Happy new year!

I could start by telling you how to budget well so that you avoid the usual pitfalls of the festive season. I could also recommend several apps that can help with financial planning (read ‘how to spend wisely during the holiday’). But I won’t. And this is why. When you are drowned by the same information year in-year out, you tend to block the information unless it is presented in a way that has a personal reference. However, let me try;

1. Have and maintain a hobby

Having a hobby helps in the redirection of energy plus also achieving mental and physical fitness. However, the hobby has to be a positive one. For example, while watching TV can be a hobby, the content of the TV programming must be constructive.

2. Become a local tourist

This does not mean travelling out of your town. If you are in Nairobi, there are numerous places that you can visit without breaking your wallet.

3. Read

In addition to reading the newspaper/magazines/social media feeds etc, one can also broaden their scope to include materials that are not always on their radar, for example, if you’re a lover of novels, perhaps you could explore the self-help section and vice versa.

4. Try new recipes

With January being the cabbage month, one can explore the different ways of cooking cabbage, perhaps in a mission to change its taste and appearance!

5. Go window shopping

While this might be counterintuitive, it could help with the required budgeting for the month of February. Go browsing through different retail outlets to see the best pricing options out there. It can save some shillings in February!

6. Learn a new skill

With the numerous YouTube channels out there, one has easy access to a lot of information and training videos.

7. Do and create crossword puzzles

These can be foraged from past editions of daily newspapers.

The above pointers are not exhaustive neither are they from an expert.

What would you like to read about next time?