Therapy session or something like that ...

I know. I know. The title is most probably awkward right? Well, I woke up today with a hankering to write about emotional wellbeing. My mind ran to 2017 - 2018. These were one of those years and a half. It was like after the 365 days, about 183 others were added. I was struggling with depression and somehow NF, an American Christian hip hop artist’s album, Therapy Session became my bear. I’d snuggle against her till my emotional bank ran bankrupt so I’d sleep off and wake up with a refill that would somehow run out by the end of each day. It also did not help that series were an addiction then. So imagine mulling over Netflix’s ‘You’ and ’13 Reasons Why’. Why wouldn’t darkness creep under your door and infiltrate all the spaces round about you?

It is unfair for me to burden you with tales of depression when I came to spread love and light. That’s what we need in “unusual” times like these when there are so many casualties of war being wheeled away as we soldier on in this war of Corona.

NTV Uganda, posted an opinion poll today about what people are doing to safeguard their mental health in the lockdown. What caught my eye was “Am already depressed I cannot do anything!” There were positive responses like listening to music, taking casual walks and spending more time with nature. The former is a reflection of what quite a number of people are feeling. There does not seem to be much to do about the endless pits in our stomachs after receiving bad news or counting the death tolls. I cannot dictate how anyone deals with their mental health because life hits us differently and each of us has different coping abilities. What we, however cannot lay aside is that facts have to be faced. Trajan (2021) states it as quieting the loud voice of denial [the word ‘quieting’ sounds so wrong but Google said it’s correct so who am I to argue?]. Where was I? Escapism feels so good in the moment, I cannot even deny that. Somehow you sweep things under the carpet then smile with the sun about what a beautiful day it is. However, it is a matter of time before the carpet is ruffled and you have to deal with the baggage. So face it. Face it head on that the season is tough, the lockdown is dreadful, that the relationship is slipping out of your hands and it is heart wrenching. This will make it easier to seek for help rather than when denial is screaming at the top of her voice.

Something else to help us with our emotional wellbeing is venting. What do I mean? Emotions demand to be felt. Find healthy ways to pay respect to their ‘human rights’. I mentioned that I struggled with depression and instead of venting, I found more junk to feed on. I now know that an exercise routine would have helped, writing like I am now, fellowshipping, talking to someone about it, not to mention screaming. Yes, you got it right. Screaming. There is a liberty in unboxing pent up emotions. It’s a bit extra but do whatever it takes to clean out your emotions closet.

Now that the junk has been trashed, the empty closet needs replenishing. Emotional wellbeing is attainable. The dreary news bulletins and ‘RIPs’ on Twitter should not weigh you down. As a Christian, I know that the friends will come and go, the dream trip to the Eiffel tower, the money, clothes name it, are all fickle. Only the peace that Christ gives can stand the test of time. I’ll leave you with this encouragement, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27. So what things are you doing for your emotional wellbeing?

WHY PERSONAL FINANCE?

 According to Wikipedia, “Personal finance is the financial management which an individual or a family unit performs to budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future life events.”

When seeking financial freedom, personal finance plays a significant role. Therefore, having the necessary personal finance skills will help you to ensure all your money is managed well. This will help propel you to a bright financial future.

"Your level of understanding around the fundamentals of budgeting, saving, debt and investing will impact every part of your life and can mean the difference between prosperity or poverty.

Why bother with personal finance?

1 - Money touches everything. 

Whether it's where we eat, what we buy, traveling, going out with friends or negotiating prices, every day we are faced with financial decisions. Even the causes that are of so much value to us such as charity, religious beliefs, environmental sustainability etc all embody a component of finances so we cannot get away from discussing the topic. A significant portion of the population especially young adults lack the experience and education to make these decisions - big or small.

2 - Lack of financial knowledge has painful consequences

Finances are understandably one of the major causes of stress for adults. Everyone can relate to this stress; even the wealthiest people have felt financial pains at one time or another. Debt and/or a lack of savings can cause considerable hardship on a person’s life.

Broad components of personal finance;

The definition above covers all the core principals in personal finance and to better understand it I am going to break it down  into the different components so that you understand why it is so important and why personal finance basics should be a basic need for everyone.

A) Budgeting;

Budgeting teaches awareness and responsibility. It's all about actualising personal financial objectives whether it is adequate savings for short-terms financial demands, retirement planning, savings for kid’s education, etc. It completely relies on one’s income, expenditures, living expenses and requirements, essential demands, the individual targets along with the decisions made for meeting these targets within financial confinements. 

B) Saving and spending financial resources: 

These two are intertwined that if one is not well managed it steals from the other. Determining the appropriate split is tough for many people but if you are out of control with your spending, you could end up in a situation with serious financial problems with a lot of insecurity. 

Spending your entire income (or the biggest part of it) is quite negative for you because you won’t have money aside to cover for unexpected expenses or unforeseen activities or investment opportunities.

The worst case is if you start to accumulate debt because of your spending habits. Then you have a serious problem that needs to be addressed with a strict budget but also personal support.

C) Financial risks: 

Research clearly shows the biggest investment risk actually lies with the investor – their knowledge, their experience and their mindset. Many financial advisors agree that personal finance is 20% knowledge and 80% behaviour so to manage risks (which is a given in life), an individual has to ensure they have the correct balance of these two aligned with their ambitions in life.

This is a brief overview of this very broad topic, over time we are going to thoroughly review it so that we get fully equipped on what this important topic entails and why this knowledge is a must have.