Saving Vs Investing
Saving vs investing. Which is more prudent? To answer his question, I think it’s best to start at my definition of the two words. Saving – Putting aside a proportion of your earnings. We covered the basics in The B Word, and agreed that at minimum, one should save…
Local e Business?
Over the last couple of years, we have seen a steady increase in the number of ventures claiming to be businesses based on the web (e businesses). Everytime I attend yet another local techies conference (as an impostor since I’m not a techie), I have high hopes that someone will…
You'll Never be Ready…
…to walk out of employment. When is the best time to walk out of employment? This is a question that has haunted me for the past 6 months or so, even as it becomes glaringly obvious that as much as employment is cushy and comfortable, I need to make a…
Wealth at the Bottom
I’m no expert in matters of investing at the bottom of the pyramid, but looking at the statistics below, it seems like a no brainer to me. Half the world ( 3 billion people) live on less than $2.5 a day. 80% of all humanity lives on less than $10…
How to Live a G.R.E.A.T Life
Lately, I have been meditating on the power of positive, optimistic attitude. My sense was that many of us need a periodic reminder to mind our attitudes, and apparently that’s a fundamentally true for most folks. Lots of people as with other articles wrote back to concur with the emotions…
Woes Of A Dream Carrier
I hit the send button and sigh deeply. That’s me emailing the members of an investment club I’ve chaired for the last 3 years (and still continue to chair despite having resigned over a year ago). Investment clubs have been touted as a fantastic way to pool your…
Butterfly Insights
A marvelous lesson appeared for me just now as I was exiting the office. As I opened the door, I startled at a butterfly, which, upon spreading it’s wings, displayed a bright red “tail” hidden by the motley brown wings. It flew immediately to its perceived escape, the circle-topped…
why do business?
This question in the Kenyan context will generate no brainer answers such as, ‘so I’m no longer employed’, ‘to make a little cash on the side’ ‘well, my neighbour opened a clothes exhibition and he just bought a new car, he must be doing well, that’s where the…
From Grandpa
My Grandpa is headed to 90 years, was trained as a teacher, joined the Mau Mau freedom fighters, quit teaching to be a farmer and investor. He has no formal finance training, he doesn’t understand stocks analysis, doesn’t know anything about pension plans, real estate bubbles, or the…
Of Embarrassing Wild Shots and the Significance of Goal Posts
I am not a confessed football fanatic, though have been treated to some of the best and spectacular soccer action in the past week. This is not to say I am going to delve into the emotions, the disappointments and the controversies so far seen. My focus and…
Notes on Wealth Creation
Set Financial Goals for yourself. A city worker once asked to explain his purpose in life said ‘I dig the ditch to earn the money to buy the food to get the strength to dig the ditch’. Alas, no wonder then, the ditch gets deeper and deeper! Live on a…
Sharks in Your Life
The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So the fishermen had to go further out to sea to catch their supply of fish, the fishing boats got bigger and bigger. The farther the fishermen went,…
Deepen your portfolio by buying stocks
The high inflation in the country which has prevailed for the better part of the past few years has eroded the income of most Kenyans. With high inflation, purchasing power has waned which essentially means you get fewer commodities for the same amount of money than you did in 2007.
Personal Finance – From A Techie's Mouth
After a few posts on personal finances on my blog, one of my readers approached me on the side bar and accused me of being conventional, and as such, wasn’t helping him. I was giving information that we all knew, but I needed to break it down into…
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