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What to do when emergencies ruin your plans

Money
 Photo; Courtesy

It is that crucial time of the year, when many things happen very fast – and most tap into your pocket.

So you had a well-laid plan for end year festivities and you are all set to enjoy the last month of 2016. The money you have put aside throughout the year is enough to give you the best holiday ever.

We need scientists to explain this phenomenon. Towards the end of year, many people die. Road accidents increase and generally death spoils the mood of impending carnival.

What this means to your personal finance is that you have to review the initial map. Life is never perfect.

Personally, I have had to contribute up to Sh20,000 for matanga because three of my friends lost close family members – a father, child and spouse.

When death hits that close, a friend has to dig deeper into the pocket. You can’t just give Sh1,000, for example, especially when you are on a salary. What can Sh1,000 do to someone with a huge hospital bill and a befitting funeral for the loved one?

This reality of giving huge chunks of money during harambees does not strike us until it happens. Human beings generally assume they will always be here on earth, enjoying a long healthy life with friends and family. The truth is; death is so much part of life that we can’t wish it away.

As you write down your monthly budget, set aside some money for such emergencies. Call it ‘contingency’ fund or ‘miscellaneous’. This should be one of your new year resolutions in a month’s time.

If this is impossible to do now, then you are going to ‘borrow’ from some other personal savings scheme you have.

For me to raise the Sh20,000 I borrowed from the Christmas savings knowing that I will get about the same amount in the chama at the end of November and replenish. The problem is, I have to think of other ways to raise money for the project I had planned with the chama earnings. So in my financial planning there is a hole which I had not foreseen and must seal.

I know, I will eventually effect my plan only that I will push the timelines ahead until I recover the money. Shifting timelines is not bad in your financial planning. What is bad is to abandon the project altogether.

Always bear in mind that financially assisting friends is a social investment which bears fruit at the right time in future. Friends count on each other. Do not let them down in their time of need.

Also, reviewing your financial plans mid-way is not a crime. Even large companies do this. As long as you do not use the money extravagantly, you can always note down from which project you borrowed the money and how you are going to ‘refund’ it.

The good thing about such a debt and your fidelity to ‘pay’ back is that it pushes you to look for some money outside your normal income. This is when you aggressively look for consultancies. If in the financial sector, call up your friends about an auditing or related job in their work places.

If you are a writer or editor, look for jobs in your area and all the earnings you receive from this side activity should go into repaying the soft loan you got from your savings.

This high season offers great opportunities to make money. My friend, a teacher, is keeping students on long holidays busy as well as away from mischief and their parents are financially rewarding her.

A neighbor makes tasty chapatis and holidaying students in the estate buy in large numbers. She makes them at night and leaves the house help to sell during the day while she is at work. The demand increases by the day and with that, the income flows in.

If you have an open mind, you cannot become miserable when money seems scarce. You have the power to pull yourself out of financial woes. It is all in your mind and hands.

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