WHY IT’S NOT YET TIME FOR KENYANS TO GO TO CANAAN

The 2017 general election was one of the most hotly contested elections in Kenya’s History. The Jubilee Party led by the sitting president put in a strong fight to defend the seat which the opposition coalitions, NASA were keen to win. They did so by promising Kenyans a flurry of goodies in what was generally referred to as CANAAN. Kenyan’s, created hilarious memes on various social media which seemed to diffuse the tension of a highly negative campaign that at times degenerated to ethnic balkanization and name calling. When the Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission finally announced President Kenyatta as the winner of the election. The journey to Canaan came to an end and as it stands, CANAAN was a dream that only existed in the minds of opposition supporters. On a lighter note, I will try to explain why it’s not yet time for Kenyan’s to go to Canaan using the story of Israelites. I will quote a few scriptures from my own understanding and I must give a disclaimer that the views expressed here are personal. They don’t represent the views of my pastor, my employer or my friends.

1.     The time to stay in Egypt is longer than expected.

 In Genesis 15:13, the Lord tells Abraham, “Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years.”

The Children of Israel stayed in Egypt for 430 years instead of the 400 years that the Lord had told Abraham, this is captured in Exodus 12:40 “Now the time that the sons of Israel lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, to the very day, all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt

So its not yet time to leave, Kenyans gonna stay in Egypt for longer than predicted or expected.

2.     Why 430 and not 400 Years?

Yahweh ( The God of Israel ) is a faithful God, in the 390^th Year, he sent Moses to go and deliver the Israelites but one day as he tried to make peace between two fighting Israelites, they asked him a question that send him to exile for 40 years.. Exodus 2:14 says “But he said, "Who made you a prince or a judge over us? “ The truth of the matter is , Moses was the Prince and judge of the Isrelists. But when he showed up to deliver them. They never perceived him as their bonafide ruler and judge so they mistook him for a murderer, a spoiler, a spoiled brat ( He had grown up in the royal palace ) and so they missed the chance to go back to Canaan at the appointed time of 400 years.

3.     The savior went on exile.

So Moses went on exile and it was after almost 40 years that he resurfaced and embarked on the process of delivering the Israelites and delivering them to Canaan. Finally, after 430 years, the journey began and they finally left Canaan. 30 years later tan had been predicted and expected.

4.     The Kenyan Context

Raila in this case is compared to Moses. He is the guy to take Kenyans from Egypt to Canaan. But Kenyans ( At least the majority who voted against him ) don’t perceive him like the savior. They misunderstand him for a spoiler, a violent man who is fighting for his own interests and because of that, another 30 years of slavery awaits us….It’s not  yet time to go to Canaan. The savior ( Raila ) has shown up at the right time, but our understanding of him and our receiving of him as the guy to save us is still way behind time. It will take us another 30 years like the Israelites to understand the guy and the role he is expected to play in our deliverance.

Conclusion

It’s not yet time to go to Canaan. Raila, my advice to you is this; You have good ideas for our country, you have sacrificed a lot for this country, you have real and genuine plans to take us to Canaan, but Kenyans have asked you a tough question “ Who told you that we want to go to Canaan? “  As Moses did, I would advise you to go and take a deserved vacation in a foreign land, in an exotic Island or a secluded archipelago. When the time is right, Kenyans will embrace you.

N/B

Ideas and opinions expressed here are personal and are not meant to influence anybody’s faith or political belief. 

OVERCOMING THE CULTURE OF INSTANT GRATIFICATION

Article written and reserched by Zack Mwema

Recently, I had a long chat with a friend, whom I will call Dennis. The topic of discussion was investing for the future and being recently employed,  Dennis told me that he wanted to quit active employment at 40 and then live off his businesses and investments. As we continued to chat along our topic, I noticed that Dennis, like many young people was not willing to save part of his income so that he can invest it for the future. He told me that he wanted to live in the present and wanted all the good things that money can buy now and not tomorrow. He simply wanted instant gratification and could not hear any of my theories on the need to delay his spending so as to enjoy it in the future, what otherwise is referred to as delayed gratification. One of the major reason why majority of people never achieve their financial goals is because of the problem of instant gratification; we want to be financially independent in the future yet we do not want to have the patience to save and invest our income so that we can get it back with better returns tommorow.The culture of instant gratification in modern times is perpertuated by state of the art advertising that makes sure that there is always something that we need every day.

