Get started with the 52-week Savings Challenge

 The most common question I get is "how do I start saving?" 

Initially, it used to take me aback because I thought, saving is easy: You commit to put aside a part of your income to help you achieve a goal that is valuable to you. Easy? Not that easy, as I have learnt during the four years I have spent building and running an online personal finance and entrepreneurship community. 

If you also wonder how you can start saving, here are some thoughts to get you started. 

1. Start with a goal. What are you saving for? Take some time to think about it. Write down all the things that are important and valuable to you, and what you want your money to do for you. Then prioritise based on your needs and choose one priority goal to start with.

2. How much do you want to save and how often? This will be determined by your income, income cycle, and your life circumstances. Choose an amount that is realistic and doable for you and a frequency that is realistic. For instance, if you earn a monthly salary, you might choose to save 10 per cent of your income every month, instead of trying to save daily or weekly. 

3. Where do you want to save? There are many options for savings accounts, depending on the needs you expect the account to meet. For instance, some people prefer to save on their Mshwari or KCB Mpesa mobile phone savings accounts, because they can easily transfer savings from their Mpesa wallets to their mobile savings accounts. Others will choose a savings account in a Sacco or bank. My preferred method is a money market fund, as it gives one the option of earning compound interest. Think about your needs and think about which savings account best fits your needs. 

4. Start saving and keep doing it consistently. Put in your initial savings and keep savings consistently, in accordance to your set frequency/saving schedule. The best way to ensure that you stay consistent, is to automate your savings using a standing order from your current/salary account to your savings account or ask your employer to have your savings deducted at payroll, and remitted to a savings account. Automating your savings ensures that you save without having to debate with yourself about it. It happens automatically, no stress. 

5. Get an accountability partner and check in with them regularly, to help you stay on track. Also have money dates with yourself every month to review your progress, troubleshoot challenges and make any adjustments that you need.

6. Seek guidance for the obstacles that are standing between you and your goals. 

7. Celebrate once you reach your target, and use the savings to achieve your goal.

Many people like to use a savings challenge chart to guide them for a start or to visualise and keep record of their progress. You can download savings charts by clicking on the links below: 

• Daily savings chart (blank)  for people who prefer to save daily
• Weekly savings chart (blank) for people who prefer to save weekly
• Weekly savings chart (Sh10) - the amount to save increases every week
• Weekly savings chart (Sh50) - the amount to save increases every week
• Weekly savings chart (Sh100) - the amount to save increases every week
• Monthly savings chart (blank) for people who prefer to save monthly
• Monthly savings chart (Sh6,000)
• Monthly savings chart (Sh11,500)

All the best as you work towards your goal and happy saving! If you have difficulties downloading the chart, please send a message on WhatsApp by clicking this link https://wa.me/message/7URPYRDSQC4E1

12 tricks to help you save and reach your financial goals faster

There is always an opportunity to save money to help you reach your goals faster. Here are some tricks you can use to help you save a little bit more if you are having difficulties finding money to save or in addition to your regular savings schedule 

1. Save automatically before you spend. 

When you get your income, before you do anything else, deduct your savings and put them into a savings account. To make it even easier, set up a check-off system from your employer (payroll department) to a money market fund or Sacco savings account or set up a standing order from your current/salary account to a savings account so that money is deducted automatically from your main account and transferred to your savings account before you touch it. Saving automatically is the best way to save without a struggle. 

For those who pay income tax (pay as you earn/PAYE), doesn’t the government take off 30% or so before you even touch your salary? And after the government and NHIF, NSSF, insurance, loans and everyone else has taken their cut, they leave the rest to you and you learn how to budget around it. Why not include yourself in the group of people who get their cut first, before you distribute what is left to your landlord, school and all those other people who are waiting for a chunk of your income? 

If you say that you will save after you have finished paying the bills, you will never have any money left to save, so prioritise and automate your savings. 

2. Save your loose change. At the end of every day, I empty my purse and divide the various coin denominations I find in there into two. For example all 10 bobs are put into two piles, then all 20 bobs and all 5 bobs. The first pile goes back into my purse, and the second pile goes into the piggy bank I use for saving coins. When it fills up, I top up if I need to and transfer it to my money market fund account.

