How To Start Investing with XENO

 #𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗙𝗿𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘆 Series

https://myxeno.com

Why you should follow the 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 & why you should do it with XENO Uganda

@XenoUganda

 

It's only through investment that money can be multiplied/grown. Having your money idle isn't good and cannot be protected against inflation. 

"Consistency and compounding are two powerful ingredients necessary for wealth creation. Few people stick with an investment long enough to experience the compounding effect. Pick an investment that suits your risk profile & fund it relentlessly. What keeps you from doing this?" ~ Cheruiyotkb

https://twitter.com/cheruiyotkb/status/1686778675998474255

Cheruiyo says, What keeps you from doing this? Xeno gives you this opportunity to invest. As you start investing you must be consistent and leverage the power of compounding. 

You can do this with Xeno, a Unit Trust that is licensed by Capital Markets Authority.

𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆

Warren Buffet said, "The first rule of an investment is don't lose (money). And the second rule of an investment is don't forget the first rule. And that's all the rules there are." There are many con investments not licensed by

@CmaUganda

.

Warren Buffet

Xeno Offers You Goal Based Investing 

@XenoUganda

is a goal based CSI that is licensed by Capital Markets Authority(CMA). They do collective investments by pooling resources from people who are willing to start their investment journey with as low as 10k. Dial *165*5*7#

Goals

𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘂𝗽 𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗨𝗦𝗦𝗗 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗽𝗽.

Your risk levels will be assessed as you answer the questions. A Chart comes up showing how your money will be distributed in the different investment parameters.

Investment Strategy

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱?

As seen from the above chat. Money is invested in;

• Regional Equities
• Money Markets
• Bonds
• Domestic Equities

We have been promised more asset classes will come on board.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆.

• Bank Transfer
• Mobile Money
• @mtnug USSD, dial *165*5*7# & follow the prompts (it's quite easy & convenient)
• Agent Banking

More FAQs on the site https://learn.myxeno.com/support/

Money Transfer Options

Once Money Is Transferred

You need to remember you are investing towards a goal which has a time period.

@XenoUganda

has some cool features. - You can autosave - You can lock your withdraws The key is to consistently save/invest and to kill the temptation to pull out.

Automate Savings

Lock withdraws

Another cool feature is for 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Imagine you had those 3 goals or more. Just determine how much goes to whatever goal. This cuts out manually doing it. This is the convenience that comes with investing with

@XenoUganda

Deposit Distribution

Can someone withdraw their money?

Yes. You click the withdraw option and this screen comes. You can withdraw some/all. Since you are investing & you could have emergencies any time. Consider an emergency goal to avoid affecting the compounding effect of the other goals.

Withdraw Money

𝗢𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 @𝗫𝗲𝗻𝗼𝗨𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀  

Features like having a deposit reminder come in handy. This is really cool as we have those days where we slack. You can update your targets & rename your goals. This could be one of the best CSI's serving us through Tech.

Xeno Features

You can 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝘀𝟱𝟬𝟬𝟬 By Inviting Others

Besides investing,

@XenoUganda

gives you the opportunity to earn as you invite others. To join, quote my code XENO84105

Invite and Earn

You Earn Everyday

Tweet about Interest and Compounding

Link to tweet below.

"With XENO compounding is daily (interest earned daily is reinvested). That's how your money grows. We encourage regular saving so that your money is working for you. Deposit at anytime, with @mtnmomoug by dialing *165*5*7#, this is free to your XENO account."

This video guide explains a few things to get you up to speed.

“I want it now!” How The seductive Power of Now Robs Our Finances

Photo by iStrfry , Marcus on Unsplash

By Arthur Moses Opio

In my last article, Don’t talk about money and do nothing about it, I mentioned something at the tail end of the message,

“Somehow we have prayed for so long to break the backbone of poverty, but it continues to loom around us, why? We are not productive, our money is not employed.”

Dear reader, money doesn’t come out of thin air, it doesn’t come because we are good or even knowledgeable. It comes down to two major things we must produce goods and services. 

In one of his tweets, Reno Omokri said, “Go to parties in the poorest parts of almost any country, and you will see people dressed in expensive clothes, wearing jewelry, and snapping photos with iPhones, Though not always the case, people choose poverty by spending foolishly instead of investing wisely”

Someone will say, but I can’t invest, I don’t earn a lot of money, I can’t even save. This comes down to one’s money philosophy. There are three toxic money beliefs Ramit Sethi talks about, one of them is not talking about money, the second is not questioning your financial upbringing and the third is investing is only for rich people. 

