31 fun ways to save money!

Here is a list of 31 fun ways to save money! Pick one or two which resonates with your value system and start to action it. If some ideas repulse you then maybe you are not yet ready to begin your journey to financial freedom!

1. Pack your lunch to work! Most Indians do this and they are wealthier than many of us. Lunch around Kampala will cost you 10 to 15k. That adds up to about 300k a month or 3.6m per year. In 10 years that adds up to 36m!
2. Ditch your car and use Uber and Safe Boda. You can easily spend 100k per week on fuel commuting to work. That is 400k per month. Add on another 150k in service per month and your car easily costs you 550k per month. If you add insurance and car loan payments this amount grows crazy. Within 10 years you can easily spend UGX 66m on your car! I wonder why some people are allergic to using bodas. How will they see me syndrome at play!
3. Rent a cheaper apartment. It is pointless staying in a high end apartment when you are broke. Downgrade my brother and you will have peace. After all when you are asleep you hardly notice your fancy apartment. Sleep is sleep!
4. Install Solar for water heating and lighting. It will reduce your Yaka bill in the long run.
5. Use energy saving LED bulbs. Your Yaka meter will stop beeping all the time.
6. Shop from Owino. I know very smart guyz who do their shopping from Owino. You can’t know where they bought their clothes from. No need buying expensive designer stuff to impress your fellow broke friends.
7. Bulk purchase from Kikuubo. I know a colleague who does one bulk purchase for all essential home commodities in January for the whole year. The savings and peace of mind knowing you are covered for the whole year are immense.
8. Grow your own food. I know someone who has a garden in the village and every weekend they send food on the bus to Kampala. Dude does not buy tomatoes from Shoprite. Who buys tomatoes from Shoprite anyway. Pretenders just.
9. Home school. I know a friend who decided to home school all his children. As the rest of us are borrowing money from money lenders to pay school fees the guy is just chilling and smiling all the way to the bank.
10. Take the kids to a cheap school. Why suffer in Kampala Parents when Nakasero Primary is down the road. Don’t sell all your clan land to educate your children. The things they are learning now will not be relevant in 20 years.
11. Drink less alcohol. Alcohol destroys your liver and gives you a pot belly. Useless liquid just. There are better ways to kill your liver.
12. Pay off loans. Your loans are killing you. Loans are your enemies. Treat them as such and don’t tolerate them in your life.
13. Sell all stuff you don’t need on Olx. Put the money in a Unit trust and earn interest.
14. Start budgeting. Budgeting is not rocket science. It is basic maths. Stop using the excuse of you are not good at counting things and don’t have time. Come on man!
15. Change your diet. Eat more greens and less meats. It is cheaper and healthier. I wonder when eating beans and posho became a punishment for middle class people!
16. Stop eating out. Local boiled chicken tastes much better than KFC. KFC charges you for the rent in prime locations and all the advertising they have to do to sell their unhealthy food!
17. Break it off with your mistresses. It is ludicrous in such economic times to operate more than one household. Just because your father and grand father had many wives does not mean you should follow suit.
18. Stop hanging out at the mall. Malls are not for recreation. They are carefully designed to lure you in to spend your money. Malls are not your friends.
19. Cancel your credit cards. It is very hard to escape the lure of swiping even when you are broke. Credit cards are addictive! The best way to break an addiction is not to indulge in the first place.
20. Hang out less. Stop hanging out with people who are just chilling and having fun. Join an investment club instead and start discussing productive things. You will save money and broaden your mind as well.
21. Stay closer to work. Your transport bill will reduce. My fuel bill doubled when I moved to Gayaza!
22. Change jobs. Get another job which gives you free lunch and medical insurance.
23. Stop taking sugar. Sugar causes diabetes. Not necessary in your diet.
24. Stop eating bread. Bread will make you fat. Eat g/nuts instead.
25. Don’t buy pampers for the babies. Use washable nappies. We all grew up in nappies! Some of us didn’t use nappies at all!
26. Don’t go to the gym. Install free workout apps on your phone and exercise from home. Few people ever commit to gym subscriptions anyway.
27.
Sell your TV. Most content on TV is useless anyway and teaches your children bad manners. Plus you save on subscription.
28. Buy health insurance. Especially if you have kids, medical bills can punch a hole in your wallet.
29. Insure you car. If you bash someone your troubles will be sorted by the insurance company.
30. Don’t attend wedding meetings. You have no business attending wedding meetings if you are broke! Only give what you can.
31. Don’t pay for a Master’s degree. Get a scholarship. You will hardly use your Masters after-all.

All the money you save from this project should go into a dedicated unit trust account. Challenge yourself to find extra money to save in your life. You will be shocked by the value of your account at the end of the year! You can then use this money to take your family for holiday in Zanzibar in December!