 

3. Save all 50 bobs or all 100 bobs that pass through your hands. Just like in (2) above, you can decide to save all the Sh50 or Sh100 or any other denomination of your choice that pass through your wallet. 

4. When you finish paying off a loan, don't stop. What do I mean? Take that money you've been paying a loan with and set up an automatic standing order to a savings account or set up a check-off system to a money market fund. So say you've been paying Sh5, 500 for a loan every month and you have just finished paying your loan, instead of finding ways to spend that Sh5, 500, start saving it, preferably using an automatic standing order or check-off system. If you save that Sh5, 500 you used to pay your now paid-up loan with for 12 months, you will have Sh66, 000 to help you reach your savings goals faster. 

5. Save your salary increment. If you get a raise (salary increment) at work, instead of adjusting your budget/lifestyle upwards to absorb that money, continue living on the same amount you were living on before (as if you are still earning the old salary) and save the extra amount your employer has given you. So say you get a Sh6, 000 raise, you can set up a standing order to save that money automatically and in 12 months, you’d have Sh72, 000 in savings. This is the same principle in number (4) above. 

6. The same applies to if you “find” money. Finding money means getting money you were not expecting, such as a refund, a discount, reimbursement of costs by your employer, or even finding a Sh1, 000 note in a trouser pocket you had forgotten long ago. Instead of using that money, put it directly into your savings account without second thought. 

7. Save your lunch money. Carry lunch to work a few days a week and save your lunch money. For instance, if you usually buy lunch at work for Sh300, you can decide that on Mondays and Thursdays you will carry lunch from home, so that week, you save Sh600 and put it into your savings account. You could decide to carry lunch three days a week, so that week you'll save Sh900. You could decide to carry lunch the whole week, so that week you'll save Sh1,500 or more.

 

8. Save your fuel. You could do the same with your car. If public transport is cheaper than using your car, you could decide that three days a week, you'll take a matatu home and save the amount you would have spent on fuel on those three days. You could also decide that that whole week, you'll take a matatu and put the amount of money you would have used on fuel into your savings. 

9. Do a spending fast. In religious circles, to fast is to abstain from food/eating for a specified period of time during which one says fervent prayers for a specific purpose. You can apply this principle to personal finance to help you save. This is basically the principle behind point (5) and (6) above and it basically means cutting off everything that you don’t need to survive and saving the money that you would normally use on the non-essentials. 

To be able to do a proper spending fast, you have to first know where exactly all your money is going -- every last coin -- so first track your expenses for a month and then evaluate what you actually need (essentials/things that you honestly cannot live without) and things you can actually do without. 

Once you see where exactly your money is going, you can cut back on the non-essentials and the money you save by not spending, should go directly to your savings account. This could mean carrying lunch instead of buying lunch every day (if you carry lunch from home for a full month, and you usually spend Sh300 on lunch every day, you’ll be able to save Sh6, 000 or more that month. Put it into your savings account). You can also cut back on coffee and alcohol, you won’t die without them (unless you are addicted). Say you spend Sh3, 000 on alcohol every weekend, if you decide to reduce that amount to Sh1, 000, you will save Sh8, 000 that month. If you decide to do an alcohol-free month, you will save Sh12, 000 that month. You can even decide to do without DSTV for a month, you won’t die from not watching pay TV. 

I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have fun; saving is not all gloom and doom; on the contrary, if you learn how to optimise your spending, you will not only have more fun and less stress, but you will also be able to achieve those things you only used to dream about, but thought that you could never afford them. 

Secondly, if you do your spending in moderation and do your spending fast for limited periods of time (rather than forever -- that would make you a miserable miser), you will find money to boost your savings. (We’ll talk about having fun while still being able to save in another post.) 

10. Carry only the exact amount of money you need. This goes hand-in-hand with the spending fast. So say my fare is usually constant at Sh200 for the trip to work and back and I use Sh200 for lunch, that day I will carry exactly Sh400 in my purse or Sh500. I will make sure that my Mpesa balance is zero (and resist the temptation to opt into Fuliza), that my bank accounts are not linked with mobile money, so I can’t transact from my phone, that I don’t carry ATM cards, etc. This means that even if I am tempted to buy things on impulse, I simply cannot because I don’t have any money on me to spend. (We’ll tackle impulse buying in another post). 

