Alfred Mathu

One of the most expensive financial mistakes a parent can make is waiting until their child is ready for university to start thinking about how to pay for it. By then, the dream is clear. The child has worked hard, the university has been identified, and the family is ready to take the next step. But there is one problem: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝. Parents know their children will eventually need an education. What many do not appreciate is the amount of money required to finance that education, particularly when a child wants to pursue a specialised course such as medicine or engineering. The mistake is not necessarily failing to afford the education. It is failing to prepare for the cost early enough. Think about it this way. When a child is born, a parent has approximately 18 years before university enrolment. Those years are not just a countdown to school admission. They are an opportunity to build a fund towards a clearly defined goal. This is where financial planning changes the conversation. Instead of asking, “Where will I get the money when my child is ready for university?” the better question is, “𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐭?” When I advise parents on education planning, I encourage them to establish a target, determine their investment horizon and identify a structured way to accumulate the required funds. If the goal is to have 10,000,000 million available in 18 years, the plan must account for the amount required, the time available and the effect of inflation. The cost of education today may not be the cost of education 18 years from now. The earlier you begin, the more time you have to build the fund gradually. You also have more room to adjust your contributions as your income grows and your circumstances change. But there is another consideration that parents must not overlook. A good education plan must account for what could go wrong, not just what you hope will go right. Imagine a parent who has been consistently setting money aside for a child’s education. Then, along the way, the parent experiences a disability, a critical illness or dies before the target is reached Without appropriate financial protection, years of disciplined saving could be disrupted, leaving the child’s education exposed to circumstances beyond the family’s control. Now, what if your child is already in primary or secondary school and you have not started? My advice is simple: 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰. You may not have the same amount of time as a parent whose child has just been born, and achieving the same target may require substantially larger contributions. But delaying further only reduces the time available to prepare. Your child should not have to abandon a well-earned opportunity simply because the financial preparation began too late. Your child’s education deserves a plan, not a last-minute scramble.

A man cannot make more money than his level of information. The more you know, the more you earn.

To be successful you must overcome two things: The fear of failure and the urge for fast results.

The polished shoes, the expensive perfume and the impressive job title may tell you that someone is doing well. Their bank balance, outstanding loans and investment portfolio might tell a very different story. Look closely at some of your salaried friends. They dress well. Their suits are sharply pressed, their dresses are elegant, and they smell of the finest perfumes. They drive to work, attend meetings and carry themselves with the confidence of people who appear to have their finances in order. From the outside, they seem to be doing well. But look a little closer. Some are knee-deep in debt. Their salaries arrive with several claims already waiting: a bank loan, a car repayment, rent, school fees, mobile loans and money owed to friends. They have little in savings and barely any investments to their names. Yet, because a salary arrives every month, they feel financially secure. Until the salary runs out. The last week of the month becomes a struggle. Unexpected expenses trigger panic. Borrowing becomes a temporary solution, and the next payday offers relief before the cycle begins again. This is the uncomfortable reality of financial sickness: you can look financially successful while your finances are quietly falling apart. Imagine working for twenty years, earning progressively better salaries, only to reach a point where losing your job means you cannot maintain your household for even three months. What exactly have those twenty years of earnings built? This is why I encourage people to look beyond their salaries and examine what remains after the money has done its work. How much debt have you accumulated? What savings have you built? What investments are growing in your name? How prepared are you for retirement? If your income stopped today, how long could you maintain your lifestyle without borrowing? One statement I hear repeatedly is that budgeting is impossible unless you earn a certain amount. “You cannot budget on that salary!” Someone earning 30,000 says they cannot budget. Another earning 80,000 says the same thing. Sometimes, even someone earning 200,000 insists that their income is too small to accommodate a financial plan. There is a difference between earning too little to comfortably meet your essential needs and spending without a clear understanding of where your money goes. A budget will not magically make an inadequate income sufficient. It will however help you see your situation clearly. It can reveal whether your essential expenses exceed your income, whether your lifestyle has become too expensive, whether debt repayments are consuming too much of your salary and where adjustments may be possible. Without that information, you are making financial decisions in the dark. You cannot solve a problem you refuse to examine. Saying that you cannot budget because you do not earn enough is a convenient justification for avoiding the exercise altogether. The first step towards financial wellness is acceptance you must be willing to admit that you have not managed your money well, that your debt has become excessive, that you have neglected saving and investing, or that your spending habits are working against your long-term goals. There is no wisdom in continuing down a path that has consistently produced results you are unhappy with simply because it is familiar. If your current way of managing money is not giving you the life you want, why are you so determined to keep doing things the same way? You sought education to improve your career. You seek medical attention when your health requires it. There is equal value in seeking guidance when you need to strengthen your financial position.

