In the last few months, regulators have raised alarm over the proliferation of mobile loans. According to Transunion, Credit Reference Bureau (CRB), at least 500,000 Kenyans have been blacklisted, mostly for defaulting on mobile loans. We currently have over 50 mobile lenders (including banks such as Barclays, Equity, and KCB that have launched their mobile lending apps), and it seems Kenyans are borrowing multiple times…
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A while back, I shared how I managed to negotiate interest-free installments for my insurance premiums with the insurance company and also got a discount. I have since changed insurance companies and when I moved, I asked again, and they said yes. Businesses that are sensitive to customer needs will tend to be responsive to the things that matter to their customers. This is why…
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“No wonder Nairobi people do not invest much. There are too many things for you to spend money on” This is my mother’s favorite remark, whenever she visits for an extended time and gets to see the things we spend money on. In this particular instance, I had just paid entry fees for a play park, for her granddaughter to have some fun. I was…
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Whenever I hold a personal finance planning session and we get to discussing investment strategies, the issue of personality type always comes up. People will say they’re not risk takers, and therefore they prefer investments that are not risky. Others will say that they are risk takers and prefer investments that have high returns and involve a bit of adventure. I must admit I do…
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Earlier this year, Peter Nduati, a homeowner and real estate investor sent this tweet that triggered a subsequent #52WeekChallenge chat. https://twitter.com/PeterNduati/status/958763616324542465?s=19 I acknowledge this need to own real estate. It probably comes from a homing instinct that makes us feel more secure when we own some “soil”. Maybe because we feel that a house is a solid investment, unlike the other investments which are considered…
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Most of us pick a bank based on referrals made by family and friends. This is no doubt a fantastic way to do it because it is based on actual customer experiences, but one has to be careful because your bank has an active role to play in ensuring that you are managing your finances prudently. The question shouldn’t just be “which is the best…
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This is the second post about a talk I gave at Technical University last month about saving money (and how to think about money) in your twenties. In the first post, I closed by saying that “a little luxury every day is no luxury” – the need to check how often we indulge and be mindful of our indulgences. Here are the next 5 things. 6….
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Three weeks ago I was invited to give a talk at the Technical University’s Rotaract Club Meeting, and during the Q&A, one of the students asked me if I would advise him to buy Bitcoin. He started by giving us a bit of a background about Bitcoin and blockchain technology, which showed that he had invested some time reading up before asking the question. This…
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Last week, I was invited to speak to Rotarians at Technical University of Kenya about saving money. I spoke to them about 10 things to think about in your 20s, I will split it into two posts of five each. 1.Saving starts with earning some money (obviously). When you are a student, it is easy to postpone earning money until you are done with school –…
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Which is the best SACCO to join if you want to save for a home? This question came from one of my Twitter followers. The reason why he asked about a SACCO and not an investment product is because he wants to access credit against his savings (which would then go towards the building). First of all, the government has some tax incentives for individuals who…
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