11. Round it up. When you buy something and the cost does not end in 0 (zero), save the amount of money it would take to get the cost to end with 0 (zero). For example, if you buy something costing Sh42, put the 8 bob change in a piggy bank or transfer an equivalent amount to your Mshwari Lock account. If you use a piggy bank, when it fills up, you can transfer the full amount to your savings account or money market fund. 

12. Lastly, make it difficult to access your savings. A savings account without a debit card (ATM withdrawal card) and with limited withdrawals, is best. I have a Sacco savings account that only allows you to withdraw money at the end of the year. 

I have a money market fund account where withdrawing money takes like three days and where the first withdrawal is free, but subsequent withdrawals are charged Sh1,000 per withdrawal. 

When I think of paying Sh1,000 to withdraw, I just let my savings be unless I have actually accumulated the exact amount I need to meet a certain goal, then I can withdraw and pay for my goal without feeling the pinch. So do whatever it takes to create a barrier between you and your savings, to make it hard for you to withdraw your savings anyhow and any time. You are saving for a purpose and you cannot achieve your financial goals if at all you can withdraw your savings randomly to buy things on a whim. 

I hope these tips help you save more money, and if there are additional tips you use, please share in the comments. Happy saving! 

*These tips were first shared in the 52-Week Savings Challenge Kenya in 2016

Affordable housing in Kenya: How it's going to work

The government plans to build 500,000 houses as part of it's affordable housing project. According to the affordable housing portal (Boma Yangu), this is how it is going to work.

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Kenyans will register and state the kind of house they want and in which county on the affordable housing portal. Right now the registration is to gauge interest and assess needs (what kind of houses people want).

Once you register, you'll get a unique identification number to use to make monthly contributions to the Housing Fund, managed by the National Housing Corporation (NHC).

Making contributions

You can make your contribution as:

1.   Statutory contributor – This is the mandatory contribution deducted by your employer from your salary (1.5%) and submitted to the Housing Fund every month. Contributions are capped at Sh2,500 per employee and employer per month.
2. Voluntary contributor – If you choose this option, you can contribute as much or as little as you want. You can withdraw these funds after five years for housing related activities or after 15 years or upon reaching retirement age (65 years). Your contribution will not be taxed at the time of withdrawal. If you choose to make voluntary contributions, you will not be able to access your money at any time. You will be subject to withdrawal rules (after five years for housing-related projects or after 15 years or retirement age).
3.  Joint contributors – This option allows you to make a contribution towards one house at a time with your husband or wife, but you can each choose to contribute individually. You can also do this jointly with other people towards one house. If you apply jointly, your incomes will be assessed jointly and the title of the house will be issued in the name of all the joint applicants.

You can monitor your contributions on the portal. If your income changes, the contribution made towards the Housing Fund will adjust proportionately to reflect the change.

Will my contributions earn interest?

Your contributions will earn a return every year, which will be announced based on the Housing Fund’s performance.

Allocation of houses

Allocation of houses will start when construction begins. Civil servants, the police and other members of the disciplined forces will get the first right to 30 per cent and 20 per cent of all available housing units, with the rest going to other Kenyans. The allocations will be computerised (done by an algorithm that sifts through profiles in the portal to prioritise those who need the affordable house most). If you don’t get allocated a house in the initial allocation, you will be put on a waiting list and given priority in the next allocation round. You can only buy one house under the affordable housing plan.

Factors to be considered in allocation:

1. When you registered (first come, first served)
2. Your income
3.  Family status (families will get preference)
4. Vulnerable groups
5. How much deposit you’ve accumulated through monthly contributions
6. Your assets
7.  Demand for your preferred type of house

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What kind of house do I qualify for?

The affordable housing scheme targets people in the following income groups (low and middle-income or people who earn less than Sh100,000 per month). The kind of house you qualify for will be based on your income.  