What is one lesson your parents taught you that has shaped the person you are today? And for those raising children, what is one lesson you hope your children will never forget? Share it in the comments. You never know who needs to hear the lesson you have to share.

DID YOU KNOW? No one can destroy iron, but its own rust can. Likewise, no one can undermine your financial future quite like your own financial habits can. Just as rust slowly eats away at iron, poor spending habits, delayed investments and a lack of financial discipline can gradually erode the wealth you could have built. Protect your financial future by changing the habits that threaten it.

I made one financial decision in 1998 and i have stuck with it ever since. Here is what you can learn from my experience. In 1998, I made a decision that has shaped how I manage my money to this day: I committed a portion of my regular income to investments. Over the years, my income has changed, my responsibilities have evolved and different financial priorities have emerged. But one principle has remained constant. Whenever I earn, a portion of that income is set aside to build my financial future. When I first started investing, I did not have a crystal ball. I could not predict what the markets would do, how the economy would change or what opportunities the future would bring. What I could control was how much of my income I committed to investing and whether I would remain consistent. I made a decision to invest approximately 30% of my income and stick with it. At the time, I could have found plenty of reasons to do otherwise. I could have waited until I was earning more. I could have convinced myself that I would start investing once my expenses reduced or life became more comfortable. There would always have been a reason to postpone it. Instead, I made investing part of my financial routine. People often focus too much on finding the perfect moment to invest and too little on developing the habit of investing consistently. They wait for a salary increase, a financial windfall or the moment when they finally feel they have enough money. Meanwhile, months and years pass, and investing remains something they intend to do rather than something they actually practise. My approach has been to make investing a regular commitment. This does not mean that life never presents competing demands. It means that investing has a place in my financial priorities, and I make deliberate efforts to maintain that commitment. In 2023, an investment I had started building towards in 1998 matured. After 25 years, I had reached an important milestone. But the maturity of an investment presents another decision: what happens next? I chose to reinvest the proceeds rather than simply absorb them into my lifestyle. That decision reflected the same principle that had guided me from the beginning: I wanted my money to continue serving a purpose beyond the present. 𝐈 𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐭 Everyone’s financial circumstances are different. Not everyone can allocate the same percentage of their income to investments, and the right amount will depend on your present circumstances. The question I would like you to consider is this: 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧? Your financial future is shaped, in part, by the decisions you make repeatedly. If you would like help developing an investment strategy that reflects your own circumstances and financial goals, I invite you to book a financial wellness session with me.

Your salary needs a plan before your expenses take over. Rent, school fees, family responsibilities and lifestyle will always compete for your money. Without a clear budget, you may find yourself earning every month but making little progress financially. I believe every shilling should have an assignment: some for emergencies, some for investments, some for your future, and some to enjoy today. Give your money direction, or your expenses will give it one. The question is simple: Are you telling your money where to go, or wondering where it went?

I met a young lawyer who had taken a mortgage to acquire a Ksh.16,000,000 property but his rental income was only Ksh.72,000 a month. Despite owning a valuable asset, he was struggling financially! After looking at the numbers, I advised him to consider a difficult decision: selling the property before the situation became worse. Here's a lesson every property investor should understand: owning an asset worth millions doesn't automatically mean you're building wealth. The numbers must make sense. Your investments should support your financial goals, not put your financial stability at risk. If you were in his position, would you sell or hold on to the property?

