Money Secrets: Best Saving Tips If You Earn Between 15-50K Salary

By Elizabeth Benu

Everyone is looking for financial progress in whichever way possible. But whichever the means one settles on, saving has always been the best option for many.

Silas Nyakundi recently got a paid internship that is earning him a stipend of Kshs 15,000 a month. He is a bit confused about what amount of money he should save. This confusion is brought about by the fact that he wants to buy new stuff for himself and still invest into something in the future.

Sarah Wambui on the other hand is in her third job. She works as a Sales Executive at a private owned media house in Nairobi. Even with her Kshs 50,000 a month for the past one year, she has never saved. Most of her money is spent on unnecessary things and she feels that she has not made any financial progress.

They both feel the need to save but the question they have is how much should they be saving anyway? Most of us are probably in a 15K-50K salary range but are uncertain of the amount that should be saved.

Andrew Makhulo, a Financial Consultant at MGK consultants, offers guidelines on how much one should save each month.

“I advocate for saving 10% of your monthly income. This is a good rate and it is also easy to start with,” says Mr. Makhulo.

He advises that one should save money whenever possible and do not be tempted to use it without a plan. He adds that someone can have a savings account or register in a Chama as their saving avenues.

For a Chama he says that it is a great way of saving. “The minute you contribute Kshs 2000 at the beginning of the month you are supposed to get a certain amount later; the total sum being the sum of money you contributed multiplied by the number of members in the Chama. It’s a great way of saving, especially for those without the discipline of saving,” he says.

His advice to the likes of Silas and Sarah is to start a savings account and put in the 10% cut.

“It would be good to have a standing order of the 10% that will be automatically transferred into the savings account. This psychologically prepares you to plan your money well,” he says.

‘What of those who have many financial responsibilities should they still save the 10 per cent?’ I ask

“As much as you have the responsibilities remember that before you got the job life was moving on. Now that you got the job it is still moving on so saving at least 10% should not be a big hurdle,” he replies.

He is also quick to add that those with a large salary (50K and above) and fewer responsibilities can work on going beyond the minimum 10%. He says that it is a way of maximizing on saving and minimizing on overspending.

His parting shot …

“Anyone who is not saving should start now. If you are currently unemployed ensure that you start saving on the first month you get your job,” he concludes.

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