Why don’t you marry a plumber Kellie? —-> The intended headline for this post… Sometime last year, one of my good married (male) friends was doing his kind act of the day; helping me get married. Married friends always do the most to help their single friends get married, bless their hopeless souls. So this friend asked me why I haven’t considered dating a plumber,…
Read More“So, are you a rapporteur by profession? Do you do this full time?” It was 7am in the morning, I had just settled down for a short stopover at Bole Airport (Addis). The plan was to recline and catch up with sleep having left home at 3am to catch an early morning flight to Khartoum for a medical conference. However,the gentleman I just met wanted to…
Read MoreYesterday I suffered a fall while running. This is a big deal for two reasons: I never fall. Seriously, I can’t remember the last time I actually fell. Sliding and landing on my bum while hiking doesn’t count, I am talking about tripping, being suspended in the air for a microsecond before landing on your hands and knees. I just do not fall… Falling (as…
Read MoreA young lady asked me this question within 15 minutes of meeting each other. We were on an excursion, and this blog came up as part of the casual conversation of the thing we each enjoyed doing. She has been part of a SACCO for about 4 years, had borrowed from the SACCO once, and the bank once, was done borrowing and now wanted to…
Read MoreThe last post was about how to start saving. In line with that theme, I’d like us to take this challenge together. The original challenge was by Bank Rate for 2015. The challenge was to save $1 on the first week of the year, and to increase the amount saved by $1 every week, until the 52nd week. The point of the challenge is to set aside change that…
Read MoreIf I could have 1,000 bob every time someone told me this in real life and on social media, I would be an independently wealthy woman. This thought also features on my mind quiet often. How can I save more? Am I saving enough? Could I be saving more than I am? Thinking about saving is one thing, doing something sustainable about it is another matter entirely….
Read MoreOn Friday this week, most businesses with close with accompanying pomp, and business will shut down so people can go for the annual Christmas / New Year break. Unless you are completely anti-holiday, you most probably have plans for the Christmas break. From the very Kenyan plans (holidaying in Mombasa), to the more humble (visiting folks upcountry), you are guaranteed to be spending a bit more than usual…
Read MoreLet me tell you the story of a toy. In August 2013, when my daughter was about one and a half years old, I had to travel to South Africa for a week for work, followed by another 2 weeks when I wouldn’t be able to see her because my mom insisted that she stays with her in Meru for an additional 2 weeks. It…
Read MoreWhat are your work and life goals? Are you working today, to save up x amount of money, then you will retire to either do what you love, or to rest in old age? Most of us are. We defer rest and happiness, suck it up in jobs we hate that are aging us, all for the hope that one day, we will have enough…
Read MoreBarbara Ehrenreich attempts to crack this in her book, Bright-Sided (How Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America), where she traces what we know as “positive thinking” and “self help” to its origins in late 1800s America, and the dominant religion of the time. The Calvinisim brought by white settlers to New England could be described as a system of socially imposed depression. Its God…
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