Kampala — Let us conclude last week's discussion. How do I invest in T-bills/bonds? The first step is to carefully plan your investment.

If you're not a financial big-wig (these can afford to comfortably put aside considerable amounts of money without significantly affecting their standard of living) and are probably a salaried earner or small business owner, it is prudent to review your financial state and habits, which will include evaluating your regular/customary expenses like rent, mortgage payment, utilities and your general spending habits.

You can thoughtfully pen these down pegging figures to each item so that you can come up with an estimate of say your monthly expenditure. Investing both at the onset and over time will very often require a shift in spending patterns to make way for this new habit as you channel funds away from your spending basket to your investment basket.

You may require additional help to fortify your decision so a financial/investment advisor would come in handy to help you sort out your finances and perhaps help map out an appropriate investment path.

T-bills/bonds are traded through selected banks that are technically called primary dealers. Generally, the process is initiated by the Central Bank which deals directly with the primary dealers and the rest of us will then transact through these dealers. These instruments will first come onto the market through a competitive bidding process and can subsequently be traded through their entire lifetime.

Ideally, your application involves two forms; A Central Depository System (CDS) form to acquire a CDS account on which your T-bill/bond dealings will be registered and held, then an application form which when completed enables you to carry out buy and/or sell transactions subject to Central Bank approval.

Concrete details on how to go about this process can be availed by your bank or broker. On the other hand, by investing in a unit trust, you leave the technicalities of investing to the expertise of the fund manager whose investment options include these vehicles among others.

bonds traded on the exchange can be accessed through your preferred broker so you can visit a brokerage house to find out how you can tap into these bonds.

Now, you may be asking, is it worth it? The only answer to that is simple; investing is a journey only the foresighted stand to benefit from. Any form of investment has its challenges/risks and as such will not be devoid of moments of uncertainty and even loss however, the possibilities are boundless.

A case in point is the announcement of the Safaricom share allocation that must have dampened the mood particularly among speculative first time investors who hoped for huge kills but are now getting slightly over a quarter of the total application. However these are the challenges/risks one should have been aware of at the onset.

What is more important though are the alternatives available for that refund to go into. Now is the time to survey the market and seek advice on how to best allocate that refund. The 'long haul' perspective to investment has insurmountable benefits even when that may not be the case in the short term.

In other words, your investment today may very well be the difference between a gruesome retirement and an epic blissful life after employment, it may as well be an investment for generations after you but the journey begins today as you make those small investment decisions.

It takes one step at a time and as your confidence grows, you are able to commit more and more and more synonymous with the growth of your risk profile. As you build your investment basket, you are preparing to comfortably give to your spending basket that doesn't generate any revenue

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In summary, T-bills/bonds are an investment vehicle available characterized by extremely low risk and fair return in comparison to a regular savings account, which is often the option that comes to mind first in an attempt to save.

Equity/shares because of the higher risk involved will generally attract a higher return. However the traits of T-bills/bonds make them a safe place to begin and more importantly, a key component to a healthy diversification strategy.