So you can see that when it comes to money, a lot more has to do with behavior than it is with figures. It is written in Proverbs 21:20, "The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get."

Seductive Power of Now

Our culture has played a big deal in how we view money. From the time we wake up to the time we go to sleep, money is being spent and not invested. Does this classify us as wise or as fools, I think we know what better to choose. If you asked yourself how much you have spent from the beginning of the year till now, many of you wouldn’t mention and yet a lot of money has passed through your hands. Keeping up with budgets is a hard thing, tracking expenses are equally hard, but the things which are hard to do are the ones that can help us make headway in this money game. 

In his book, how to Secure a financial future, Dr. Sunday Adelaja says that one of the traps of the world system is a culture driven by consumerism. He says that “In this culture, an individual’s value is defined by material symbols. The pressure is tremendous to conform to uniform images of the good life.” He further asserts that the media has played a role in pairing an illusion of the lifestyles of the rich and famous. He then says, “In Africa, cars, clothing, and buildings are important social status symbols. The uniformity of the increasing material desires across continents points to a common driver.”

Adelaja concludes his insight on consumerism by saying, “This trap enslaves, people end up spending their lives, living for food, shelter and clothing. At best they are caught in the bondage of vanities, constantly chasing illusions. They pursue the dreams that they have been fed, to live large, own houses, material things, and have status.”

What has been written above clearly explains the subject of discussion, which is the seductive power of now that’s driven by consumerism.

We have been around people who say, live each day like it were your last. We have seen young people get caught in the web of fear of missing out (FOMO) and all these things have a significant role they play in our money management. 

Yours truly embarked on a weight loss journey. It has taken me sweat, determination, consistency, and willpower to keep going. I cut sugar out of my life, I reduced a lot of consumption of instant foods, and I feel so much better. Denying myself the sweet things has been a hard thing, but it’s the hard things that will always transform us. The lessons from my fitness journey have also had a profound effect on other aspects of my life. I have learned that a keystone habit, once developed, can trigger other areas of your life to get better. I moved from the corner of complaining about my weight and doing something about it to the corner of the action. Instead of consuming, I turned that energy into investing in my family, faith, finances, fitness, and friendships. I used the power of now for gain in things that have improved my life instead of in things that can destroy me.

In his book, the Art of Thinking Clearly, Rolf Dobelli says, “Enjoy each day to the fullest and don’t worry about tomorrow is simply not a smart way to live”. He pauses a question, Would you prefer $1,000 today cash on the table or $1,100 in a month? He says, if you think like most people, you’ll take the $1,000 straight away, but if you hold out for just a month longer, you get $100 more. He further asserts, that, “The introduction of ‘now’ causes us to make inconsistent decisions and this phenomenon is called hyperbolic discounting.” Put plainly he says, “The closer a reward is, the higher our ‘emotional interest rate’ rises and the more we are willing to give up in exchange for it.”

Delayed Gratification Experiment 

Rolf further shared an experiment on delayed gratification (Excerpt from the book the art of Thinking clearly).

In the 60s, a man called Walter Mischel conducted a famous experiment on delayed gratification. In it, a group of four-year-olds were each given a marshmallow. They could either eat straight away or wait a couple of minutes and receive a second. It was amazingly found that very few children could wait. From the experiment, Mischel found that “The capacity for delayed gratification is a reliable indicator of future career success” Rolf then said, “Patience is indeed a virtue.”

Rolf further wrote, “The older we get and the more self-control we build up, the more easily we can delay rewards. Instead of twelve months, we happily wait thirteen to take home an additional $100.” 

You will be tempted with the desire for instant rewards, a little patience, and a little waiting won’t hurt. We shouldn’t let consumerism rob us of the seed that can grow and become a tree that will provide more seed. So let’s have power, let’s have control over our desires for flashy things. If you are to look at where you are and have an inventory of your financial status, your honesty will help you, you will need to sell off some things and invest that money, you will need to downgrade or just live below and within your means. 

As I conclude said Rolf, “The more power we gain over impulses, the better we can avoid the trap of hyperbolic discounting. The less power we have over our impulses, the more susceptible we are.”

Armed with this knowledge, go out and dominate, take charge of your finances, and don’t be a victim of the seductive power of now.

Fireside Chat-Excerpt from Barbra Katende's Insights on World Savings Day Challenge

Fireside Chat Picture from Xeno

By Arthur Moses Opio

Yesterday, October the 31st, 2022, was world savings day.

