{"id":151982,"date":"2025-09-18T11:48:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T11:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/151982\/"},"modified":"2025-09-18T11:48:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T11:48:09","slug":"i-bought-my-first-car-at-23-second-at-27-money-habits-that-helped-me-manage-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/151982\/","title":{"rendered":"I bought my first car at 23, second at 27; money habits that helped me manage it"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Kenyan man has narrated how he purchased his first car at 23, just immediately after campus.<\/p>\n

As per his narration on the Money254<\/a> platform, the unidentified man revealed that owning a car was his first life goal, given the freedom and convenience it comes with.<\/p>\n

His dream became a reality in 2015 when he purchased his first car, a 2001 Toyota Vitz, from a family member at a cost of Sh300,000.<\/p>\n

\"Co-Op<\/a><\/p>\n

He added that he had just landed his first job and his seller allowed him to pay the Sh300,000 in installments of Sh20,000 per month, since he wasn\u2019t financially fit to clear the entire amount at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I finally landed my first job, I did not dream of designer clothes or exotic holidays. I dreamed of owning a car. My own car, and true to the word, I bought my first car \u2013 a pink 2001 Toyota Vitz in 2015 from a family member. I was fresh from campus and eager to start my journey as a car owner,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

As a pensionable employee earning a monthly salary of Sh50,000, paying the installments was easy as he did not have many responsibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was only 23 and had become a dad, but making the payments was easy because I lived with my parents, and my daughter\u2019s expenses were minimal,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

How you can use your pension benefits to buy a house in Kenya<\/a><\/p>\n

Things took a different turn in 2017 when he was involved in a road accident. The car was badly damaged and was in constant repairs which affected his finances.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was sandwiched between two matatus, and my car was badly damaged. \u00a0My insurance company refused to cover the repairs, citing the involvement of public service vehicles (PSVs) as a complication. I was young and inexperienced, so I footed the Shh74,000 repair bill out of pocket. This setback disrupted my repayment plan,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He added that after the accident, he would spend around Sh6,000 monthly on maintenance alone. As such, he reduced his repayment to Sh15,000 to cope with everything else.<\/p>\n

Things, however, continued to deteriorate, forcing him to sell the car, which was now taking the biggest chunk of his finances.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy early 2018, I was overwhelmed. The car had become a liability, and I was sinking deeper into debt. I made the painful decision to sell it for Sh250,000\u2014a throwaway price. I used 60% of the proceeds to clear the remaining balance with my relative, and I stabilized for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things started to get better, and with a pay rise, he started saving towards the purchase of another car, a dream that came a reality a year later.<\/p>\n

The man revealed that he pay was increased to Sh70,000, he set aside 80 percent of his salary to a car fund and lived on the bare minimum.<\/p>\n

\u201cI walked over 2km daily to save on bodaboda fare. This time, my monthly budget was Ksh10,000 \u2014 including rent, food, transport, and my daughter\u2019s upkeep. This is when I lived in a single room to maximise on savings,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

With Sh580,000 savings and a Sh250,000 boost from his mother, he purchased his second car, a Honda Civic Hybrid, in late 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Civic served me faithfully for two years, and with it came lessons no one teaches you upfront \u2014 comprehensive insurance, regular servicing, and smart car care. Things I wish I knew back in my Vitz days. It wasn\u2019t just a car. It was a classroom on wheels.\u201d<\/p>\n

He later sold the car and downsized to a second-hand Toyota Axio, bought for Sh800,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow it\u2019s 2025. I\u2019m 33. The Civic has a new owner, and I\u2019ve since downsized to a second-hand Toyota Axio, bought for Sh800,000. It\u2019s simpler, but it fits where I am now \u2014 a little older, a bit wiser, and still moving forward,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Kenyan man has narrated how he purchased his first car at 23, just immediately after campus. As…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151983,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[64,63,99,186,184,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-151982","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-business","11":"tag-finance","12":"tag-personal-finance","13":"tag-personalfinance"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151982\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}