Life is a journey as they say. Sometimes you are okay, other times you are not. Being a young Kenyan woman, life hasn’t always been rosy. There have been times I have been dead broke and times I have had some few thousands in my account. When I had the money, I always flexed my Luo muscles if you know what I mean. But by experiencing both circumstances, something always remained constant, the importance of financial independence and making great financial decisions.
Life after campus studies is hard, let no one fool you, unless you are a politician’s son or daughter of course. After my undergraduate studies at the Kenyatta University, I wanted to make something of my life. I used to wake up at 5 am every morning, get my workout done, and proceed on to send job applications all day. Fortunately, I got lucky and managed to secure a job at a Company in Nairobi. But it is rather unfortunate that most young graduates don’t always get lucky in getting a job in Kenya. The unemployment rate is at a staggering 2.64%-something needs to be done.
With having a job, I started earning small money, and having experienced the lack of money I wanted to ensure I always have money. If you are working, you know that your salary is never enough. You need other sources of income to maintain a good lifestyle. Being young and at the heart of Kenya, I needed options on how I can invest my money. So I decided to find out the best possible investments a Kenyan youth can make, with good returns.
Below is a list of 6 investment ideas you should consider as a Kenyan youth. You certainly don’t have to invest in all of them. But by picking just two or three and steadily funding each, your wealth will begin to grow steadily.
Buy Fraction Shares or ETF
Buying of shares can be quite costly. But the good news is, you don’t always have to buy full shares of stocks or an EFT these days. You can buy a portion of shares for a fraction of the price. For example, you wanted to buy Netflix shares but cannot afford $500 to buy one share. You can invest $15 and buy a little bit of that one share. However, you cannot normally buy or sell a fractional share on the stock market, you will need to use a brokerage firm.
Not every investing app or broker will let you buy fractional shares. One great app that will allow you to buy a portion of shares is Public.com, as it’s a commission-free stock and ETF trading app for iOS and Android. It also supports fractional share investing in stocks and ETFs.
Open a Retirement Plan
Retirement plans always seem too far-fetched for most young Kenyans. But the truth is, starting your retirement plan early is one of the best investments you will ever make for yourself. If you begin contributing Ksh10,000 per year to a retirement plan at the age of 25, you’ll have Ksh2,008,829 in your plan by age 65. Being on such a fast track will enable you to even retire a few years early.
You don’t have to put Ksh10,000 as the fixed amount you can contribute as much as you want.
Improve your skills
After acquiring an undergraduate degree, most people don’t think of improving their skills let alone it being an investment. But as a young investor, that can be one of the very best investments you can make. After all, the income you earn over your lifetime will be your single greatest asset. The more you can increase it, the more valuable it will be.
Plan to invest at least a small amount of money and time in acquiring any skills you need in your career. You may also think about skills you want to add to prepare you for either a higher-paying job or even for changing careers later on.
You can take additional college courses, order online courses, or enroll in various programs that will add to your skillset. Sure, it will cost you money in the short run, but if it will increase your income substantially in the future. It’ll be some of the best money you ever spent. And that’s an investment in the truest sense.
Get a Robo Advisor.
Everything is digital and getting a robot advisor is simply one of the best things you can do in your investment life. When you invest, you need a broker. When you choose a Robo advisor, also called an automated investing service or online advisor, you get result functions using computer algorithms and advanced software to build your investment portfolio. Your Robo advisor does everything for you with little human interaction required.
When you opt for a traditional broker or financial advisor, you pay more money. Robo advisors’ low costs let you get started cheaply and quickly. You can often input your contact information and get started investing right away.
Trade Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies are on an upward trajectory worldwide. While trading them may seem like a huge risk, not investing in them is worse. You however need to educate yourself on how to trade cryptocurrencies so that you take calculated risks. Find courses on platforms such as Udemy, Kajabi, or Teachable and learn the intricacies of trading things like Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, and others.
Bonds
Bonds can contribute an element of stability to almost any diversified portfolio – they are a safe and conservative investment. They provide a predictable stream of income when stocks perform poorly, and they are a great savings vehicle for when you don’t want to put your money at risk.
Because of the lack of enough income, it will be impossible to spread your money into all these investments. But you can pick two or three and make a step towards making investments for your future. Investing works best when it is done early in life. This will help your money grow, giving you more options in the future.
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