 

XENO Uganda came up with a fireside chat, talking about savings. Andrew Kyamagero was flanked by Flavia Tumusiime Kabuura and Barbra Katende.

To go straight into some of the key things shared Let me start with this quote.

"A future without savings, you become an outcast in the family. You can't talk. At a funeral, you fetch water. You can't have access to credit. You become a burden to your kids. " —Barbra Katende

Barbra mentioned this to explain the above quote. Without savings, you become a beggar for life. This is so true, especially in a time like this where research shows that after retirement, the people who pick up their NSSF don't have it after two years. 

Uganda's saving culture (terribly low)

In an online article dubbed, "Why Ugandans don't save" by the Daily Monitor, first written on the 5th of November 2018 and updated on the 2nd of January 2021, it was mentioned that our saving rate is 12%. Compared to Kenya (23%), Tanzania (13%), and Rwanda (18%),

According to the article, they said, "Going by the statistics, the saving culture of Ugandans is terribly low."

Having celebrated the world's saving day, the question would be, where are you as an individual?

Ugandans' Lazy-Even a Fool Can Survive

The president of the Republic of Uganda, General Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, while being interviewed on KTN News, said that his compatriots are unwilling or unable to exploit the natural resources in the country. He further asserted, and I quote,

"That’s why these Ugandans are lazy. They are lazy because a fool here cannot easily die. Even if you are a fool, you can survive by eating from your brother’s house. "

Maybe there is some truth in what the President is saying, and many of us here quite know that you can't go hungry. But doesn't that reflect on our savings culture with the 12% savings rate? Many have reasons for not saving, and one of them is that they don't earn enough. Some just have too many excuses about FOMO, YOLO, etc.  

Advice to Young People on Savings

Similarly, Barbra Katende says, "Most of us learn about saving when we have a job and make mistakes when we are young." 

She mentioned that money is not taught in schools, so someone has to learn about it outside of school. She said, "In your S.4 and S.6 vacation, as a student, you should be working. Get experience. She advised students to open savings accounts.

Money and Marriage (It's easy to discuss children, but not money).

In regards to money and marriage, Barbra Katende said, and I quote, "The most difficult subject to talk about in a marriage is finances. You can talk about kids, but it's hard to talk about money."

She was then asked how much couples should contribute.

First, she said, "We should have individual and joint accounts. If I want to do my hair, it is easily done. If the husband wants to watch football, it can happen with ease."

Flavia interjected and commented.

My husband and I decided to open a joint account. I asked, "What's the point of having money if all we're going to do is pay fees?" and we decided to open an account for the child. As a couple, we decided how much to put into the account. My husband and I removed love from money, especially for the money we pull together.

Barbra further asserted this by saying, "I recommend a percentage of the income one earns. E.g., from my salary, "I will contribute 40% of my salary to the joint account." If one earns more, the percentage is more even at 40%.

She concluded by mentioning that not discussing money leads people to problems. Once you agree on percentages, it ceases to be a discussion.

Lying About Money

Andrew Kyamagero asked a question: Why are men scared to talk about finances with women? 

Barbra said, "Men and women lie about money." In giving more light to this point, she said, 

"My brothers said the reason men lie about money is simple; if a man says I have one million Uganda shillings, a woman will say buy land, pay fees, etc., yet he has tires to fix, etc." #SheMoney refers to the money that women lie about. He doesn't know that I have it. If my child falls sick at night, that's the money that will rush the kid to the hospital when my husband says there is no money.

 

Steps to Financial Freedom

A person in the audience asked about the steps to financial freedom. This is what she had to say.

1. Get a job and start earning money. (Live on 50% of your income, the other 50% goes into an investment.)
2. Start to save (pay yourself first). If possible, automate it. Put in a standing order.
3. Start investing (use an institution like @XenoUganda).

Brian Ekajait further added:

1. 4. Seek advice if you don't know how to approach your saving and investment journey. 
2. 5. Be patient with it. It's not an overnight success project.

To conclude the fireside chat, talk, she said,

Don't touch the money for investment; it is money for your future. Set aside money for retirement on the first job or salary you get. Begin planning for retirement. You will retire at 55 and die at 90. It can be joyful or miserable.

Find out more about affordability and raising money-savvy kids from tweets made about the chat via @arthurkmo.

If you are thinking of starting your investment journey today, you can sign up with XENO Uganda @XenoUganda for as little as 10,000 Uganda shillings by dialing *165*5*7#, or by visiting their website myxeno.com to sign up. You can as well use the App. You can refer to my code XENO84105.

 

Happy saving and investment. 

 

Happy World Savings Day.