The power of instant gratification

 Let’s consider this passage of the Scripture which I lifted from the book of Genesis chapter 25 from verses 29 up to 34.

“Jacob was boiling lentil stew one day, when Esau came from the field and was faint with hunger. Esau said to Jacob, I beg of you, let me have some of that red lentil stew to eat, for I am faint and famished! .  Jacob answered, then sell me today your birthright (the rights of a firstborn). Esau said, See here, I am at the point of death; what good can this birthright do me? Jacob said, Swear to me today [that you are selling it to me]; and he swore to [Jacob] and sold him his birthright. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils, and he ate and drank and rose up and went his way”

In this passage, we see Esau despising his birthright and selling it for a bowl of lentil stew. He needed food and what mattered to him was getting it right then. Most of us have grown up reading and hearing this story but I don’t know how many of us have ever meditated on it and asked themselves how this “ Esau Instant Gratification “ mentality plays itself in each and every day of our lives. With all the advancement in knowledge, access to education and technology, you would be fooled into thinking that our generation is smarter than Esau’s generation. The truth is, we are not. Here are examples of decisions that we make that will give Essau a run for his wisdom or lack of it…..

a.      We spend all our income and do not save or invest part of it, later on in life we retire or a retrenched, only to find that we need more income in our old age than we currently do.

b.     We live beyond our means; we buy luxury items that we can barely afford from proceeds of loans that we get. This way, we mortgage our future by spending tomorrow’s income today. When you take a loan of say three years in 2015 and spend the proceeds in anything that will not guarantee more income, it means that you are spending your 2016, 2017 and 2018 income today. What will you spend in 2017?

c.      We eat junk food, processed foods and have no time for exercise to keep fit. That way, we sacrifice tomorrow’s health for the pleasures of today.

The list is endless and can go on and on. As renown Leadership expert John Maxwell says, we can either pay the price today and enjoy the benefits later or enjoy the benefits today and pay the price later often with interest. But the price must be paid. Later on in life, Essau paid for the birthright that he had sold to his younger brother. When he learned that Jacob had received the blessing that were reserved for the first born, he cried foul and said that his brother had conned him and wanted to kill him, but wait a moment, hadn’t he sold his birthright to Jacob? The same will apply to those of us who mortgage our futures for the sake of today’s pleasures. A time will come when we will cry foul, blame our Government, our past employers, our wives and even our children for the ills that we will find ourselves in. But the price must be paid and paid in full.

The Power of Delayed Gratification

Let us emancipate ourselves from the chains of instant gratification and instead embrace patience, futuristic thinking. In the 1960s, a Stanford  University professor named Walter Mischel began conducting a series of experiment using children between the ages of  4 to 5. The experiment began by bringing each child into a private room, sitting them down in a chair, and placing a marshmallow on the table in front of them. At this point, the researcher offered a deal to the child. The researcher told the child that he was going to leave the room and that if the child did not eat the marshmallow while he was away, then they would be rewarded with a second marshmallow. However, if the child decided to eat the first one before the researcher came back, then they would not get a second marshmallow.So the choice was simple: one treat right now or two treats later.

The researcher left the room for 15 minutes. As you can imagine, the footage of the children waiting alone in the room was rather entertaining. Some kids jumped up and ate the first marshmallow as soon as the researcher closed the door. Others wiggled and bounced and scooted in their chairs as they tried to restrain themselves, but eventually gave in to temptation a few minutes later. And finally, a few of the children did manage to wait the entire time.

As the years rolled on and the children grew up, the researchers conducted follow up studies and tracked each child’s progress in a number of areas. The children who were willing to delay gratification and waited to receive the second marshmallow ended up having higher exam scores, lower levels of substance abuse, lower likelihood of obesity, better responses to stress, better social skills as reported by their parents, and generally better scores in a range of other life measures…….so the decision is simple my friends, Eat the stew now like Essau and pay the price later with interest or pay the price now like Jacob and enjoy the benefits later

Kindly follow me on Twitter @zackraulmwema or visit my Facebook Page Stars of the Future and lets talk about Money

EASY STEPS IN TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT MONEY

Buoyed by my newly acquired status as a father, I have of late been asking myself so many questions with regards to the future of my lovely daughter. Most of these questions revolve around whether she will at some day grow to be an independent person who can make sound decisions and take responsibility for their consequences; I keep on asking myself how i can instil in her, a working and saving culture at a young age so that even when am not there for her, she will be able to provide for herself and lead a responsible life. I know i am not alone in trying to solve this puzzle as many parents will want to do the same. Apart from my well publicised model on what the Jews teach their children about money, i recently came about this story published on the Saturday Nation by Wacheke Nduati which i believe offers more practical and valuable lessons on teaching Children about work and money. Here it is...

