Wambui Nyokabi: My 6 ways of saving and creating wealth

Violet W. Nyokabi is a real estate professional who works with real estate firm, Optiven Group, as a property advisor.

Biggest money mistake: A few years ago, I gave up my potential to earn money by opting to be a stay-at-home mom. At first, I thought it was diligent move, but I learned the hard way that leaving a career to be a stay at home mom has its repercussions. The longer you stay at home, the harder it will be to get back at work. I finally made a return to my career and have not looked back since. In contrast to being a stay-at-home spouse, it is more fulfilling to help and serve others, be productive, solve problems, meet challenges and learn new concepts and skills in your career or business. Having some additional growth opportunities outside the family unit is paramount. It is a critical form of investing in yourself that you must not neglect.

Saving method: I have previously saved without a budget. This was not very effective. Today, I record all my expenses, save and work with a budget. I have goals that I am saving on through the 6 Jar Method that comprises of:

i). The Necessity Jar that takes 55 per cent of my budget. It is made up of utility bills such as water, gas, power and food.

ii). The Financial Freedom Jar which takes 10 per cent of my budget. It is made up of investments in real estate, gold, funds and debentures.

iii). The Education Jar which takes 10 per cent of the budget and focuses on academics.

iv). The Long Term Jar which takes 10 per cent and includes savings for longer term goals such as new properties.

v). The Play Jar which includes savings for a vacation.

vi). The Charity Jar which includes money for charity, family, friends, or the needy.

Biggest career loss: At the beginning of my career I was keen on being more excellent at my work and less keen on building relationships. But I quickly learned that I couldn’t work in isolation. To succeed both professionally and personally, you need to build relationships and networks with co-workers and clients. This has gone on to be my biggest milestone.

Secret to success: I am a believer in personalized service, building connections and solid communication with clients. From the onset, my goal has been to exceed the expectation of my client and this has in turn been the cornerstone of my success. Over time, I have observed that many of us are not fast enough to grab opportunities. Instead, we hang back and hope for a miracle to happen. But opportunities will always favour the prepared and ready.

If I could go back in time: I would not change a thing because my experiences and the lessons I have derived over time have helped me grow personally and professionally.

Entrepreneurship or employment: The definition of entrepreneurship has been over romanticized. Every day millions of people stop at their workplaces and think about how much better their lives would be if they worked for themselves instead of their employers. And it is easy to fantasize about waking up and going to your home office and doing work that you scheduled, and answering to no one but yourself. Nonetheless, too often, the benefits of being employed become evident once you loathe you job, jump and start working for yourself. Building a great business is not like making popcorn or instant coffee. And not all of us are cut out for it. The key is to stop the fantasies and instead become better professionals regardless of where we are in our careers.