1.  Social housing – Kenyans who earn up to Sh19,999
2.  Low-cost housing – Kenyans who earn between Sh20,000 and Sh49,999
3. Mortgage gap – Kenyans who earn between Sh50,000 and Sh100,000

Those who earn less than Sh20,000 per month will be offered three options:

1.  One-room house at a cost of Sh600,000
2. Two-roomed house at a cost of Sh1 million
3. Three-roomed house at a cost of Sh1.35 million

Those who earn between Sh20,000 and Sh150,000 per month, will also get three options:

1.  One bedroom house (30 square feet) at a cost of Sh1 million
2.  Two bedroom house (40 square feet) at a cost of Sh2 million
3. Three bedroom house (60 square feet) at a cost of Sh3 million

You will be advised on the projected monthly rent-to-own payments based on the 3% to 7% per annum interest rates.

To ensure that those who qualify for social housing are the actual beneficiaries of the houses being built for them, the government plans to verify and register them in their communities. If there is more demand than supply for social housing, those who need affordable housing more will get priority.

How will I pay for the house?

Eligible Kenyans (those who earn less than Sh100,000) can buy the houses through the National Tenant Purchase Scheme (a rent-to-own model). What this means is that once you are allocated a house, you will be living in the house and paying “rent”, but in this case, that money goes towards owning that house, such that once you have paid for the full cost of the house, it belongs to you and you can stop paying rent. The mortgage or home loan will be offered at a fixed interest rate of 3% to 7% per year over a 25-year period. This means that your “rent” will not change/in the 25 years you take to pay for the house.

Monthly costs (service charge)

Apart from the monthly rent-to-own payments, you will also be required to pay an affordable service charge to a company contracted to maintain the facilities including the common areas and to fund major repairs of the housing complex. You will continue to pay the service charge long after you have finished to pay for the house.

What happens to those who earn above Sh100,000?

If you don’t fall within the above income groups (you earn more than Sh100,000), you will contribute to the Housing Fund (remember there are mandatory contributions for those who are employed, and you can also do voluntary contributions), but because you are not eligible to be allocated an affordable housing unit, you will have access to cheaper home loans from banks and Saccos through funding from the government’s Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC).

You can also get your contributions after five years and use them for other housing-related activities, such as a deposit (down payment) for a mortgage, mortgage repayment or to improve your house.

 If you don’t claim your savings for housing-related activities, you can get them back after 15 years or upon attainment of retirement age. So say you earn Sh100,000 a month and you pay Sh1,500 a month (1.5%) for the Housing Fund, in five years you will have contributed Sh90,000 and in 15 years you will have contributed Sh270,000 (if your income doesn’t change).

If you contribute Sh2,500 a month, in five years you will have contributed Sh150,000, and in 15 years you will have contributed Sh450,000.

Tax relief

Those registered on the affordable housing portal are eligible for tax credit/relief equivalent to the amount contributed or the lower tax payable, up to a maximum of Sh9,000 per month. Self-employed Kenyans who are registered on the portal will also get tax relief, and both mandatory and voluntary contributions will get tax relief. For the employed, the deductions and tax relief will be handled at payroll. For the self-employed, you will get your tax credit when filing your taxes. First-time home owners/buyers will not pay stamp duty.

Who is building the houses?

The houses will be built by private developers, who will then sell them to the government, which will then offer the houses to Kenyans registered on the affordable housing portal. The government will provide land for building the houses, including in the counties, build access roads and the transport network, and set up infrastructure (electricity and water and sewerage). The housing portal will help in automated identification of the buyers.

Upcoming projects will be announced on the housing portal, in the newspapers, on radio and in Huduma Centre.

Rural areas

The government will support homeowners in rural areas to improve the homes they live in or to build new ones using locally-available quality building materials such as stabilised soil blocks. Already, 92 Appropriate Building Technology (ABT) centres have been constructed across the country, with a plan to have one in every constituency, then one in every ward across Kenya. Staff at these centres will offer technical assistance and equipment to members of the public to improve the quality of their houses. There will be Matofali machines, which are used for the manufacture of stabilised soil blocks, for hire. TVET colleges will also train members of the public on how to use cost-effective and environmentally-sustainable building technologies and how to modernise construction practices while preserving cultural values. Kenyans living in rural areas can apply for funding from the Housing Fund at 7% interest rate.

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Can I get a house if I don’t have a regular income?

Yes, but you have to prove that you are able to make regular monthly loan payments.

What if I am unable to pay the monthly payments?

