The upsurge of Supermarkets and shopping malls in Kenya indicates a changing a trend in ways Kenyans do their shopping activities. In May this year, Consumer Insight's released their latest Maisha study dubbed "Africa Has Finally Found True Love" which indicated that 47 per cent of Kenyan shoppers head to malls to shop because of convenience and pricing margins.

Despite the increase in shopping activities, these urban residents still face a challenge of balancing their income with other essential expenses such as transport and rent which are equally on the rise due to traffic jams and limited houses respectively. As a result many Kenyans are finding themselves spending beyond their means to meet these daily demands.

The study also indicates that Kenyan teenagers and young adults spend over Sh252 billion annually on depreciating assets such as cars. This is a worrying trend especially in a developing country where about 70 per cent of the population is unemployed and financially dependent on parents and guardians.

This is supported by additional findings from the Holla survey released by consumer Insights earlier this year which stated that Kenyans between the ages of seven and 25 are taking a cue from their older counterparts and breaking the bank to spend what they don't have. This trend will be propagated more by the festive season that is around the corner. Many Kenyans will make merry and spend more with little or no regard to saving thus pushing themselves into deep financial crisis.

By the end of the season credit cards run dry when utility bills are pending, as a result they will dash to banking halls to withdraw their last savings to pay these bills leaving them financially constraint. Simple solutions to be financially disciplined and track your expenses via your mobile device can be found on your Lumia, this include:

Spending Tracker

This is the easiest and most user friendly personal finance app in the store. The simple fact is, by tracking your spending you're able to stick to your budget and be able to save money. The features of the app include:

  • Simple and intuitive user interface
  • Flexible Time Periods (Weekly, Monthly & Yearly)
  • Overview of your current spending progress
  • Log Expense and Income quickly and easily
  • Budget Mode allows you to set a fixed budget amount
  • Repeat transactions daily, weekly or monthly (Pro Upgrade required)
  • Editable spending and income categories
  • Reports give you easy visualization of where your money goes
  • Keep your data safe with Dropbox Backups (Pro Upgrade required)
  • Export transactions to CSV (Pro Upgrade required)

Download the App here

 Wallet

Memorizing, storing and taking care of all your credit cards, vouchers, gift cards and other retail cards and their information is the built-in Wallet feature on your Lumia. There is no need for you to be juggling with so much information when all of this gets neatly stored in your digital wallet.

A secure place for you to store all digital versions of cards include Windows Store and Xbox gift cards. The wallet knows how to make your life simpler. To start up, all one requires is a Microsoft account.

There is a lot that this deep pocketed wallet app can store for you, such as:

  • Credit or debit cards
  • Boarding passes
  • Event tickets
  • Loyalty cards
  • Membership cards
  • Vouchers
  • Windows Store and Xbox gift cards

It's time to swap your collection of cards this time, for something that you carry with you always-your Lumia aided with these apps. Download the appHere

 PayPal

This app allows you to send and request money on the go, on your Lumia. With this well-designed app one is able to manage account in a more cost effective manner. It empowers you to check your balance, withdraw funds or view past transactions – anytime and anywhere just like you would on the PayPal website. You can also send money between other PayPal users and your friends.

The app can allow one to find local merchants and transact business with these merchants at the same time. Download the app here