Children need to learn about money. I look back at my past financial behaviour and wish that some lessons had hit me harder when I was in college, high school or even primary school. I am a parent as well and I realise that if I don’t teach my children what I now know, they will also wish someone had taught them earlier. If you are not consciously teaching them something, they are learning from society, which may not always be the right thing.

You can change that by teaching them simple finance lessons. No matter what age they are, give them some experiences that will have an impact on them. I want to share what my husband and I started doing very recently with our almost four-year-old son, and what we hope to achieve. We started giving our son a weekly allowance – not for free, but for doing certain things outside the normal scope of his chores. He therefore earns his allowance by doing tasks such as making his bed, making sure his dirty clothes are in the laundry and so forth.

You will obviously have to take into consideration your child’s age in order to assign age-appropriate tasks. For example it is fine to give him a reward for making his bed at age four, but by age seven, he should not get any brownie points for this and his allowance should come from other tasks. You may have a child who can come up with the weekly shopping list, arrange your home-office files or even wash your car. You should make the call on what is expected and what constitutes going the extra mile. The allowance is for the extra mile.

What do we think this will teach him? That money can and should be earned. 

We also hope it will establish the relationship between effort and money. To understand that your own effort is what brings in money is very important.

 I think we have a society where too many people feel entitled. If you are giving your child a healthy allowance with no work on their part, that sense of entitlement will not disappear at their first job. They will want to be paid a higher salary without any corresponding change in their effort or attitude.

We hope that when our son wants something he will learn to think about what he needs to do rather than who has to give it to him.

 The day our son was waiting for finally came. He could go to the piggy bank, remove his money and buy something. My husband pointed out to him that he could only remove half the money in the piggy bank. This is to instil the value of saving and discourage him from spending all the money he has.We hope he will learn that the sole purpose of earning money is not to spend it immediately. Delayed gratification is a discipline that will serve your children. Maybe then when they get a salary they will not live payday-to-payday. Saving, in their mind, will be automatic.

The last and best lesson came when we were actually in the shop. I was praying my son does not see something he likes and can immediately afford. My prayers were answered. He went from toy to toy only to be told he did not have enough money. Though his numerical understanding at this age is still minimal, his understanding of toys is not.He realized he could not afford the big, flashy toys that he wanted. His disappointment was obvious when he understood the limitation of his finances.However he did eventually find something he liked, albeit less flashy, and he bought it. He took it up to the cashier himself, asked how much it was and handed over his money.He was extremely proud to have bought something for himself with his own money. He also understood what he would have to do to afford the toys he wanted. He has to do extra tasks for more weeks.

So he has learnt that he will not be able to afford everything all the time and will have to compromise. He also learnt that his discipline paid off.

As we go along I will introduce goal setting, such as identifying something in particular and working towards that.We also want to introduce giving to church, to his brother in the form of gifts, and so on. The piggy bank will also at some point evolve to a bank account, shares and others.

One amazing side effect of this experience is the conversation; children understand a lot more than we give them credit for. My son now asks a lot of questions about money, how his parents make money, what we buy and so forth.Many of us would have benefited from such open, honest discussions about money when we were growing up. So be thankful to have the chance to change that with the next generation.

WHY LOAN TOP UPS ARE BLEEDING YOU DRY

Recently, i had an interesting discussion online with one of my loyal clients and readers. For the purpose of this article, i will call him  James.  James had read my article STOP BORROWING LOANS TO SPICE UP YOUR LIFESYLE and had thus taken a loan of Kshs 600,000 from a local bank to purchase four dairy cows. The project he told me was doing well and had reported a monthly profit of Kshs 45,000 and he now wanted to add two more dairy cows. He told me that the monthly revenue was enough to meet his monthly loan repayment and leave a decent amount for other uses.

