Immaculate emmy

27/10/2022

Today's personal finance dilemma in the Saturday Nation reads as follows;

My name is Steve, I’m 33 years old.
I don’t have a car, I don’t have enough money to sustain marriage life and I still struggle to raise Sh7,500 for my bedsitter.
I’ve tried all ways to raise my income, but I haven’t been successful. I’ve tried business, seeking promotion in formal employment, nothing works for me. I’m currently formally employed on a monthly salary of Sh30,000.
Every other time I hang out with my high school friends, they jointly spend on the upwards of Sh45,000 per trip. I feel like I’m a burden to them because I can’t contribute to the bills or fuel to the destinations, which are mostly out of town.
I feel hopeless. I’ve stagnated in life.

My view is as follows;

1. Create a realistic budget
Looking back, I did not quite consider having a budget; after all, I was young and did not have a lot of responsibilities.

Which got me thinking, how many times do we see a nice dress or shoes and buy them immediately? Or when your peers are going for drinks after work every Friday and yet you know you cannot afford it but find yourself spending money you do not have? How about that call you get from home that your church is doing fundraising and they need your contribution?

I am not saying you don’t treat yourself, but on what basis are you making your financial decisions?

What I know is budgeting helped me stay in control and aided in tracking my money. As cliché as it may sound, I found the 50-30-20 rule to be so helpful. I started spending 50% of my income on essential bills, 30% on my financial goals and 20% on other expenses.
However, for this to work, you have to stick to your budget.
2. Save and invest in your future

This is what I learned; savings are crucial, even if your contributions are small. For instance, you can consider saccos and Money Market Funds, for that. Also having an emergency When it comes to your investment, be vigilant and consult people who have been where you are. It is important to also ensure it is something in line with your financial goals. Remember to also invest in yourself. Take that short course, go back to school or go for networking events. At the end of the day, the results are about how strategic you are.
3. Live according to your means

Have you seen auctioneers repossess people’s cars in the middle of the road? This is mostly a result of people who live beyond their means.
Unfortunately, I have seen professionals live beyond their means because they feel like they are falling behind compared to their peers. Eventually, they cave into the pressure and try to live the same even when they cannot afford it.
Sadly, once you start comparing yourself and try to live like your peers because you feel like they are leaving you behind without considering your salary, then you find yourself in unnecessary debt and a bad place financially.

20/10/2022

We are still being told not to criticise the government because it is too young. We need to be informed when the government will be old enough for criticism.

18/10/2022

The goal is to be better than yesterday...keep elevating!

17/10/2022

Food for thought.

Today's personal finance dilemma in the Saturday Nation reads as follows; "I am 27 with a net pay of Sh25,500. How do I own a home by age 35?"

My view is as follows;
********
You shouldn't be obsessed with the idea of owning a home. What you should focus on is to build a diverse portfolio of passive income which will enable you to live comfortably at 35 even without an active source of income.

You are only concerned about owning a house because of income insecurity. If you attain financial security whether or not you own the house you live in is irrelevant.

17/10/2022

Today's personal finance dilemma in the Saturday Nation reads as follows; "I am 27 with a net pay of Sh25,500. How do I own a home by age 35?"

My view is as follows;
********
You shouldn't be obsessed with the idea of owning a home. What you should focus on is to build a diverse portfolio of passive income which will enable you to live comfortably at 35 even without an active source of income.

You are only concerned about owning a house because of income insecurity. If you attain financial security whether or not you own the house you live in is irrelevant.

26/09/2022

07/09/2022

Do you know why sunsets are brighter that sunrises?
Because good things happen during goodbyes.

07/09/2022

One day
You will look back on this time, and all you will see is magic. You will not remember how stuck you felt, or how far behind you thought you were. All you will see is that within your uncertainity, was also your potential. And that within your loneliness, was also an opportunity to be found.
So keep going.
Don't stop.
I promise you, it will be just fine, someday 🙏

02/09/2022

Bank of America is now offering zero down payment and zero closing cost mortgages for first-time Black and Latino homebuyers in a select group of cities.

02/09/2022

Dr finance✅✌
Your salary doesn't automatically increase your net worth, because you're earning it in bits and if you stop working it won't come.
So you're not wealthy because you're earning 200k or one million. You're wealthy because you manage to invest 40% of it every month, and as a result your networth is increasing. After a year of consistently doing this you'll have moved forward in a concrete sense.
The payslip is only a promissory note, that if you work this much we'll pay you this much. If you don't work they won't pay, so you must never relax because of having a payslip or organise your lifestyle around it. You're still living hand to mouth.
A person who earns 100k and lives on 90k wil be surpassed by one who earns 50k and lives on 30k. Net savings matter more than net income. So always cut costs of living. A penny saved is a penny earned.
Never build your dream home using your salary or loans on your salary. It's foolish because you'll be squandering the seed and wasting precious investment years. Instead, you can build a basic home, one focused on starting life rather than luxury and class. Then invest for like 10-20 years
and then use the investment to build your dream home.
If it takes you ten years to build a house, you probably shouldn't have started it, because you couldn't afford it. Children will outgrow it and leave and they'll never live in the rooms you had allocated them.
Finally, someone said a good salary is what they bribe you with to forget your dreams. And a bad salary is what they slap you with to remind you of your dreams. It doesn't mean being employed is bad - not everyone is cut out for entrepreneurship- but that you must always ensure you're pursuing your dreams even as you work. And your dreams should dictate your career decisions, not good pay or lucrative.

02/09/2022