Economic foolishness of paying rent for the whole year

The other day, I was coming back to Lilongwe from an official trip in Zomba. Our official vehicle had delayed and so, I decided to jump into a colleague’s who works as an accountant. We went about jumping from one subject to the other as the vehicle made its way through the Machinga hills and yonder. It was a hot afternoon and we had the usual stop over at one of the filling stations at Ntcheu to cool ourselves with a cold one. A cold coke.

However, out of all the stories that moved our mouths, one subject still remained stuck in my mind. Way after we had arrived home in Lilongwe, I still couldn’t get rid of it. The accountant friend had hit on a very pertinent subject. He talked about something that was in line with Kenneth Kaunda’s ‘Letter to my Children’ in which the former Zambian President refers to adolescent minds in mature bodies. These are people who keep on learning and find no time to apply what they have learned.

The friend talked of his bosses who get company money to pay house rent for the whole year. These bosses are under no obligation to pay all the money at the beginning of the year to the landlord but are required to prove that they paid their rentals at the end of each year. They also get money to pay for children’s school fees for the whole year. But they religiously give all the money to the land lords any pay the full fees at their children’s schools at the beginning of each year.

Now some of us may not see the problem because you also belong to the category of ndiperekeretu kuti ndizingokhalano m’nyumba mtima uli mmalo (paying off my rentals for the whole year will give me peace of mind). On the contrary, all you have achieved to do is to continue living in want and making your landlord to live with all the peace of mind.

This friend’s bosses remind me of soccer addict friends who pay their DSTV subscriptions for the whole year. But I will tell you what. Not only is this behavior risky in that it keeps you tied to the same landlord or DSTV provider which can end up compromising on its quality (and some landlords are good at tying you in with hidden contract clauses), it deprives you of the much needed resources for investing. You could buy treasury bills or even shares and earn interest on it before paying your landlord. I know landlords would hate me for telling fellow tenants the obvious but this is my free advice on managing finances.

Are you not surprised to see the rich having even more investments? Landlords are building even more houses. Just think about it, why should your land lord not build another house when you given him a whooping rental cheque covering the whole year.

Have you wondered why most of us are not into business or investing in big projects? Simple, we don’t have the capital of the proportions that could amount to a whole year that you pay for DSTV or landlords or children’s education.

Some would say ‘what can one do, the Bible clearly states that to those with much more will be added. And to those with less the little will be taken away’. But countering the same, the Bible also says ’let those with ears hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to them’. So, verily I say unto, unless you start to think of how to save and invest the little you have now and only pay it to the landlords when it’s due, you will always live in want. You will knock on doors of banks looking for loans when you are giving massive advance free money to landlords, DSTV, educational institutions free of interest. Oh! Lord have mercy.

Unless legally demanded by your institution or work place, please wake up and start paying monthly or just for minimum pay periods so you can invest and make savings for your future needs.

Have a blessed weekend!