I was born in Busia, Kenya and raised in Nairobi, Kenya. My parents migrated to the United States of America when I was 6 years old. Growing up in Nairobi with my aunt, uncle and 8 other children (5 cousins and 3 siblings), money was never a topic of discussion. We were not poor, but I knew my aunt and uncle did not have enough finances to raise a family of 12. We were just getting by.
I learned that money comes and goes, it is not to be saved or remain in one’s possession. Those with lots of money were devil worshippers and to have no money meant God favored you. My fellow Kenyans, do y’all remember that? Outrageous, right? Like many, I did not think of having money as a great thing. I felt like having money was evil. So, whenever I had money, I would give it away, and this followed me all throughout my adulthood.
My mindset about money started to change when I moved to the United States in 2003 to live with my parents. I remember my mother sitting all 4 of us down and teaching us about the American dollar. “4 quarters is equal to a dollar” she would say. Then she would inform us the importance of saving, holding on to your money and not giving it away. My mind was blown, how was this possible, was I going to be labeled a devil worshipper? My 13-year-old mind was running wild. I did not understand this concept my mother was teaching us, and since she mentioned it once or twice, I paid no mind.
Throughout high school, I had dreams of becoming a physician, because this is what was expected of me. This was a noble career that guaranteed financial security. So, I needed to obtain scholarships for college, because my mother could not afford paying my college fees. I got a scholarship all 5 years of undergrad and received numerous refund checks; $6,000 here, $3,000 there, and guess what I did with it? I gave it all away … money mistakes!
I’m sure by now you are wondering, what will I learn from this woman who gave all her money away? Well, I’m here to tell you that no matter what your background is, what financial mistakes you have had over the years, it is never too late to start saving, investing and creating a better future for yourself. That is what you will learn from my experience.
So, what changed? COVID-19 PANDEMIC!!
In 2019, my wife and I were planning for a 2020 wedding and planned to have children immediately following. The wedding was going to cost roughly $20,000 and IUI/IVF procedures are about $35,000. As 2020 approached, we had a little over $10,000 saved towards the wedding. No emergency fund, all money was going towards the wedding, we had absolutely nothing saved for the kids yet. Then the pandemic hit in March, my wife got laid off in May and we went down to one income.
Talk about THE STRUGGLE!
We experienced it all. We were forced to cancel the wedding and focus on the kids, but with one income this proved to be hard. We did not have a good emergency fund and we only had enough saved for the IUI/IVF procedures, nothing for after the kids got here. This is what woke me up from my sleep. Something had to change. And from August 2020 – December 2020 we made a lot of change
Thanks for sharing your platform sis. Life is about reinvention, and this can happen at different phases of our lives.
Thank you Hellen! I am happy to create this platform to share my journey and empower people to manage their personal finances well.
Absolutely great experiences siz! Yes I do remember having money was seen as ” they have to be devil worshippers, no one can have that much money”. You are very inspiring, you will go far in this field, I trust and believe in you. I love you so much. Iam a proud big sister.