The payment terms are designed to be affordable and flexible, geared towards helping you secure your home. However, every case will be looked at on a case by case basis. The government will engage insurance companies to develop home insurance products to cover home owners/buyers against losing their home if they lose their income/job. The cover will pay all or part of the monthly mortgage payment for a limited time, if a person loses their job involuntarily or if they lose income due business disruption, disability, hospitalisation, death.

Can I sell my house?

You will have to wait for eight years before you are allowed to sell the house. If you want to sell it before eight years have lapsed, you can only sell it back to the Housing Fund and retain the equity build-up i.e. the amount of your home you actually own, based on the amount of money you have already paid for it.

What happens if I die?

The house can be transferred to your next of kin.

For more information log on to:

 http://bomayangu.go.ke

http://www.housingandurban.go.ke/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Development-Framework-Guidelines-Release-Version.pdf

Return of the ex

The persistent knock on the door had gone on for almost an hour, putting to bed my attempts to sleep in and sleep off the stresses and exhaustion of the past week. I rubbed my eyes, opened them to the dim light of early Saturday morning, then fumbled around the bed for my phone, and finding it, checked the time. It was barely 7.

The knocking continued unabated. I couldn't ignore it any longer.



Photo: Rolf meme from the Internets

"It must be really important," I thought to myself and grabbed a dressing gown and leso as I shuffled to my front door.

I didn't recognise the woman standing outside my door, but I suspected, with great irritation, that she was looking for a laundry job. "Hunikumbuki ...?" She implored, startling me out of my stupor. I shook my head. "Nilikuwa nakufulia manguo..." "Hmmm..." "Halafu nikaenda ushago nilikuwa na shida kidogo huko. Nimekuwa nikikuangalia lakini hukukuwa ..." "Eeeh." "Nataka kukufulia manguo ..."

Jeez! I thought to myself and swallowed a lump, how do you wake me up this early, without prior notice, to wash my clothes?

"Sina nguo za kufuliwa, na nilishapata mtu wa kunifulia nguo," I answered. Then a wave of empathy washed over me and I stood there listening to her tales which eventually reignited my memory.





Photo: Pexels.com
I remembered how rude her husband had been the last time I called to ask if she could come do my laundry (the number she had given me was always picked by the husband), then I took her number and promised to call her some day. And with that, she left to look for another client.
As I made my way back to the bedroom, my sleep long vanished, I thought to myself: didn't she know I had already moved on? Was I supposed to be waiting for her to come back to my laundry till now? Did she not realise that once I move on, I never look back?

Part 2 coming soon.

Life after trauma: The suspicious carjacker

Last night I left work late and made my way to the bus stop with a friend.


We got into a bus that was filling up fast, but finding no joint vacant seats, our plans to seat together were foiled. I sat at the rear of the bus, in the second-last seat, next to a slender guy in a charcoal-gray shirt and gray pinstripe pants with a swelling at the crotch.


The jovial men on the back seat were chatting animatedly, and deciding that they didn’t “look suspicious”, I turned to the pair of seats on my right. On the aisle seat was a petite girl, while the window seat was filled by a heavy, pot-bellied man. They exchanged knowing glances furtively, looking forward to the night ahead.


Satisfied that they also didn’t “look suspicious” I relaxed some more and sunk back into my seat. The bus had tinted windows and a luggage carrier above the seats that made it too dark for my liking, but the blue light from a long, thin bulb on the right side of the bus offered some comfort. But not enough to forget the guy in the seat beside me.


I trained my eyes on my seatmate. He was breathing suspiciously. Short, fast breaths, as if his heart was racing with excitement and his veins flowing with a rush of adrenaline fueled by what he was about to do. He formed a mean, angry scowl that forecast ill-intent. Was he angry at the world and itching to avenge himself for all the ways it had failed him? His eyes darted back and forth and in and out of the bus.


I was overcome with a sense of foreboding, and it didn’t help that the bus was hurtling down the clear road, as if on steroids. I suspected that it was fueled by the muzzle of a gun sticking into the driver’s side, held by the man sitting next to him in the cabin – my seatmate’s accomplice.


Resigned to my fate, I wished that I had carried pepper spray. Then I decided that whatever my seatmate was up to, he would not catch me unawares. I would stare at him brazenly, taking in his entire being and imprinting his photograph in the fore of my mind. I wanted him to know that I knew what he was up to. My eyes followed his every move. I watched him clench and unclench his fidgety hands, noticed when he clasped and unclasped them, and took in the folding and unfolding. Then he slid his right hand down and reached into his pocket.


