It’s very easy to avoid financial advisory tips especially in Kenya but when you make repeated mistakes which drag you into a deep mess, that’s when you realize that you need to know more about how to manage your finances in the best way possible. While some of the companies would ask for money before they help you with tips on how to manage your finances, there are a couple of tips you’ll get online which are extremely helpful.
Based on my personal experience, here is how I manage my money, the reason I have managed to achieve my lifetime targets in time.
- Audit your friends
Before you clock age 30, there is a possibility that you accept anyone to be your friend, but it reaches a time you realize that most friends are not of any help. Successful people have few friends who they can count on.
What I have discovered over time is that most people who pretend to be my friends are opportunists, they are only there when I am doing well and absolutely absent when my life is on downward trend.
The moment you realize that your social status has improved, ensure you change your friends. Some friends won’t feel happy that you are growing, others will do everything to ensure that you fail. If possible, relocate to an estate where your social class is.
- Start saving the time you secure your first job
Never wait until you get old then you start saving, start saving immediately you get your first salary.
One big mistake Kenyans make is that they always believe that there will be an appropriate time to save in future, hence spend all their income on girls, alcohol and other luxuries which do not add value to their lives.
Even if your monthly pay is less than Ksh 30,000, saving as little as Ksh 1,000 will greatly shape your future as the money will be enough in the long run for investment.
- Drop life destructive habits
Life destructive habits include, taking too much alcohol, having many girlfriends, living beyond your means and having unnecessary trips. Remember that when you have more than one girlfriend, it would be hard to save because each of them would be demanding for her share.
If you eliminate alcohol and maintain only one girlfriend/wife, you’ll have enough money to save.
- Spend less than a quarter of your salary on rent
If you have not build your house, make sure that the rent you pay is not more than a quarter of your salary. If your monthly pay is Ksh 50,000, look for a house that goes for Ksh 8,000 to Ksh12,000. I am pretty sure that if you live in a Ksh 20,000 house, you won’t save anything.
- Always have a side hustle
No matter how involving your full time job is, please make sure that you have a side hustle. A side hustle will greatly boost your income. Many people who run side hustles have always found themselves progressing in life faster than those who solely depend on employment.
Even if your job is permanent and pensionable, always ask yourself, “what if I am fired?!!” A side hustle will always give something to fall back to whenever things go wrong at work.
- Live below your means
Many people would rather live beyond their means to please their friends and family members than live within their means to make advancements in life. Financial literacy dictates that when someone lives within their means, there are opportunities for growth.
Even if you live to please people, nobody will appreciate you in the long run.
- Don’t be too generous
If you look around, you’ll realize that rich people are stingy. When you don’t give, you remain with everything but when you give, everyone will take advantage of your generosity and at the end of the day, your life will remain stagnant.
Don’t be the one to carry everyone in the family on your shoulders. Help a few family members and leave the rest to fend for themselves.
- Better buy land than a car
A car is something that depreciates with time while land appreciates progressively. Buying a car is like having a baby who will drain you financially. It’s better to use a matatu and own something that appreciates than enjoy the luxury of a car that you will dump in future. Land may not help you at the moment but it will surely be of great help in future. Land bought for Ksh500,000 today will cost Ksh 2 million in three years’ time.
- Don’t get more than 2 children if you aren’t rich
The more children you get, the more you spend for the upkeep. If you aren’t rich, get less than three children. Add another child when you become rich. The cost of taking care of one child to age 18 is Ksh 5 million. If you have three children, then it means you will spend over Ksh15 million in 18 years. Assuming your monthly salary is Ksh100,000, it means in 18 years, you’ll only save less than Ksh 3 million. But if you have two children, you can save in excess of Ksh5 million.
- Marry the right person
A woman can build or destroy a man. Ensure that you marry an intelligent woman, someone who comes to build you. During dating, monitor her character, learn whether she has solid financial knowledge. If her only interest is to drain you financially, that is not the right woman to marry.
- Avoid loans
Loans, especially mobile loans will not give you a chance to develop financially. If you aren’t taking a loan to build a home or for business that will grow the finances, don’t dare take a loan. Human beings are created in such a way that when they do something repeatedly, they become addicted and eventually slaves. Mobile loans are the worst because they will make you a slave. It’s good to refrain yourself from taking mobile loans.
- Save before you spend
There is a common habit among employees, they pay bills and spend before thinking on how to save. The reverse is true for successful people. Saving before spending will ensure that you make baby steps which eventually determine how far you will develop financially in the long run.