Money Wise with Rina Hicks

"𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝." Maybe... But before we blame the salary, let's do something uncomfortable, let's follow your money trail.

Imagine two people.
One earns KSh 30,000, another earns KSh 300,000.

Both tell you: "I have so many expenses."
Both are probably telling the truth.
Because the minute income rises, our definition of "necessary" has a funny way of rising with it.
Suddenly:
Uber is necessary.
The bigger house is necessary.
The latest phone is necessary.
The weekend outing is necessary.
And somehow saving KSh 3,000 becomes impossible.

Rina's advice is brutally practical:
1. Save at least 10% of every income.
2. Reduce expenses.
3. Find another income stream.
4. Make a plan to get rid of consumer debt.
5. Invest what you save.
Not tomorrow, not when life settles - 𝙉𝙤𝙬!
Because "𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚" has kept many people financially stuck for years.

So let's make this practical.
👉🏾 Which ONE will you start this week?
• Save 10%
• Cut expenses
• Increase income
• Attack debt
• Invest

Comment the number. Then go do it.

𝙂𝙚𝙣 𝙕... 𝙆𝙪𝙟𝙚𝙣𝙞 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙖... 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩! - 𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝘼𝙍𝙀 𝙉𝙊𝙏 𝙏𝙊𝙊 𝙔𝙊𝙐𝙉𝙂.

Twenty-one-year-old you is saying: "I'm still young. I have time."
Thirty-year-old you is saying: "I wish I had started at 21."
And somehow, the years in between just disappeared.
Not dramatically, just slowly.
One semester became another.
One attachment became another.
You were waiting for a job.
Waiting to graduate.
Waiting for capital.
Waiting to feel ready.
Waiting for someone to take you seriously.

Meanwhile, there was a girl on campus selling clothes from Gikomba to her classmates.
No boutique.
No investor.
No rich uncle.
No business degree.
Just a good eye, an old sewing machine, an iron box and the audacity to start before she felt ready - and that is the part we keep missing.
She wasn't less afraid than you. She just started earlier.
By the time some of her classmates were asking, "What job can I get?"
She was asking: "Who can I hire?"

Your twenties are not a waiting room.
And no, we are not saying everyone must start a biashara.
But surely, there is something you can begin learning, building, creating, selling or mastering while you are still young.
A skill.
A service.
A side hustle.
A business.
An investment habit.
Something.

Because one day you will discover something nobody told you clearly enough: 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲.

So please...
Start ugly.
Start small.
Start from your hostel room.
Start from your parents' house.
Start with that old laptop that sounds like it is preparing for take-off.
Start with KSh 500.
Start by learning.
𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁.

Your future self is not coming to rescue you - You 𝙖𝙧𝙚 your future self - Just younger, and with more time.

👇🏾 Tell me in the comments: 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 "𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜" 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩?

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU CALL "𝘽𝘼𝘿 𝙈𝙊𝙉𝙀𝙔 𝙃𝘼𝘽𝙄𝙏𝙎..."

Sometimes they're actually old survival strategies.

A child who grew up with scarcity 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮.
A child who watched parents fight about money 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨.
A child who was rewarded with things 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.
A child who had to become responsible very young 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙫𝙚𝙨.

And then marriage happens...

Two people arrive at the same dining table... 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨.

One says: "Let's invest."
The other says: "But what if something happens?"
One says: "We can afford it."
The other hears: "We're about to lose everything."
One says: "Let's put it in a joint account."
The other thinks: "Absolutely not."

𝗪𝗵𝗼'𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁?

Sometimes... neither; they're simply responding from different histories.

The work isn't to become identical,𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪.

So, MoneyWise family: What money personality did your upbringing create?
• Saver?
• Hoarder?
• Spender?
• Avoider?
• Giver?
• Controller?
• Risk-taker?

Tell us your personality and the childhood experience you think shaped it - that conversation is where the real learning begins.

There is a particular kind of exhaustion that eight hours of sleep cannot fix. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚...
You wake up tired.
You go to work tired.
You answer emails while eating.
You promise your family, "This weekend I'll be free."
.Then something "urgent" happens.
Again.
And again.
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣!

Meet Brian. 47. Successful. Respected. Group CEO.
The sort of man whose phone rings before sunrise because apparently the company cannot survive until 7:30am.
His calendar screamed SUCCESS.
His wife called it SURVIVAL.
Then his daughter asked him: "𝘿𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙮... 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚?"
He told her he was already there.
She replied: "𝙉𝙤. 𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚."
That sentence changed something in him.

Because perhaps the most uncomfortable financial question isn't: "𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘥𝘰 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦?"
Maybe it's: "𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙢 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙛𝙪𝙡?"

