This is a list of things Kenyan should minimize or stop spending their money on. A friend sent me a screenshot of a conversation her friends in their WhatsApp group were having on things they spend their money on but later see them as either useless and should not have been spent money on. As I read through, I saw myself in the conversation and imagined how many millions of Kenyans could be spending their money on things that are not really necessary or useful but they stretch their pockets anyway for them.
Many Kenyans look for simple yet effective ways to save money for future use and to cut costs but don’t really know how to go about it. Basically, discovering all things that are not necessary and ceasing from spending your money on them is the most effective and easiest money saving tactic.
Below is a list of 10 things you should stop or minimize spending your money on.
1.Expensive Gadgets
Exactly where I fall, sadly. I have a weakness for the latest Huawei phones and so are many other people across Kenya who have expensive and trendy gadgets they have saved a lot of money to acquire. These pricy gadgets like high-end laptops, pricy phones or even music systems have an attached class of status among the owners, for example, many people with iPhones are considered ‘richer’ than Android users.
Well, you can own all these but you need to weigh the output from these gadgets and live within your means if they are not going to help you in any way apart from impressing crowds. You can save that money instead.
2. Buying Cheap Items
Sounds contradicting to our topic, huh?. Listen, these cheap items are the real ghosts behind your budget getting eaten without you really knowing where your money went to because if you buy cheap items, you don’t notice if they have an impact on your budget but they do. Such items can be bottled mineral water, sweets, coffee and even snacks to name just but a few. You can’t just avoid buying these items but at least you can control yourself on how frequent and the amount you buy because at the end of the day, you are eating from your budget, but in this case, on unbudgeted stuff.
3. Consuming Brands
Many Kenyans buy items because of the brand name and you know many brands preferred by Kenyans are expensive and this can mess up your budget badly. An example can be a bar soap for say doing laundry, there are many brands available but there are brands people think are better and clean better than others but of course, you know other less-known brands which clean much better and are cheaper, the same job but at a cheaper price; your pick. The same example applies to tissue papers.
4. Attending Entertainment Events
Say Drake is coming to Kenya this week, Etana next week, Diamond the other week, Nasty C the other week in that order. You adore all these musicians but you realize even if you have the money to attend all these events, you will be exhausting your reserves or eating up your budget badly. You need to decide on what events to attend and which not to because entertainment events are there each week and an event or two a month won’t be bad for the pocket.
5. Fast Foods
On this, the explanation is very simple, fast foods are not good for your health and your wallet and we all know it but ignore that fact anyway. If you can’t manage to avoid fast foods totally, then at least you can minimize.
6. Dining Out
Personally, I don’t like eating out save for when iam catching up with a friend, family or catching up with a client shortly. Eating out frequently can badly bruise your wallet. Carrying packed lunch, eating cheap meals and even forgoing lunch if you don’t feel like eating can save you a lot.
7. Many Subscriptions
Currently, there are very many subscriptions one can subscribe to from internet, dailies, cable or satellite Tv or even online streaming services. Many of these subscriptions seem to be cheap and people jump into subscribing but imagine if you pay Ksh 700 for cable Tv a month, Ksh3000 for internet and maybe Ksh 800 for online streaming, that adds up to Ksh4500 a month and Ksh 54,000 a year. If there is no output in those subscriptions especially the internet one, then there is no need whatsoever for it, save that money for something else instead.
8. Insurance
Is insurance a good, absolutely yes. But you should, however, shop for the most perfect insurance that will not stretch your wallet beyond its logical ductility limit. Multiple covers are better handled if you get a company that handles them all at once. It’s cheaper and safer for your money that way. Avoid going for high insurance policies that will exhaust your paycheck immediately you receive it.
9. Impulse Purchases
Stop buying goods you had not planned on buying. To make sure you only buy what you need and what you had planned to buy, a shopping list will do and you will confirm against what you have bought and what you haven’t. This way you cant buy items you never planned on buying and it will, in turn, save you a lot of money that could have been wasted.
10. Car Wash
Is it really a must for your car to be washed at a car wash? no, I think. you can wash your car at home once in a while and save that money for something else. You can have your son, daughter wash it for you over weekends or even wash it yourself if you get off work early.
Other things Kenyans should minimize or stop spending their money on are
- Attending all social events one is invited to
- Buying newspapers( The online version is cheaper)
- Deals (Because you were not planning on spending on those deals anyway)
