In the post where I shared Danson’s inspiring story, I promised to share with you information from at least 5 pension schemes in town, and my experience trying to get this information has been like pulling teeth. Of the 7 insurance companies I called, I only managed to get comprehensive information from two. In one instance, I was told that the pension people were out…
Read MoreFusion Capital has opened the sale of its development real estate investment trust, commonly referred to as D-Reit, to the public at a price of Sh23 per unit. Fusion hopes to raise Kshs 2.3 billion through the sale of 100 million REIT units, and the offer closes on July 15th. The funds will go towards developing a mixed residential, office and retail project in Meru;…
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In Part 1, we saved some money on insurance by asking, Part 2 saved us a tidy some in HELB penalties. The third and final post looks at how to get flexi-time at work. In 2011, IBM’s research on the cities with the worst traffic jam in the world ranked Nairobi as the 4th most painful city to commute within, in the world! We know…
Read MoreLast weekend I went household shopping at the local wholesale shop. I have always known it is a lot cheaper to buy things in bulk, but the love for convenience, general laziness and disorganization kept me going back to the supermarket every month to shop for my house. Till last Saturday that is. My experience is summarized below: Pros of wholesale shopping It is a…
Read MoreProfessor Max Bazerman always starts the first day of his Harvard MBA class the same way. He holds up a 20-dollar bill and offers it up for auction to the class. He has two rules for this auction: Rule number 1: bids must be made in $1 increments. Rule number 2: the runner-up must honor their bid, meaning that, although the winner will take the…
Read MoreDanson is 71 years old, and since his retirement from a City Council job in 2004, he’s been living well. He is actually living better than he ever did while employed. His monthly income is higher than his salary at retirement, he first drove a car post-retirement; he has two vehicles actually. When we think of life after retirement, we don’t imagine it as an…
Read MorePreviously, I have shared my experience, saving money on both medical and car insurance because in the first instance I asked for free premium financing, and in the second I asked for a discount. This is a mini post on the third instance where even you can save money; HELB loan penalties. As you know, HELB has been very aggressive in making sure graduates pay back…
Read MoreI am an introvert. The earliest memory I have of getting into trouble about my introversion was may be 20-22 years ago as a young girl in rural Kenya. Visitors would come, and as a well trained child I’d welcome them, serve them tea/fruit, then leave them in the living room by themselves as they waited to see my mom or father. I knew I was…
Read MoreToday’s post is a small business story. Astradental Services is a 5 year old Dental Clinic in Westlands. They have a staff of eight, two operatories (surgery units) and are in the process of acquiring a mobile dental clinic as well. This is a typical young Kenyan business, started small, but with big dreams to change lives. Last week, I asked them how they do…
Read MoreI have observed that many people who have very strong opinions on who the middle class is and their role in the country do not seem to know exactly who the middle class is. Winnie Odinga’s rant about the middle class brought many of those out of the wood works. Every time there’s a political action, whether demo or elections, we love to blame the middle…
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