The bone of contention was then how to finance the purchase of additional dairy cows. James proposed to go back to the same bank and top up his existing loan. He argued that since he had repaid the loan for a year and it was a six year loan at 20% interest rate, he would thus apply for a top up. My argument was that he should save the cash he was getting from his existing project and thus buy the two dairy cows. I further told him that its better to apply for a fresh additional loan than to top up an existing loan. Here is my reason;

Most banks in Kenya charge interest through what is called reducing balance method; very few use the straight line method. Let me differentiate between the two;  in a straight-line method, interest for all years is loaded  upfront on the loan and the resultant figure is equally distributed on the repayment months This method is mainly used to calculate the interest payable for  SACCO loans and  Micro Finance loans. You pay interest on the entire loan balance throughout the duration of the loan. Flat interest rate calculation formula can be represented like this:

Interest Payable per Installment = (Original Loan Amount * No. of Years * Interest Rate p.a.  / Number of Installments

 In the reducing balance method, interest is charged on a monthly basis. This method is mainly used to calculate the interest payable for personal loans, mortgages, overdraft (OD) facilities, and credit cards. You only pay interest on the remaining loan balance. A reducing balance interest calculation formula can be represented like this:

Interest Payable per Installment = Interest Rate per Installment * Remaining Loan Amount

Back to our topic of discussion, though the reducing balance is cheaper than the straight-line method, reducing balance tends to be costly over the first half of instalments. This is because in the initial months of the loan term, interest payments take up much of the loan instalment leaving a smaller fraction to go towards the principal. In James’ case, out of the Kshs 14,371 that he pays as the first instalment, Kshs 10,000 goes towards the interest with only a paltry Kshs 4,371 going towards  principal payment and herein lies my argument that loan top ups are expensive affairs.
After the first one year of faithfully servicing his loan, James had parted with Kshs 172,462 but his loan balance was  Kshs 542,455. After the second year, he will have paid Kshs 344,928, more than half of the principal, but the loan balance will be only Kshs 472,282. So this was the math that tipped the argument to my favour.

Many people just like James are always in a rush to top up their loans so that they can sort out a pressing emergency. What many don’t know is that they end up wasting most of their hard earned cash on loan interests rather than channelling the same towards debt reduction.
The following is my advice on how we can overcome this problem of loan top ups that’s fleecing our pockets and enriching banks;

a)    If and when it’s a must to top up a loan, it’s advisable to wait at least one year past the half way point of the loan. This is because, at that point, the tide turns towards the principal and the larger part of the instalment goes towards principal reduction.

b)    Its always important to remember that loans are also insured, which also increases what we call loan costs. In the case of James, he had paid insurance premiums for six years, once a loan is topped up, its regarded as a new loan and new premiums must be paid. So the premiums he had paid for the next five years will go to waste.

c)     Patience is key when it comes to loan repayment. My advice is, never top up a loan, it’s even cheaper to take a new loan than to top up a long term loan.

d)   Always compare and contrast different loan rates. What many lenders show in their brochures is actually different fro what they charge. You can also check via this ONLINE LOAN CALCULATOR  and confirm for yourself that what you agree with your lender is what is right and correct.

e)     Click this link to like my facebook page, Stars of the Future where we learn and talk more about money, debts and savings.

So, i will leave you with a quote from Warren Buffet, “ Chains of habit are to light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken “

STOP CARRYING BUCKETS AND BEGIN BUILDING PIPELINES

Recently, i was invited to speak to a group of young  professionals who were being inducted to begin working with the Tana River County Government, my main topic was on saving and investment and so i thought it wise to share with them what the jews teach their children about money, a model which i have been an ardent student and teacher of, i shared with them a story called The Parable of the Pipeline which was publisehed in a book written by Buke Hedges....Here is the story

“Once upon a time long, long ago, two ambitious young cousins named Pablo and Bruno lived side by side in a small Italian village. The young men were best buddies, and big dreamers. They would talk endlessly about how someday, someway, they would become the richest men in the village. They were both bright and hard working. All they needed was an opportunity. One day that opportunity arrived. The village decided to hire two men to carry water from a nearby river to a cistern in the town square. The job went to Pabloand Bruno. Each man grabbed two buckets and headed to the river. By the end of the day, they had filled the town cistern to the brim. The village elder paid them one penny for each bucket of water."This is our dream come true! "Shouted Bruno. "I can't believe our good fortune."But Pablo wasn't so sure. His back ached and his hands were blistered from carrying the heavy buckets. He dreaded getting up and going to work the next morning. He vowed to think of a better way to get the water from the river to the village.

