I earn Sh30,000 but I spend all. How do I buy boda boda for side hustle to avoid losing my girlfriend?
I earn Sh30,000 but I spend all. How do I buy boda boda for side hustle to avoid losing my girlfriend? Photo | Photosearch
What you need to know:
I would want to marry my girlfriend, but I think I am too broke to sustain her. She has a stall in the market in Kawangware where she sells vegetables.
My name is Peter. I’m 25. I earn a monthly net salary of Sh30,000 from my job in Nairobi CBD. My monthly spending is as follows: Rent: Sh10,000, Food Sh10,000, Transport Sh4,000, Black Tax and personal necessities Sh3,000, Power, water Sh1,500, GoTv Sh1,500. This budget leaves me with nothing. I however run hustles over the weekends and manage to get at least Sh1,000 every weekend. Most of this money goes to mobile loans and fuliza. I feel like my life has become a cycle where I earn to survive. One paycheck is only good enough to take me to the next. I have no savings and no investments. I am tired of this but I don’t know what to do. I would want to marry my girlfriend but I think I am too broke to sustain her. She has a stall in the market in Kawangware where she sells vegetables. She has been advising me to buy a boda boda to do side hustles. But I don’t know how to get the money to buy it on cash or even debt. Please help.
Alex Kibebe is the founder of Rubiani Wealth Management Ltd and an investment consultant and business development coach
To save optimally towards fulfilling your goals, I would suggest that you work towards getting your savings to about 20 percent of your income. In your case, you need to get your savings to at least Sh5,000. To achieve this, I would suggest that you reduce your food budget to Sh8,000, pay for GoTv from your weekend hustles (not from your salary) and reduce your “black tax” amount to Sh1,500. Alternatively, you can raise the targeted savings by staying free of mobile debt – which you should prioritize as mobile loans are exorbitantly expensive. This way, you can save up all of your weekend ‘hustle’ income that comes to about Sh4,000 a month. With this, you only need to reduce your food budget by Sh1,000.
I would advise you to put these savings in either a Money Market Fund or a SACCO account. You can check out the various SACCOs available to you and research Money Market funds to determine where to put your money. You might also need to make lifestyle adjustments such as cutting the GoTv budget to a package below Sh1,000. You can also try to get a decent rental within the Sh7,500 range. These two changes will save you an additional Sh3,000.
Once you start saving, you can now target raising enough funds to buy the Boda Boda or, to grow your weekend hustle business and therefore increase your income. If your current side-hustle business is scalable, I would advise you to focus on growing it as it is something you understand.
If you choose to go for a Boda Boda, you can either save enough funds to buy the bike cash or raise the down payment and purchase through debt. There are several Boda Boda loan providers that require a deposit of between Sh15,000 and Sh30,000 with daily repayment of Sh300 to Sh600. If you save Sh5,000 for 3 to 6 months, you will have raised enough money to access a loan and get the motorbike. If on the other hand, you choose to buy the motorbike cash, you will need to save up for 1 year for a secondhand of about Sh65,000 or save up for two years to buy a new Boda Boda at Sh130,000. The alternative is to avoid the loan and hire a boda boda. With this format, riders take a boda from an owner and return daily with an agreed amount of money, usually Sh300 per day. In your case, this would be evenings and weekends.
Once you have bought your Boda Boda or you have expanded your part-time hustle, ensure that you increase your savings to your Money Market Fund or SACCO account to 20 percent of your income. This way, you will raise funds to cover your expenses even after you start a family. It is commendable that your partner is encouraging you to create extra income sources. But don’t be in a rush to marry yet. Get your finances in order first. Encourage her to put her money in an interest-earning too.
*********
If you have any money problems, send us an email at [email protected] and leave your number for contact. Money questions will be answered in this column.
