We Have No Choice But To Save For Retirement

Growing up, there was a program known as Akiba Haiozi on KBC Radio (Swahili Service). I’m not sure if it was sponsored by the NSSF because we were always told about malipo ya uzeeni with the famous tagline ‘kula tano, weka tano’.

This show would go on to educate us on saving plans and why we need to save. I remember how my mum was very keen and would even take a pen and paper to kit down key points about savings, lest she forgets.

Saving culture is something we have ignored over the years and this is why people retire to go suffer back in the villages because they either never saved a single coin, or didn’t save enough. Enough is never enough, things change, and the world is running so fast that we need to be fast enough to catch up with it.

Related Content: Here Is A Simple Guide On How To Develop A Savings Culture

When my mom retired way back in 2021, she wasn’t having migraines about what she would do with her retired self. Beacuse? She had saved during her teaching years as an Untrained Teacher(UT) and had topped up, so she had just enough to soothe her as she waited for her retirement benefits from TSC.

Do we save? Do you save? And why would you save? We all know the economy is already screwed up and has seen us dig deeper into our pockets for this and that. Everywhere, everyone is complaining about the increased tax plus the high cost of living. We barely have enough to save. We are actually, literally living from pocket to sufuria to mouth. Tough days. But have we thought of tougher days ahead? Now, can we save, just a little, for the rougher days that might just turn out to be softer because God got us, and as we say, things change? They might just change for the better. Thus, we need to save for our very unpredictable future.

We all save for different reasons but all in all, saving will have you a relaxed life in your sunset years. Saving for retirement as early as now is better because yall will have less struggle when you’re fifty with a weak back and cracky bones that can not bend to work for money. I know you know such savings also earns you interest. See you have the money that will definitely ‘give birth’ to a few thousand for you when you need it back.

Related Content: Developing A Savings Culture Is Caring About Your Future

Emergencies happen and as my grandma would always tell us, in her native Luhya dialect, ‘the road doesn’t talk to the person walking on it’ (soc). Lovely translated to, the future is unpredictable. Life happens and we get caught unprepared for this and that. School fees. Sickness. Accidents and what-have-you. We can have the money for ABCs but again, an emergency just happens, and all of a sudden you need a hundred thousand. You crack your brain, scratch your head but there’s no way you’re going to squeeze even one thousand Bob from your mattress. Save, bro, save for emergencies.

Read More: 

• An increase In NSSF Contributions Will Enhance Your Savings And Secure Your Financial Future
• Developing The Savings Among Your Kids
• Why Waste Ink Writing Cheques? NSSF Won’t Take Them
• Here Is The Easiest Way To Make Your NSSF Contributions

Road trips, holidays, vacations, and birthday parties. Back to the ‘economy is hard’ daily song but are we not going to live our best lives because the economy has refused? Having such saving plans helps us not to sneak into the school fees kitty or trim our shopping list to accommodate our momcations or vacations. Our goal is to have good health and to go out there looking for money. And this money should as well come in handy when we need that time of the year when we just relax and meditate and do our math about. About the money. Save save for yourself. Go enjoy your moments. The ‘You live only once’ is a tired phrase but I’ll use it anyway. We actually live once. Live and let live.

Something that is so un-African to talk or write home about is saving for the last expense. A friend’s developed some lifetime condition that saw her in and out of the hospital, with medicines and injections for almost all her sunset years. My friend immediately but secretly began saving for her moms’ last expense because you know, she wouldn’t suggest this to her siblings. When her dear mom rested, ten years later, they had just enough to give her a befitting send-off without creating WhatsApp groups for funds fries from friends and relatives. Makes sense, no? Good sense.

Related Content: Savings 101: What Does It Take To Save Money?

The beauty of saving is that you allow Your money to grow, or ‘give birth’ as I’d say in a layman’s language. the benefits will be sweeter than you can ever imagine. Create for yourself a nest egg and acquire your own financial independence. Save for anything you think you need to save for. An emergency. School fees. Your dream car. A palatial home for your family. Dream holiday destination. Just save, depending on your goal and however little you start with. A day at a time.

By Diana Makokha