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Developing a Savings Culture in Kenya

BY Steve Biko · September 13, 2019 12:09 am

Kenya has often been identified as a society with a weak savings culture. Most Kenyans do not have a savings culture and the majority of them live every day as it comes. After working hard and gaining some profits, how much do you actually put away for a rainy day?

Wealth is usually accumulated over a period of time. There is a need as an employed or as a self-employed person to keenly work on your savings culture.

How much should you save every month? There is no standard amount of saving since each one of us earns different amounts of money. The general and perfect guideline to save is that of saving ten percent of your income every month. You have to make this your culture that every month you keep aside ten percent of your income without fail.

It is not easy to start saving and maintain the same habit and therefore before you start saving you must have a purpose.

You should be fully aware of your long term plans for your savings for it requires discipline so that you stick to your goals and not be attempted to divert away from them.

Saving does not mean keeping your money at home though that is also an option for small starters but you can open a dedicated account specifically for savings or invest in the stock market under a relatively stable stock.

What matters is for you to be sure of saving your money in a way that you will not be tempted to withdraw and use on other uses.

Developing a savings culture can go a long way in helping you pay off debts. Once you develop and maintain this culture, you will be surprised at how quickly your savings grow especially if you save persistently without fail.

Saving is the key to future growth for Kenya

What can be done to boost saving at national levels?

According to the World Bank, three stakeholders must be convinced to put money aside: households, companies and the government.

There are at least three ways the government can act to increase savings and thereby generate more investment.

First, it can strengthen property rights, especially around land titling, which will promote greater saving and investment by households in real estate.

Second, it can take measures to improve the business environment and address infrastructure bottlenecks (especially energy and transport), so that business will have an incentive to save more and invest in new projects.

Third, it can continue the shift in public expenditures and spend more on infrastructure than on wages, goods, and services.

In sum, if Kenya wants to emulate the success of the world’s fast-growing economies it needs to put money aside and borrow only if you have a strategy for generating future wealth.

Read Also: Banks Should Incorporate Products Like M-Shwari to Encourage a Savings Culture

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