The last post in this series was about making big changes in your life to be able to start saving or meet long term goals. I shared that for me, the big changes included even moving towns because it meant a cheaper house, a better (and cheaper) school for my daughter, and less time wasted in the city. However, it is not always possible to make the…
Earlier today, I tweeted that I am probably the only personal finance enthusiast (note, I did not say guru. I am no guru, no one likes gurus) who is not a fan of the stock market. As I sent that tweet, I was listening a BBCWHYS episode where they were discussing the Chinese stock market meltdown. For the last 4 days, the Chinese market has…
We learn to save at different points in our lives; we have those that learn and start practicing saving as young children, and those that learn to save in adulthood when they start earning. For the first group, the transition from saving an allowance to saving from a salary is often seamless and they face little difficulty in determining how much they can and should…
Money goes where you send it That is what my late grandpa and hero told me when I first got employed. I knew my grandfather for 31 of the 92 years he lived and one of the most important things he taught me was to be the master of my money. Being the master of your money means many things, but today I’d like us to…
A few days ago I was thinking about my life and excellence: We like to say “I am doing my best”. Are you really? — Gatwiri (@RookieKE) July 27, 2015 I have really been struggling with excellence of late. Last year, I left full time employment for a couple of reasons, top on that list being: I was tired. I’d had a rather steep…
When you Google “Fun stuff to do in Bangalore”, one of the results leads you to a website with this… This beautiful building… Yummy food… And many other exciting sights. Why am I searching for fun stuff to do in a random town in India, when I live in Nairobi, Kenya? In January this year, I decided that I was going to run the Bengaluru…
In Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, Seth Godin makes a controversial point: If you are remarkable, amazing, or just plain spectacular, you probably shouldn’t have a resume at all. If you’ve got the experience in doing the things that make a linchpin, a resume hides that fact. A resume gives the employer everything she needs to reject you. Once you send me your resume, I can say…
In the last post we asked what happens if she earns more. Today, I want to discuss the different money models married couples (could) adopt and factors to take into consideration as you pick a money model for your marriage. Why is this important? Married couples argue about many things, but the worst arguments are likely to be about money. With this in mind, you…
The romance and relationships landscape is changing. We have more women in graduating from universities than ever before, joining the corporate sector and going up through the ranks, and earning more than they have before. We are also marrying later in life, compared to our parents (especially mothers) who married in their early 20s. This means that as women look for a partner to settle…
With an inflation rate of 10%, and a mortgage interest rate of 15%, one needs to make at least 25% return from a house every year for the period of the mortgage to at least break even ~ Macharia