We were in a meeting last week and someone asked me, “what is the ideal income for a typical Kenyan family?” I didn’t answer him but promised to share information in this article.
It’s estimated that 48 % of Kenyans live under a dollar per day. It’s also estimated that a total of 8,900 Kenyans are millionaires. A recent report by Knight Frank revealed that less than 10 humans are worth in excess of Ksh 50 billion. In the same report, less than 2,000 Kenyans are worth upwards of Ksh500 million. The report is a clear demonstration that less than 1% of Kenyans control more than half of Kenya’s net assets.
In Kenya, more than 80% depend on salary. Out of this number, only a few manage to save substantial amount. Income varies depending on location, job title and the company individual works for.The highest paying sectors include NGO,government parastatals and embassies.That aside, here is the best salary for a normal family in Kenya.
When we receive pay,we spend money on shopping,rent,fees ,transport,food and other expenses. In a normal set up,here is how the expenses can be broken down:
Transport=Ksh 5,000
Food=Ksh5,000
Shopping=Ksh 5,000
Rent=Ksh10,000
Other expenses=5,000
In total, a normal family should spend Ksh 30,000
If an individual earns Ksh 100,000,his net pay reduces to Ksh75,000 after tax.If you negate the total expenditure, the net savings would average Ksh 45,000.The Ksh45,000 is the amount a middle income earner in Kenya should save.Ideally,the normal salary/income of an average family should be Ksh100,000.