A survey conducted by Ipsos-Synovate, late last year, showed that only 50 percent of Kenyans put money aside regularly as savings. 46 percent don’t save, 1 percent had no response while 2 percent refused to answer.

Some of the main reasons why 46 percent of Kenyans don’t save are:

• 41% said they don’t earn enough money to save.
• 22% said they lack money
• 15% were unemployed
• 9% are unable to save due to high cost of living.

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While employment is a valid reason, finance experts say that the only way you can be able to save is if you learn to live within their means. It’s not about how much you earn, but how you spend your money.

We live in a society where people rush to the ATM to withdraw cash whenever need arises. By the time the month is over our bank accounts are usually wiped clean. Saving comes as an afterthought.

Dealing with money without a budget is like walking blindfolded.  You won't know where came from or where you are headed, nature simply takes its course.

Budgeting entails understanding and make decisions on where your money goes. It involves writing down your income and total expenditures so that you can tell which areas you are actually spending your money on plus helps you identify areas you can cut down on so that you maximize on your savings.

A budget will help you see if you are living within your means. If you always end up spending your entire pay cheque, chances are you are living beyond your means. At the least, you should be able to save 10 percent of your net income. With effective budgeting, you can save up to 40 percent of your net income.

On average:

• 30% of your net income should go to your rent or mortgage payment
• 20% on utility and transport
• 20% on entertainment and discretionary expenditure
• 10% on investing
• 10% on savings
• 10% on charity

After you have budgeted your money, you need to treat saving as though it's an expense. Just as you would allocate funds to on food, rent and discretionary expenses, so should you allocate funds to your savings. It should never be an afterthought.

Back to the Ipsos-Synovate report, Kenyans poor culture of saving has hurt the ability of most Kenyans to invest. Almost 2 out of 3 respondents said they have no investments. At a national level, Kenya will not attain its ambitious growth targets going forward if this situation persists, because research has shown that nations that prosper are those where citizens live within their means and save regularly.