Every end of a certain period, either a quarter, a semester or year, countries, institutions or companies take time to review their performance, their financial position in order to take informed decisions for the future aimed at improving, innovating and achieving bigger targets. This practice should also be done to the individual level. As the year ends everyone should take a break to assess, evaluate, and take decision for the future on his/her health, wealth, family and social relationships, etc. Where am I? Where should I be? What to do for me to be where I aspire to be? Now is the time! I will not discuss a lot on health, but as per medical advice we should have a time for health check-ups. Families should be discussing how everything went on with husband/wife, children, parents, siblings and how we faired in our social relationships with friends as well as how we gave back to the society. In this article, I would like to focus on personal or household wealth. A question we should all ask ourselves: “As it is the end of the year how is your balance sheet?” Is it positive or negative? I recently posted that question on my social media handles and several people asked me a lot of questions on the balance sheet. In finance, a balance sheet is a statement of the financial position of a business that lists the assets, liabilities, and owner’s equity at a particular point in time. In other words, the balance sheet illustrates your business’s net worth. The balance sheet may also have details from previous years so you can do a back-to-back comparison of two consecutive years. This data will help you track your performance and will identify ways to build up your finances and see where you need to improve. At the individual level also, everyone should try to look at their assets, the source of these assets, and the earnings or reserves one gets. There should be resources that are put aside for use in special time of need (reserve). One should have some money reserves which help to invest, face future unplanned circumstances and improve our wealth. We commonly call such reserves savings! Saving is a question everyone asks, how can I be able to save? For those who are earning a monthly salary, they will tell you that their expenditures are always beyond their income and this is true in economics. As income augments expenditures increase, and as such, there will no saving or reserve! So how to be able to get reserve or savings? It is a big question! My advice to this question are simple. All begins with everyone’s targets “vision and objectives”. This is what pushes us to make sacrifices in order to achieve our targets. Saving should not be considered in terms of big amounts to be saved! One can start small and add on progressively. The first secret is to start. Pay yourself first, and every time/month take a portion of your income and put it aside as your own before you pay other expenditures. I often tell people that just as we can’t lack money to contribute to others people events, such as weddings, we should find money to contribute for ourselves too. We need to review our expenses for ‘chilling’; events, alcohol/tobacco consumption, hair salons, clothing, and assess how to reduce and eliminate what is not urgent, important or a priority. As Rwandans who aspire to the self-reliance spirit (kwigira), we have to evaluate ourselves every time at the individual level as it is done on national and organizational level. As the country is developing the life expectancy increases thus we have to think for the future. The Government has put in place different avenues to help and facilitate people to save and invest such as the long term saving scheme (Ejo Heza), RNIT ITERAMBERE FUND where everyone one can invest at their ease, either monthly by putting a standing order to their bank to transfer money to the Fund or with the employer for savings to be transferred directly from their salary before pay. Those who do not get regular income can deposit or transfer a lumpsum amount anytime. The end of year should not be only the occasion for celebration but also for self evaluation, planning, taking and implementing new resolutions. Wishing you a very happy festive season and a Prosperous New Year! “As it is the end of the year how is your balance sheet?” The writer is the Chief Operations Officer of Rwanda National Investment Trust Ltd
