[Photo/citizentv.co.ke]
In the current economic period brought about by uncertainty due to elections, we are reminded that it is sometimes important to have a secret stash of cash hidden 'underneath' the bed.
It is also at these times and when telling stories with equal cash-strapped Kenyans that you remember the advice given to you by the so-called miser of the village.
We all have that one or two gentlemen known for being too frugal to even take a boda-boda ride to the far away from bus station. They believe, if their two feet can move and get them from point A to point B, that that 50 shillings they could have paid for the boda-boda are best accommodated in their wallet and not the boda-boda guys.
Such men are known to have the best accounting skills in their brains and are always making sure they collect their change from kiosks, supermarkets, newspaper vendors and even bargaining with the matatu conductors before boarding one.
We might laugh at them and call them misers, but such practices guarantee that you spend less than your average Kenyan.
Take, for example, the frugal man who refuses to take a boda-boda twice a day. He saves Kshs. 100 per day. That is Kshs. 2,000 if he works and commutes 20 days in a month. In a year, that is Kshs. 24,000. That is the price of a good 32" television on Jumia.co.ke.
You can see from the above example that the frugal life yields tons of savings in the long run.
Therefore, next time you are about to board a matatu, please negotiate a lower price.