Was this it?


I watched intently as he drew out a thin, dark object.


It was a phone! A mulika mwizi with a neon green backlight.


I sighed.


He looked at the screen and typed something on the keypad.


Now, this must be it. It was time and he was sending a signal to his accomplices.


My friend alighted.


I was tempted to alight with her and take a taxi home, but I wasn’t sure I would get one … and the price would probably be inflated. I thought of moving seats. Moving to the empty seat that my friend had just vacated, but as I toyed with my thoughts, someone else sunk into it. I was stuck.


The bus was still hurtling down the road suspiciously. We flew past two black spots and then a police road block. Maybe there was nothing there. Maybe I was just being paranoid.


I wanted to fish out my phone, to send a message to the world that I was scared. But that might work against me. It was best not to use it. I remembered the valuables in my bag and tried to figure out how I would hide them.


I thought about how my seatmate would brandish a gun and ask for my bag. How I would hesitate to buy time, enough time to hide my treasures. But where would I hide them? Maybe I could talk some sense into him ...


If anything happened, this guy would kill me. I had studied him too closely, so blatantly. I imagined him sinking a knife into my neck; the blood gushing out as I reached for his neck to strangle him in return.


I had nowhere to hide. A wistful smile formed on my lips. I should have alighted when I first noticed he was suspicious. I should have alighted with my friend. I should have taken a cab home. But here I was. Maybe I was being paranoid, but who could blame me?


Suddenly he moved. I made way for him to pass.


Was this it? Was he finally taking position before he struck?


I watched as he made his way to the front of the bus. I was ready. I had been waiting for this moment all night.


The bus stopped.


He alighted, throwing me off with this twist in the tale.


As the bus swung back onto the road, I looked at my (former) seatmate one last time, glad that he was now outside. He still had that mean scowl on his face, angry at the world and full of ill-intent.


It didn’t matter anymore. I was home and my imaginary carjacker was gone.

What you need to know about WhatsApp import groups

By MJC

If you have been on Facebook for a while, you may have noticed an influx of WhatsApp import groups. These groups are formed to get many people together to import few pieces of merchandise each collectively, so as to attain minimum order quantity (MOQ). Coming together to import goods in this manner has helped a lot of people who are starting out with little capital, and who can’t meet the MOQ by themselves.

However, having been a member of many such groups, there are a few negative aspects I have noted as explained below: 

1. The buying price and/or shipping charges might be slightly or grossly inflated. The founders/admins of these groups are more often than not, doing it to make money. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but most act like they are doing it from the goodness of their heart, when in fact they are there to make money out of it. They make money by slightly or grossly inflating the buying price as well as the shipping charges. Not forgetting pesa ya kutoa that you will add as you send the money via Mpesa.

2. Quality is not guaranteed. Most of the admins of these groups do not first get samples of the items to check quality. So sometimes you will get very poor quality items and you the member, will just have to take the loss –  a huge one if you dared make a large order.

3. There might be no compensation for items lost before they get to you. If an item is lost whether at the point of being packed by the supplier, in transit or at arrival shauri yako! There may be no compensation for you. And if compensated it either takes a long time to get the compensation or you are compensated with something totally different from what you wanted.

4. Dishonesty. Like I said most people who come up with these groups (the admins) are there to make money, which they won't tell you. The intense kind of work that's needed when putting together these group orders simply cannot be done for free. You will pay for it in one way or another. Some will combine different shipments and charge the group for the whole shipment yet the group’s merchandise was only a part of the shipment. Some will use the money you pay them for something else and then pay for your items much later. This means your items will arrive months late because the money for your items was diverted to other things. Which is not so bad if you are buying for personal consumption, but detrimental if you are buying for business because by the time you get your items, the market will likely be saturated with the “unique” item that your WhatsApp group ordered.

5. Poor customer service. In some groups you will be treated very poorly. If you question anything you feel is off you will be berated, sometimes even insulted. Some admins don't even answer your questions within the group or if you contact them directly.

6. Con men. There are a few con men and women who have managed to swindle people out of their money using these import groups. I have seen it in two groups.