Have you ever checked your M-Pesa balance, only to realise that the money you had a few days ago has almost disappeared? You look at your phone in disbelief. The balance was healthy just the other day. Now you are staring at a few hundred shillings, wondering what happened. The strange thing is that you cannot remember doing anything major with the money. You haven’t bought a car, paid school fees or made any significant purchase. Just a few transactions here, a few purchases there, some money sent to a friend, a little shopping, lunch, transport and perhaps a weekend outing. Nothing that felt particularly expensive. Yet somehow, the money is gone. It is almost as though it evaporated straight from your M-Pesa account, leaving no trace of where it went. And you are left asking yourself, “Hii pesa ilienda wapi?” You have probably heard people say, “Pesa hujitafutia kazi.” Money always seems to find something to do. And that is precisely the problem. Money will always find somewhere to go if you don’t decide where it should go first. There will always be another bill to pay, something to buy, someone to help or an opportunity to spend. By the time you remember your savings and investment goals, there may be very little left to work with. If you are keen you will see this pattern. Someone receives their salary with every intention of saving and investing that month. They start by paying a few bills, handle some personal expenses and attend to the things that cannot wait. As the days go by, more expenses appear. Then one day, they check their phone and wonder how a seemingly comfortable balance became a double-digit figure. This is why I encourage people to 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞. Before your income arrives, decide how much needs to go towards your savings, investments, emergency fund and other financial goals. Once the money comes in, allocate those amounts before everyday expenses begin claiming their share. The amount will depend on your income, responsibilities and goals. I recommend 25%, but you may start with 10%, 20% or whatever is realistic for your circumstances. What matters is making the decision deliberately and sticking to it. You should also pay attention to where the rest of your money goes. Review your M-Pesa statements and bank transactions. You may discover that several small, ordinary expenses are taking up a significant part of your income. Once you can see the pattern, you can decide what needs to change. You don’t have to stop enjoying your money. You simply need to make sure that your present lifestyle does not consume everything you could be using to build your future. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞. I invite you to a one-on-one financial review where we can examine your income, spending habits, financial obligations and existing investments, identify possible leaks and explore suitable investment options aligned with your goals.

Making money is only the first step towards financial success. The real question is: what happens to your money after you earn it? Many people work hard, earn salaries, run businesses and generate income for years, yet struggle to achieve their financial goals. The challenge often lies in what happens between earning the money and building lasting wealth. I believe money must go through three important stages: 1. MAKE MONEY — Build Your Income Whether you earn a salary, run a business or have multiple income streams, generating income gives you the resources to work towards your financial goals. But earning more money alone does not automatically translate into financial security. 2. MANAGE MONEY — Give Every Shilling a Purpose This is where financial planning becomes essential. You need to understand how much you earn, where your money goes, what your priorities are and how your spending aligns with your goals. Effective money management involves budgeting, controlling unnecessary expenses, managing debt, building an emergency fund and making informed financial decisions. 3. MULTIPLY MONEY — Put Your Money to Work Once you have a structured financial plan, the next step is to build your investments. Through consistent saving, appropriate investment choices, diversification and long-term planning, you can work towards growing your wealth and creating financial independence. But there is one more thing that matters: the information behind your financial decisions. Financial decisions based on hearsay, social pressure and unverified claims can take you away from your goals. Research, reliable information and professional financial guidance can help you make decisions that serve both your present needs and your future ambitions. This is why financial literacy and financial planning matter. You need a clear understanding of your current financial position, a strategy for managing your resources and a roadmap for achieving your goals. Your money should do more than sustain your lifestyle today. It should also help you build security for tomorrow. Remember: Make money. Manage money. Multiply money. Which stage are you focusing on right now: making more money, managing what you earn or multiplying it through investments?

