Budgeting is a good habit towards wise spending and savings as G-PANGE Pulse writer ROSE KWAMBOKA found from Fred Kowa
After his expulsion from Bugema Adventist Secondary School, Uganda, while in third year, he could not meet eye to eye with his father.
After trying hard to have Frederick Kowa to go through school, the father gave up on him.
"He who does not listen to his parents will have lessons from the world," he had told Kowa.
He had been asked to look for his own ways of surviving.
Having no academic qualifications and no money from his college days, he did what he knew best. He helped his mother run her business after apologising to his parents for his unbecoming ways.
Though selling tea and chapati did not bring in much, he decided to make a sacrifice. He saved Sh80 for every Sh100 he earned.Later, he opened his own business out of the savings he made. By then he had saved Sh13,000. He, however says, "My lot could have been more if it were not for girlfriends, concerts and friends."
One thing he learnt is, "if you do not budget for your savings, you soon find it going faster than it came."
Today Kowa, 21, keeps a book where he records every income and expenditure and budgets for every cent.
He is already reaping the benefits after he enrolled for a diploma in management at Kenya Institute of Management in Mombasa.
Kowa budgets for emergencies, home support, and savings with which he plans to buy land with by the end of the year.
He admits that budgeting takes a lot of self-discipline, caution and commitment to oneâs spending habits.
