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A pastor once stood up to preach a rather unusual sermon. His topic was about how to spend and earn money and for the church that he was preaching in, that was a very secular topic to cover. At first the whole church was apprehensive and especially the church leaders who were keen to point out any mistakes that the pastor would make. However, as the sermon went on, it soon become very clear that the bible, through numerous examples, encourages people to save.

The most profound statement that the pastor made was that we should tithe ten percent of all we earn and save another ten. This means that for every 10 Shillings, 2 are not for our consumption but for God and for the future. He then described the tithe as a saving to be put in the heavenly bank account and the other ten percent a saving to be put in the earthly bank account. Ever since I adopted this message, my life has been transformed as I am never broke.

A penny saved is a penny earned. Unfortunately, many of us to not apply this simple fact and we instead spend more than we earn. That's why we always find ourselves in debt and struggling to make ends meet. I have even heard of people who drink their first pay check completely so as to celebrate the good tiding. Soon this habit becomes part of their daily routine that even after 10 years of work, they have not made any meaningful progress. Some even retire without building their own home and end up living a miserable life in their retirement.

I personally have come to experience the importance of saving during this period that the country, Kenya, was faced with the post election violence. I had put a lot of my money in the form of stocks which had become my main saving tool. When the country started to regress and there was no work to do, I was able to live off my savings and meet all my normal commitments. I believe that if it was not for these savings, I would not be able to survive these hard months where I had no income. Now I can afford to smile, be happy and even give, out of my savings.

In order to gain wealth through my savings, I invested the savings in stocks which earn a much higher interests than banks. Also because the procedure to off load a stock takes a longer time than cash in the bank, I have been able to control my spending. This has prevented me from living on the edge or rather from hand to mouth. I am also assured of some income even when I am not working. It is out of making the first step to save that started to invest and even took my savings to the next level.

I took a loan. Most people see a loan as an expense but for me, I see it as a form of saving. This is because when we save, we are able to invest and earn a profit. What loans do is that they allow us to invest first and then save money with our monthly repayments. This means that we can use the money first, invest it then save. Where most people go wrong is that they use loan money on non income generating activities leading them to the debt and stress that they have. In my case, I have been able to repay my loan in small installments and to make things better, every repayment to the loan includes an amount that adds on to my savings.

I believe, therefore, saving is the Key to wealth. The only way to save is by spending each day less than you earn. You will realize that at the end of every month, you have some extra money which you can use on some investment activity. The best investment activities are those where you can earn passive income from which is income earned without working for it. Once you discover how to do that, the world becomes yours to conquer.

Learn more about this author, Magu Nguru.
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