By Muganda Maryann
Recent times have seen Kenyans suffer greatly financially with prices of essential commodities skyrocketing with no sign of reprieve coming soon.
Despite this Kenyans have failed to become financially disciplined in order to manage the little they have to cope with daily. There are some notable financial blunders made by Kenyans that cannot help when navigating an unstable economy as listed by Richard Saigilu Lemeiloi an economist.
One of the mistakes Kenyans make during these tough financial times is Impulse buying, spending money on unnecessary things like Entertainment that is costly and not really essential, and lack of a saving culture.
You do not need binoculars or a power presentation with graphs, diagrams, and soundtracks to tell how life in the city has become expensive for some Nairobians. 2022 has been a tough year and each one of us has suffered financially and we are yet to suffer more due to the tough financial times we are facing. This has so been worsened by the soaring rise of food prices.
Prices of essential commodities skyrocketed in the face of surging inflationary pressure. Kenyans are staring at a higher cost of a number of goods and services. Maize flour prices have gone up by 37% despite the maize flour subsidy program by the government that was meant to lower flour prices to 100 shillings. Sugar has also risen by 4.6% and non-aromatic rice has also gone up by 2.9% over the one-month period. Prices of Beer, bottled water, Wines, and Cigarettes will go up by 6.3%.
According to KNBS inflation rate was at 5.69% in January 2021. It climbed to 7.1% from 6.5% in April which was the highest since February 2020. It hit 7.9% in June from 7.1% in May. The inflation rate accelerated by 8.5% in August 2022 for the 6th consecutive month of this year slightly below the forecast of 8.6%.
“The rise in inflation was mainly due to an increase in prices of commodities under food and non-alcoholic beverages (15.3 percent); transport (7.6 percent) and housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels (5.6 percent) between August 2021 and August 2022,” KNBS said in a statement.
New projections by African Development Bank show that Kenya’s real GDP Growth will troll the performance of its East Africa community’s partners except for Tanzania and Burundi.
Personal financial management has been a concern for humanity as long as the money economy has been in existence. Kenyans have to redefine what is basic in their lives. Richard Saigilu Lemeiloi an economist has rounded a few tips you can use to better your personal finances during these economic tough times.
- Kenyans should develop a character of saving. One needs to save what they can by establishing the intention of saving at least 5% or 10% of what they earn.
- Track their expenditure by spending money on the basic things needed such as food, shelter, and clothing.
- Set a payment plan with your creditors and debtors on how to pay up.
- Build an emergency fund, at least have some money to keep your family secure and for investment.
- Having some basic education about personal finances will help in bettering your personal finances in the future.
- Develop a marketable skill, be innovative and earn something out of your developed skill.
While we cannot predict what our future holds, we can take measures to ensure our financial actions can stand the test of time in any eventuality.
Muganda Maryann is a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya.
