Congratulations on becoming Kenya’s Fourth President. I know you have a major task ahead of you and many people are probably trying to get your attention at this point in time. Also moving into State House must be a daunting enough task as it is. I hope the previous President did leave it in good enough condition with nice curtains and all. Anyway I know you have an economy to run, people to appoint to various positions etc but I do hope you will have time to read my letter and as you propel the country forward as you have promised, do take time once in a while to refer back to my simple requests.
I don’t understand very complex things but I do know about my income and my expenses. My expenses always seem to be growing faster than my income. Like now I am paying more for fuel than I was two weeks ago. I would really like for you to create opportunities for me to keep growing my income. When I elected you, you said you would create more jobs. That means there are opportunities for me to work in companies that would pay me enough to earn a decent living. And for that to happen to me it means that the company that I work for is also growing and opportunities are being opened up for my employer to access new markets. I’m not supposed to say this but I came across a memo stating that they might retrench or reduce salaries if costs of certain inputs like electricity are not reduced. I firmly believe though, based on what you said, that making sure our local companies remain competitive is key to your agenda. I would really hate it if Kenyan consumers had to opt for the cheaper quality Chinese product and have to keep replacing them. Please keep my employer and other employers in business. Our product is really of a high quality if I may say so myself. Also I may not want to only depend on my salary. I would like to be able to start a small business that can earn some additional income and if what you have been saying is true, then it is actually these types of business that will actually start to create these jobs that you are talking about. Please do help us learn how to grow businesses as well as access the right type of credit. Funny enough I just figured that if my personal income is growing that means my employer is paying taxes, my small business is paying taxes and that means the country’s income should be growing as well – right?
I did a personal financial planning course and I was told to “live within my means” i.e. meaning income should be less than expenses”. I’m really trying hard to keep doing that hence why I am really looking forward to the opportunities you will create for me to have more money in my wallet and to invest. Now, I hope you are also going to do the same thing with my country’s budget. Your overheads do look a tad bit high, leaving very little going into investment (or what you call development), which would actually help generate more income. Now, look at me repeating verbatim what I was told in a financial planning course! It’s just that I figured the principles are the same. I know you have various commissions to establish costs and all but if I were you, I would really take a hard look at staff costs the same way my employer is doing. I really don’t expect to earn what someone else is earning in the same job in a similar company that has 10 times the revenue. Maybe you should apply the same principle to your staff costs. Remind me again why are our parliamentarians are earning more than those in Germany? You see my point here? We were taught in the course that extra funds you free up from cutting expenses can go into reducing your debt faster or investing in things that will grow and give a return over and above the cost of the debt. That’s “Good Debt”. But when you use debt for consumption it’s “Bad Debt”. I really hate the thought of my 2 year old being in debt that is not working for him. Because I voted you, I know you are thinking this way. Also if the country’s expenses are managed well it means you won’t borrow so much and interest rates will stay low. That means I can service my debt well, get good credit to invest in the right places, grow my business and even afford to take a mortgage to buy a house. The future with you does look very promising. I’m not quite sure how some of the promises you made will be funded but just remember that as the working population we are taxed enough as it is. I have no polite way of putting this so with regard to taxes I’m just going to say – don’t go there. If you help me make more, my employer make more, my business make more and employ more people- you will get more. Let’s agree to work on that principle.
So glad you took the time to read this. Stay focused. Campaigns are over (I know you are human and may have gotten carried away to get your foot in the door) but from now on just say what you will do and actually do it. I look forward to meeting you sometime and updating you on how my personal financial situation has progressed in your government. Also smile when you speak sometimes. It would be really good to know you are enjoying your job!.
Waceke Nduati
Waceke runs a program on personal financial management. Find her at waceke@centonomy.com| twitter @centonomy| www.facebook/centonomy
Question and Answer
I am 23 years, a recent graduate, and working at the moment. I started to do a side hustle and the business was good. I stopped when I got the job. I want to be an entrepreneur in future but am wondering whether I should stop working or continue with the business?
Try continuing with the business while working even on a smaller scale like on weekends or your free time in the evenings. You are young without family obligations at the moment hence you probably have a lot of time on your hands after working hours. When you do this you will be able to evaluate whether it makes sense for you to go into it full time. You don’t have to leave your job to start the business. You can make that decision based on performance of the business.
Hi my name is James and your article in the Saturday nation on “Creating Income” really inspired me a lot. I earn 15k but the problem is that I don’t know how to save. I wanted to take a loan from the Sacco to buy two calves and sell them after one year. Is that a good idea?
Firstly you are saving even though you don’t realize it. Your monthly contribution to the SACCO is in fact a saving. Saving is really just figuring out what your monthly expenses are and then deciding what you will put away every month. As with any idea, you need to do research. What are your costs e.g. purchasing the calves, feeding and maintaining them in the course of the year. Where will you keep the calves and who will look after them? If you take a loan will you recover the interest you will have paid in that year. List all expenses you will incur, what you expect to sell them for and see if the amount you make is worth it. Also based on your expenses can you afford the monthly deduction? The risk is if you are unable to sell the cows for any reason remember you will have to continue servicing the loan.
Waceke Nduati
Email your questions or comments to Waceke her at waceke@centonomy.com| twitter @centonomy| www.facebook/centonomy