After a long hard week at work, Philip has always met up with the boys for a drink and to watch the match on Friday’s. They would meet at the local pub. It was a small bar just outside Nairobi city right next to Philip’s apartment.
It was very convenient because the bus stop was a 3-minute walk away. Philip was a hard worker and it soon paid off. He was headhunted to be one of the local team leaders at an international firm. They more than doubled his salary which allowed him to finally move out of the cramped apartment he had been sharing.
To save on transport costs he moved closer to the new office which was in a residential area in the city. Public transport was harder to access and the closest bus stop to his office was still 15 minutes away on foot. That’s why it made sense to him to take up the easy “asset” finance facility his employer offered to buy his first car.
Immediately it saved him 45 minutes to an hour of travel time every day. Some of the boys had also moved into the city and so they changed their Friday meeting to a sports bar in Westlands. Not everyone was doing as well as Philip and so he would often pick up the bill.
In his new car, Philip would get to work early and leave as late as he needed to. He was beating every target set for him and that came with bonuses and a steady increase in salary. He started to upgrade his home with the latest gadgets which had always been a dream since the old days in the shared apartment.
When he was promoted to a director in the company his lifestyle simply moved from the sports bar in Westlands to the golf club where he continued to pay for the boys. He moved again and bought a new car to fit his new station.
Philip still feels like there is never enough money because as his income increased his expenses increased to match. The same beer he used to buy for 150 shillings at the local pub is now over 500 shillings at the club. He owns a lot of things but most of them do not put money in his pocket.
He has to work to maintain his lifestyle because he hasn’t spent much effort on building assets that can pay for all his needs. Financial freedom is achieved when you have enough income whether you work or not. Many people are frustrated even when they start earning more because the gap between income and expenses is very close and the fear of not having enough is always looming.
I think it is good to improve your lifestyle but it is important to manage your expenses too. Increase the gap between your income and expenses and put the difference into assets and it will always feel like there is more than enough.