Pablo The Pipeline Man:

"Bruno, I have a plan," Pablo said the next morning as they grabbed theirbuckets and headed for the river. "Instead of lugging buckets back and forth for pennies a day, let's build a pipeline from the village to the river."Bruno stopped dead in his tracks."A pipeline! Whoever heard of such a thing?" Bruno shouted. "We've got a great job, Pablo. I can carry 100 buckets a day. At a penny a bucket that's a dollar a day! I'm rich!. By the end of the week, I can buy a new pair of shoes. By the end of the month a cow. By the end of six months I can buy a new hut. We have the best job intown and off and two weeks paid vacation every year. We're set for life! Get out of here with your pipeline."But Pablo was not easily discouraged. He patiently explained the pipeline plan to his best friend. Pablo would work part of the day carrying buckets, and part of the day and weekends building his pipeline. He knew it would be hard work digging a ditch in the rocky soil. Because he was paid by the bucket he knew his income would drop. He also knew it might take a year or two before his pipeline would pay off. But Pablo believed in his dream and he went to work.

 

Bruno and the rest of the villagers began mocking Pablo, calling him "Pablo ThePipeline Man." Bruno, who was earning almost twice the money as Pablo,flaunted his new purchases. Which he kept parked outside his new two-story hut. He bought flashy clothes and fancy meals at the inn. The villagers called him Mr. Bruno

Small Actions Equal Big Results:

While Bruno lay in his hammock on evenings and weekends, Pablo kept digging his pipeline. The first few months Pablo didn't have much to show for his efforts. The work was hard, even harder than Bruno's because Pablo was working evenings and weekends too. But Pablo kept reminding himself that tomorrow’s dreams are built on today’ssacrifices. Day by day he dug, inch by inch. Inches turned into one foot........... then ten feet............ then 20............. then100."Short-term pain equals long-term gain," he reminded himself as he stumbled into his hut after another exhausting day's work. "In time my reward will exceed my efforts," he thought."Keep your eyes on the prize," he kept thinking as he drifted off to sleep with the sounds of laughter from the village tavern in the background.

The Tables Are Turned:

Days turned into months..Finally Pablo's big day arrived, his pipeline was complete! The villagers crowded around as the water gushed from the pipeline into the village cistern! Now that the village had a steady supply of fresh water, people from around the country side moved into the village and the village prospered. Once the pipeline was complete, Pablo didn't have to carry buckets anymore. But Bruno was rendered jobless immediately. The water flowed whether he worked or not. It flowed while he ate. It flowed while he played, it flowed while he was asleep. Pablo the pipeline man was now Pablo the Miracle man.

 

This cute story illustrates why we gravitate to bucket carrying jobs.It reminds me of a car bumper sticker I saw recently: A million people can't be wrong! People think the same about bucket carrying - A million bucket carriers can't be wrong! Well, yes they can! Let's face it; there are a lot more bucket carriers in this world than there are pipeline builders. Why? Because bucket carrying is the model that our parents followed and the one it taught us to follow.

The bucket-carrying model tells you that in a bucket carrying world, here's what you have to do to get ahead:Go to bucket school and learn how to carry buckets. Work really hard. Earn the right to carry bigger buckets. Resign from Bucket Company A to work for Bucket Company B, which lets you carry even bigger buckets. Work long hours so that you can carry even more buckets. Put your children through bucket carrying college. Change careers from carrying metal buckets to carrying plastic buckets ... to carrying digital buckets. Dream of the day you can retire from bucket carrying. Until then, keep on carrying those buckets ... !!

So what do bucket carriers do when they need more money? Because they have a bucket carrying mentality, they come up with a bucket carrying solution - if you need more money, you've simply got to carry more buckets. Bucket carriers reason that bigger buckets mean bigger paychecks. So bucket carriers tell themselves that everything is okay if they could just get a job carrying bigger buckets.

So, today, think about your future, think about what will happen when you have no more energy to carry buckets...you can visit my blog Stars of the future and learn about more articles incuding why i stoped lending money to my friends which generated a record readership. You can also drop an email on zaxmwema@gmail.com or visit our facebook page Stars of the Future to interact with more like minded people.