Read Brian's story in today's MoneyWise Minute: bit.ly/MWVol19
And if this sounds painfully familiar, subscribe.

Because every Tuesday, we'll challenge the money beliefs hiding underneath everyday life.

Question: 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙞𝙭 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙨, 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙟𝙤𝙗?

Where are my married folk at? This one's for you - 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣!
So...
- 𝙔𝙤𝙪 pay the bills.
- 𝙔𝙤𝙪 pay the maid.
- 𝙔𝙤𝙪 buy the food.
- 𝙔𝙤𝙪 handle the day-to-day expenses.
.. But your husband uses his money to buy land and investments... with everything in his name.
And everyone says: "𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺."Ok... Wonderful, great!

But let me ask you something uncomfortable: 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝟏𝟎 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚, 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮?

This isn't about preparing for divorce, far from it, it's simply about preparing for life.
Death.
Illness.
Job loss.
Separation.
Disability.
Unexpected change.
You don't have to distrust your partner, but you should know your family's financial position - 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙩... because paying the bills is also a financial contribution.

So here's today's debate: 𝙒𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚'𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚?

Yes?
No?
Somewhere in between?

Please indulge me and tell me why.

And please... let's debate the idea, not each other's marriages. 😂

An auntie once told Rina at a bridal shower: "𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩, 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝘽𝙊𝙏𝙃 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣. 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝." 😂😂😂
She wasn't joking, she said it like she had lived an experience and lived to tell the tale!

But honestly... why did she feel so strongly about it?
• Perhaps she'd seen money destroy trust.
• Perhaps someone had withdrawn money without their spouse knowing.
• Perhaps she simply believed that marriage should mean financial transparency.
Here's the thing: There is no single "𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙩" way for couples to organise their money.
Joint account?
Separate accounts?
Both?
What matters is whether the couple has agreed:
- What money is shared?
- What remains personal?
- Who pays what?
- Who can access what?
- What happens during an emergency?
- What requires both people's consent?
Because "we are married" is not a financial system - you still need one.

Watch today's conversation with Rina and tell us: 𝙒𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙪𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮?

𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙒𝙝𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩?

Be honest.

When did "𝘸𝘦" become "𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩"?

There is a beautiful thing about marriage and partnership - you don't have to carry everything alone.
Sometimes your partner carries you.
Sometimes you carry them.
Sometimes one of you says, "Don't worry, I've got this."
Beautiful.

But there's a line we need to talk about, because "I've got you" can slowly become... "I've got to keep rescuing you." And those are not the same thing.

Picture a very Kenyan situation. Your parnter starts a biashara.
It doesn't work... 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥.. Fair.
Then they need another loan... 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥.
Then the biashara needs stock... 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥.
Then the chama contribution is due... 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥.
Then their car needs repairs... 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥.
Then their cousin has an emergency, They ask you - 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥.
Eventually your salary is doing more travelling than you are.😅😅

And when someone asks, "How are you doing financially?"
You say, "We're okay."
Beloved, are you really okay?
That's the question.

Financial codependency isn't necessarily one person being irresponsible and the other being generous, sometimes both people genuinely love each other, sometimes both people genuinely believe they are doing the right thing, but somewhere along the way, the relationship becomes financially unbalanced...
One person rescues.
One person depends.
Or one person controls.
And both become trapped in the pattern.

Healthy financial partnership doesn't mean never needing each other, it means 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚, 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚.

• You can need your spouse without making them responsible for your entire financial existence.
• You can support your partner without sacrificing your own financial future.
• You can share money without surrendering financial agency.
• And you can love someone deeply while still saying: "I cannot afford to do this for you."
- That's not rejection, sometimes that's a boundary.

And sometimes.. It's the most loving thing you can say.

Did this post make you uncomfortable even in the slightest bit? Good! Let's have a quick free discovery call via [email protected]

We're going deeper into the money patterns that can quietly shape relationships.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗡𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗹𝗸𝘀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁...

Most parents spend years asking themselves the same questions.
• "𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙨?"
• "𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙?"
• "𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙥𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙨?"
They're good questions, yes, but here's another one.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣... 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚?

Children notice more than we think...
They notice when money causes arguments.
They notice when bills are hidden.
They notice when debt becomes a family secret.
They notice when generosity is joyful.
They notice when saving becomes normal.

Long before children inherit your assets, they inherit your habits. And those habits often outlive the money itself.

Maybe this week isn't about asking, "What will I leave my children?"
Maybe it's asking, "What am I already teaching them?"

If you're ready to start building a financial legacy that lasts beyond your lifetime, Rina Hicks' MoneyWise is a practical place to begin.

A better inheritance starts with better conversations.

📖 Get your copy today: bit.ly/MoneyWiseBook