.” When it comes to the issue of originating a business idea there is a remarkable parallel with the thinking about the origin of the universe. Some people believe that to come up with a good business requires a big bang. The emphasis is usually on promotion and marketing to get customers turned on to the products of the new business. Other people put their money on a creative approach to establishing a business. The essence of the creative approach is a business idea...

By James Abola I am left with about ten years to become a parent with a teenage child. Given the speed at which the past three years have flown, I know ten years is not a very long period to learn the art (if it exists) of successful parenting. I have been learning from parents with older children what values they are passing on to their children so that they grow up to become responsible and successful in life. Most parents would be happy if their teenage children were performing well in school and do not get into trouble with the opposite sex. Parents emphasise the importance of education to their children, the message is if you do not get a good education you will not amount to anything in life. Privately many fathers (mothers are generally more accommodative) would not want their children to go out on a date unattended and place a dusk to dawn curfew during holidays. I am told that if I add to these a few other details like respect to elders and authorities; no tattoos; no outrageo...

By James Abola Does having and implementing a personal financial plan mean going through life with a long face, while donning the proverbial tight belt? The thought of living within one’s means is not entirely palatable. At times it means choosing not engage in debt driven consumption in order to save for the future. One time after talking to a gentleman about developing a personal financial he invited me for lunch. My response that I could not have the lunch because I had carried my food from home did not rub him well. He turned to me and said “James people like you who carry chapatti from home for lunch are not good for economic growth, how do you expect people whose business is to sell lunch to prosper if their food is not bought?” I found his justification of free spending very interesting. I would love to conduct a survey to find if the many people who spend money as if their pockets or handbags have been hired by De La Rue are actually being that charitable to the economy. A lady...

Hi Welcome to this blog. I am James Abola a financial consultant based in Kampala Uganda. This blog contains some of the thoughts and articles that I share to help people to grow their money and businesses. You can also read my articles in the Sunday Monitor on the Money Matters page - www.monitor.co.ug . If you need my services send me a line on jhabola@yahoo.com Have a great reading