One of the most important questions you should ask yourself before making an investment is this: What am I building towards? Are you preparing to educate your children, buy a home, secure your retirement or create financial independence for your family? Whatever your goal, having a clear destination changes the way you approach investing. When you know what you are working towards, it becomes easier to remain disciplined. You begin to see your monthly contributions as part of a bigger plan. The money you invest today has a purpose, and that purpose can help you resist the temptation to spend it on something that offers immediate satisfaction. This discipline becomes especially important when markets fluctuate. There will be periods when returns disappoint, when another investment appears more attractive or when you are tempted to abandon your strategy because progress feels too slow. Without a clear goal, it is easy to lose direction. With one, you have a reason to review your decisions carefully rather than react to every change. Compounding allows returns to generate further returns, helping your investments build momentum over the years. The longer your money remains invested, the more opportunity it has to work for you. This is why I encourage people to begin with their financial goals before choosing where to invest. Your goals help determine how much you need to invest, how long you have to achieve them and how much risk you can reasonably take. You do not have to build wealth overnight. You need a clear plan, investments suited to your circumstances and the discipline to remain committed while reviewing your progress along the way. Wealth creation is a journey of intentional decisions repeated over time. Know what you are building, give your investments time to grow and let consistency do its work. Do you have clear financial goals but aren’t sure how to turn them into an actionable investment plan? Let’s have a one-on-one session to define your goals, establish your priorities and map out the steps to achieving them.

If I asked you to imagine losing money, what would come to mind? Perhaps someone stole it, maybe you misplaced it. Maybe you spent it on something you later regretted. Most of us can easily imagine these things. But there is another way to lose money that is far less obvious. You can lose money without spending a single shilling. Its name is inflation. Imagine putting 100,000 somewhere and leaving it untouched for years. You still have your 1,000, you haven’t withdrawn it, nobody has stolen it. But when you eventually take it out, you may discover that the things 100,000 could buy years ago now cost considerably more. The money is still there, but it’s purchasing power isn’t. The graphic above illustrates just how significant that erosion can be. According to the figures shown, 1,000 in January 2010 had purchasing power equivalent to roughly 344 by September 2026. There is nothing wrong with keeping money accessible for emergencies or short-term needs. In fact, liquidity is an important part of a sound financial plan. But money that you don’t need immediately should not necessarily remain completely idle. It should have a purpose. It should be placed in an environment appropriate for your goals, time horizon and risk tolerance, with the potential to earn a return and, over time, help protect its purchasing power. Not making a financial decision is also a financial decision. You may think you are doing nothing with your money. But while your money sits still, the cost of everything around you can keep moving. The next time you think about losing money, don’t only think about theft, bad investments or unnecessary spending. Remember the silent thief. Inflation doesn’t take your money away. It slowly takes away what your money can buy. Do you know whether your money is keeping up with inflation? If you’re not sure, talk to me. Let’s look at your money, your goals and whether your current strategy is working for you.

Building wealth is only part of the journey. You also need to protect its value, manage the risks that could erode it, and have a plan for transferring it to the next generation. Consider this: If your investment earns 10% while inflation is 12%, your money is effectively losing 2% in purchasing power. If your investment earns 7% while inflation is 5%, you have a 2% positive spread over inflation. This is why inflation matters when making investment decisions. The goal is to understand whether your investments are growing at a rate that preserves and potentially increases the real value of your money. But building wealth is only one part of financial planning. You also need to protect what you are building. Life comes with risks: death, disability, critical illness, medical emergencies and inflation can all affect your financial plan. One way of managing risks that could otherwise overwhelm your personal finances is through appropriate insurance and medical cover. Imagine spending years building an investment portfolio, only for a major medical diagnosis to force you to liquidate those investments to pay hospital bills. That is why financial protection matters. Your investment portfolio should not only be built to grow. It should also be protected from risks that could force you to dismantle it. And then comes another part of wealth planning that many people overlook: Succession planning. Building wealth is one thing. Having a clear plan for how that wealth will be transferred to the next generation is another. A will and a proper succession plan can help you clearly communicate how your assets should be distributed according to your wishes, rather than leaving your family to figure it out during an already difficult period. Financial planning therefore goes beyond saving and investing. It is about: Grow → Protect → Distribute. Grow your wealth. Protect your wealth. Plan how your wealth will be transferred. The decisions you make while you are healthy and financially active can have a lasting impact on your family and the legacy you leave behind. Are you currently focused only on building wealth, or have you also planned how to protect and transfer it?

