In 2009, I asked my then boss what he thought were the most important qualities in an entrepreneur, and according to him optimism, ranked highest. I am inclined to agree with him. I recently started out on my own (kind of), and the journey to making that decision was filled with doubt. My biggest concern was the fact that we’re headed into an election period, in…
Read MorePersonal finance blogs, mine included can be very discouraging. Every writer seems to have found the secret to financial success, they seem to be well on their path to wealth, while you the reader keeps slipping back into habits they warn you against day after day. And you wonder what about them is special, and why do they seem to do it so easily? If…
Read MoreWhen an entrepreneur is starting off, he will tend to focus a lot on aspects of the business plan such as product development, strategy, and of course closing that first sale. Few people think about accounting and systems at the get go, and most entrepreneurs think about it when it’s too late, when the business is in financial trouble, and correcting the situation ends up being more…
Read MoreToday’s guest post is by Kelly Spors, a writer with RothIRA.com, a leading retirement and Roth IRA resource. A former Wall Street Journal reporter, Kelly has written about small business and personal finance for The New York Times, Entrepreneur magazine, Yahoo! and SmallBizTrends.com. Enjoy! A credit score above 700 can open many doors for you financially, making it much easier to obtain a mortgage, car loan…
Read MoreIt starts at birth and ends in debt. It is usually harmless comparison: “How much did yours weigh at birth? Mine was 3.6kgs.” “Is yours sitting yet?” ” Mine has one tooth, way ahead of what the book says” Our mothers start us out on this, comparing naturally occurring milestones, as if they have any influence on it. Quickly followed by our fathers when we are…
Read MoreThere’s a lot of debate online as to whether an emergency fund is necessary, and if so, how much is sufficient. In Kenya, the first isn’t valid. We are in such an unpredictable economy, that an emergency fund should be compulsory. I believe you need at least 3 months living expenses set aside (separate from your savings and investment). 3 months is safe, 6 months is even better….
Read MoreHuman beings are natural procrastinators, and our savings decisions are no different. We prefer consuming now, promising ourselves to save more once we get a pay rise to recover lost ground. This rarely happens, as increased pay often results to a corresponding increase in our standard of living, until we get to a point where we simply have to do something to recover. How do…
Read MoreIf you have read up on the history of the stock market and finance, one thing that comes through quite clearly is that the past tends to repeat itself quite often. There’s nothing new under the sun. The first stock market crash happened in 1720: the Mississippi Bubble in France, and the circumstances around it were not too different from the crashes we have witnessed in recent…
Read MoreUnlike in the past where computers were chiefly work tools, these days serve multiple purposes. We use them at work for work related tasks, at home to keep our home records, chat with friends, playing games, watching videos etc. The computer has replaced the television in most homes. With such heavy use, it is expected that your computer’s performance will decline over time. When you…
Read MoreI should start this post by disclaiming that I’m frugal first, then a gadget fan second. I own a couple of gadgets, but I do everything possible to avoid paying for them (within legal bounds of course). A couple of months back I got (note, not bought) the iPhone 4, and before that I had a Nokia E63, which I’d kept for 3 years. When…
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