Tips To Survive On A 15K Monthly Salary In Nairobi
To survive with a 15K salary in Nairobi, you must cut your expenses and find ways to leverage deals for household goods. With a 15,000 salary in Nairobi, you can manage a simple but comfortable life and find extra cash to save. In this post, we shall give you tips to help you survive on a 15k salary in Nairobi.
1. Rent a cheap house nearest to the place you work
Your focus should be saving as much as practical. Find a house to rent near your place of work to reduce the costs of transport. 15k is a small salary, and you have to find a cheap but comfortable house nearest to your workplace.
House that costs between 4 to 6 thousand is preferable. This is usually a bedsitter or a single room. You can rent a single room for as low as 3,000 to 4,000 shillings in low-class areas of Nairobi. Ensure you don’t compromise basic needs or security when staying in a cheap neighborhood.
If you are not married, you can share a house with a friend you trust and share the cost of the rent. If you have a family, find a spacious but cheap house for less than 5,000 shillings rent.
Key takeaways on renting with a 15k salary
- Rent the nearest cheap house to your workplace
- Find a single room or a bedsitter worth 3k to 6k
- Don’t compromise on your security and basics
2. Avoid Shopping For Your Shopping Bit By Bit
Surviving with a 15,000 salary in Nairobi needs you to be strategic when shopping. It is advisable to shop in bulk at the end of each month rather than shopping bit by bit, which looks cheap but expensive when you compound the whole amount.
Prepare for shopping by listing the minimum basics you can survive on in a month and stick to it. This way, you shall avoid wasting money on stuff you don’t need when shopping. For your groceries, it’s advisable to budget all that you need and buy in bulk; you can store them in your refrigerator. If you do not have a refrigerator, set aside the amount you have budgeted for groceries or give it to a mama mboga or kibanda person where you shop for groceries.
Key takeaways from this section
- Do your shopping in bulk at the end of the month
- Keep your shopping at minimum basics
- Prepare a shopping list before going shopping and stick to it.
- Shop or plan for your groceries in bulk.
3. Avoid going for advance salary and small loans
Going for credit is okay when it’s not a bad loan. However, most small loans and advance salaries are always spent on subsistence stuff like food. This makes them the bad loans and shall peg you to them as you have to pay back each time you receive your 15k salary, after which you shall be forced to go for more small bad loans and advance salary.
As we said earlier, do your shopping at the end of each month to avoid such bad credits. Avoid defaulting on your rent since you will be forced to go for such loans once it’s accumulated.
Key takeaways on avoiding advance salary and small loans
- Small loans end up being bad loans
- Advance salary shall prevent you from planning for your monthly budget
- Avoid defaulting on rent to escape accumulated bills.
4. Avoid partying or any form of drug use, and choose your company wisely
Nairobians have a culture of partying during weekends. Usually, fellow workmates go out to party on Fridays. While it is good to party and gets easy after a busy week at work, a 15,000 salary is too little to fund such secondary needs.
Avoid it as long as your salary is low and you have no investments and assets that generate continuous cash inflow. To relieve yourself of a busy week, you can go out to less costly or free resting places such as a park, church, mosque, or temple in case you’re religious.
Top takeaways on avoiding partying
- Partying shall drain your salary and prevent precise planning and budgeting.
- Go out to cheap or free areas like parks or places of worship.
5. Find A Side Hustle To Increase Your Salary
After you have cut down on your expenses, it’s time to plan to increase your 15,000 salary. You can get a side hustle after work or during your free time.
There is a lot of side Hustles you can choose from. You can sell mahindi choma or smokies and eggs in the evening, or better still; you can find flexible online jobs like those mentioned here.
With a Side Hustle, you shall increase your salary and find more extra money to save.
- Find a side Hussle and increase your salary
- You can sell stuff or work online to get more income
Take an affordable medical insurance
Health should always come first; buy affordable medical insurance to prepare for any medical emergency. A 15,000 shillings salary shall not suffice for medical expenses in an emergency, but going for insurance cover such as nhif shall save you this worry and possible expense.
Employers are required by law to pay for your medical insurance in Kenya. Learn how to register for nhif insurance here
6. Save any extra money from your salary
The most essential part is improving your life from a 15k salary. After cutting down your expenses and getting extra money from a side Hustle, save the rest of your money.
Allow yourself to save enough money that shall enable you to start your own business. By starting your own business, you shall have control over your income and build it over time. Here are some of the best businesses you can start in Nairobi.