The man who spends recklessly is often celebrated publicly. Nobody celebrates the man who quietly invests his income every month. One day, the quiet investor will have something the spender cannot buy: FINANCIAL FREEDOM.

In 2007, I met a gentleman whose work took him around the world. He was a tea tester, travelling from country to country tasting, testing and grading tea. What stood out about him was that he had very clear financial goals. He knew what he wanted to achieve; all he needed was someone to walk the journey with him, provide guidance and help him navigate his investment journey. He had three children, and he wanted each of them to own a home in Nairobi one day. So we sat down and created a plan. For the next 10 years, he invested KSh 100,000 every month for each child KSh 300,000 every month in total. Then he did something that is often harder than starting an investment: 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭. His wife knew what they were building, I knew, but his children had absolutely no idea. For 10 years, they went about their lives unaware that their parents were quietly preparing something that would change their futures. Then, in 2017, the plan matured. The investment had grown to approximately KSh 57 million, including contributions and accumulated returns. He decided it was time to reveal the secret. He brought his three children and his wife together. On the table were three envelopes. Inside each envelope were keys. He had bought three fully furnished three-bedroom apartments in Lavington, one for each child, at approximately KSh 18 million each. When he finally revealed what they had been quietly building for the previous 10 years, the room filled with tears. His children cried, his wife cried, he cried, and I was fortunate enough to be there and witness the moment. Whenever I think about that day, I don’t think first about the KSh 57 million. I think about the 10 years that came before it. Ten years of having a goal when there was nothing tangible to show for it. Ten years of making the investment every month. Ten years of resisting the temptation to divert the money elsewhere. Ten years of patience. Ten years of discipline. That is what makes financial planning powerful. A goal begins as an idea. A plan gives it direction. Consistent action gives it momentum, and time gives it the opportunity to become something much bigger than the original contribution. His children saw the keys in 2017, but the real gift had been quietly built every month since 2007. Your goal may be a home. It may be your children’s education. It may be a business, financial independence, generational wealth or a comfortable retirement. Every great financial goal needs a number, a timeline and a plan. If there is something you want to build over the next 5, 10 or 20 years, let’s work backwards from the future you want and create a plan to get there. You don’t have to figure out the journey alone. Let’s sit down and build the plan together. Schedule a discussion.

Some goals are better kept between you and God. Sometimes people become so excited about what they are working towards that they start talking about it before it has had a chance to materialize. They announce the business before it has opened. They talk about the investment before it has had time to grow. They tell people about the property they intend to buy before they have even saved the deposit. They announce the next chapter before they have written it. Without realising it, they can begin enjoying the excitement and recognition that should come after the achievement. There is power in allowing the work to speak before the words do. When a goal is still taking shape, it needs your attention more than it needs an audience. It needs discipline, patience and consistent effort. There will be setbacks, changes in direction and moments when the original plan no longer makes sense. Keeping the journey private gives you the freedom to work through those moments without feeling the pressure to prove anything to anyone. Of course, there are times when sharing a goal is necessary. A mentor may need to know. A partner may need to be involved. An adviser may help you avoid costly mistakes. Accountability can be valuable. But there is a difference between sharing your plans with the people who can help you build them and announcing them simply to be seen. Some things are better nurtured quietly. if you have a dream you are quietly working towards, keep going. Keep saving, keep investing, keep learning, keep building. One day, the thing you spent years quietly building will stand in front of you as proof that your patience was worth it. And when that day comes, you won’t need a long explanation. The life you built will tell the story for you.