7. Undisclosed storage fees. Some of the admins  of the import groups don't have shops in town (Nairobi CBD) which means they have to store items in other people's shops who then charge you daily storage fees. The longer you take to pick your items, the higher the storage fee you pay. So, if you take several days to pick your consignment you may end up having paid retail prices for the items after including storage fees in the mark-up, which means you can’t sell your items at a competitive price. Often you are given a day or two to pick your items before storage charges start to apply, but in some cases, the charges apply from the first day.

8. Herd mentality that makes you buy worthless or hard-to-sell products. It's normal human behaviour to gravitate towards things that seem to be popular. But take your time to actually research about that popular product, check if there is a market for it before you order several pieces that you will be stuck with.

 I did encounter a group where the admin was very honest, was kind enough to teach us the process of importing for ourselves, did not inflate prices, made sure everyone got their order,  so there is still hope you may yet find a group that's a good fit. (Unfortunately she quit group orders after a couple of times. I told you the work involved is too intense to be free).

In conclusion, WhatsApp import groups can be of great help, but you have to go in with your eyes wide open. Be ready for all the things I've listed.

• Demand for accountability and better customer care because contrary to what the admins of these groups want you to believe, it is a business and you are their customer.
• Research and know the wholesale prices for the items you want. This is easy especially if you are importing from China. Go to Alibaba and contact a few suppliers and they will give you quotations that you can use to compare with what your WhatsApp import group admin is offering.

Diary of a retrenched woman

"Are you happy?" I asked myself.

"I know I'm not sad, but what is happiness?" I answered pensively.

Happiness is a feeling of contentment, resilience (knowing that you can bounce back), hope and optimism, came the answer from deep in the bowels of my heart.

With this in mind, I was no longer unsure about my happiness or lack thereof.

"Yes, I am happy!" I beamed.

And this is my mantra for 2017. 

Last year's mantra was: 

"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way." ~ Christopher Morley 

And I'm keeping it close this year because it still rings true and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.


Photo | Pixabay

Being fired/retrenched doesn't define me. 

I have always been a hardworking and passionate employee. My work ethic is admirable. I have always done my best and given my all in everything I do. Everything I do is well-thought-out and that won't change because I was fired. It is who I am and I can't do less. 

Being retrenched/jobless doesn't define me. My work appraisals have always been in the very good to excellent category. That won't change just because I'm jobless at the moment. Being kicked out of work doesn't mean I have nothing to offer; in fact, it has opened my eyes to the many things I actually have to offer, things that I couldn't quite see before when my eyes were stuck on my job, and they are much more than I can count. As one of my friends reminded me, the world is my oyster and I have so many options to choose from. 

I am not as young as I used to be, but there is a decade or two before I get to the official retirement age of 60, and slow down to enjoy the fruits of my lifelong labour, so I'm not old either. Obviously, I can't stay idle for decades, unless I choose to remain idle, so I'll find something useful to do. I just pray for humility because pride can be a major impediment to progress. 

I hope to remember to shut out any whispers from people who say all sorts of unsupportive/unhelpful things which can either take my eyes off the goal or bring me down completely. I pray for humility, strength and courage to get in the trenches and do the dirty work even though people laugh and say that what I'm doing is beneath what a "person of my stature" should be doing. I really do pray for humility because it is one of the first stepping stones of success, whatever I define it to be. 

Obviously being jobless changes a lot of things. Some relationships dissipate because the only thing that was holding you together (work) is gone. 

I remember Bitange Ndemo talking about the loneliness that followed the end of his stint as a Permanent Secretary. A phone that was always ringing off the hook, now remained silent for days on end. People no longer had reason to call him. 

I understand that a lot of things might change, but as my friend Lillian keeps telling me, don't take it personally. I'm listening, so no matter what happens or changes for the worse or the better, I won't take it personally. I'm not taking the job loss personally, and I won't take all the things that happened before this and those that will happen after this personally. 

The initial shock has worn off. My family and friends have been very helpful and supportive offline and online, and so has been my doctor, a psychiatrist, (whom I can no longer afford). They have helped me keep things in perspective and offered very useful advice in the midst of the initial confusion. I see a very bright future ahead, and I'm glad that I have so many things to do despite the fact that I am not going to anyone's formal office anymore.

27th January.