I am 30 years old. I got my first job about one year ago after years of unemployment. I get paid around Sh68,500 net. My expenses are as follows. Rent Sh12,000, Shopping Sh12,000, transport and airtime 2,500, gas and GoTv 2,500, power, water and mama fua Sh3,500, girlfriend Sh5,000, weekends Sh5,000, micro-finance loan Sh16,500, mobile loans Sh7,000. I took the micro-finance loan of Sh400,000 after getting my job to furnish my house and upgrade my wardrobe to look presentable when at work. It's a three-year loan and I have paid about one year so far. My payslip is so stretched that everything I earn goes to spending. I have to use mobile loans to bridge gaps. I don't even have enough to help my mum, who is constantly lamenting that I have neglected them. Although I have a job and a regular salary, I feel more financially depressed than I was before I got this job. How do I get out of this situation? Felix

Gertrude Njeri is an accountant and the founder of Financial Buddy Africa

Felix, the first thing I want you to know is that your situation is more common than you think. Many people assume that getting a good job automatically solves financial problems. In reality, a salary can improve your income while debt quietly destroys your cash flow.

The good news is that your problem is fixable because, unlike someone who has lost their job, you have a regular income. What needs to change is how much of that income you have already committed before you receive it.

Looking at your budget, one thing stands out. You earn about Sh68,500 net every month, but almost 35 percent of your income is going towards debt repayments alone. Between the micro-finance loan (Sh16,500) and mobile loans (Sh7,000), you are paying Sh23,500 every month before you can think about rent, food or transport.

You are not living on a Sh68,500 salary; you are trying to survive on what is left after servicing yesterday's decisions.

You borrowed Sh400,000 soon after getting your first job to furnish your house and upgrade your wardrobe. I completely understand that decision. After years of unemployment, it is natural to want your lifestyle to reflect your new reality. Unfortunately, those purchases improved your lifestyle but did not improve your income. They came with three years of repayments, meaning you are still paying for decisions you made a year ago.

This is an important lesson for anyone getting their first salary: avoid using long-term debt to finance short-term lifestyle upgrades. If an item will not increase your earning potential or generate income, it is usually better to save for it gradually than to finance it over several years.

The encouraging part is that you have already completed about one year of your loan. You have done the hardest part. If you avoid taking on any new debt and focus on clearing your remaining obligations, the next two years could completely transform your finances. Imagine what it will feel like when that Sh16,500 loan repayment disappears from your budget every month.

The second issue is the mobile loans. These concern me even more than the micro-finance loan because they suggest your monthly budget is no longer balancing. Mobile loans should be reserved for genuine emergencies, not for helping you get through an ordinary month. Once they become part of your monthly routine, they create a cycle where one month's salary is used to repay last month's borrowing.

Your immediate priority should therefore be to eliminate the mobile loans as quickly as possible. To do that, you will need to create room in your budget.

For example, you currently spend about Sh5,000 on weekends and another Sh5,000 on your girlfriend every month. There is nothing wrong with enjoying your social life or being generous in a relationship. However, when you are borrowing money just to make it to payday, those expenses need to be adjusted temporarily.

If you reduced each of those budgets by Sh2,500 for the next year, you would immediately free up Sh5,000 every month. Instead of allowing that money to disappear elsewhere, direct every shilling towards clearing your mobile loans. Once those loans are fully paid, continue setting aside that same Sh5,000 every month, but this time into savings. That way, the discipline you built paying off debt becomes the habit that builds your wealth.

If your girlfriend genuinely cares about your future, she will understand that this is a temporary sacrifice to secure your financial future together.

You also mentioned feeling guilty that you cannot support your mother. That is understandable, especially in our culture where many parents expect support once their children get jobs. But do not borrow money to help someone else. Have an honest conversation with her and explain that your current loan commitments are temporary. It is far better to support her consistently after you become financially stable than to support her today using expensive debt that makes both of you poorer.

I would also encourage you to speak to your micro-finance institution and find out whether you can make occasional extra repayments without penalty. Even small lump-sum payments from a bonus, tax refund or side hustle can reduce the loan faster and save you interest.

Once you are out of debt, I want you to adopt a different approach whenever you want to improve your lifestyle. Instead of taking another loan, create sinking funds.

A sinking fund is simply money you save every month for a specific future purchase. For example, if you know you will need a new sofa in two years that costs Sh60,000, save Sh2,500 every month. If you want to upgrade your wardrobe, replace your phone or buy a television, create a separate sinking fund for each goal and contribute consistently. By the time you are ready to make the purchase, the money is already waiting for you. You enjoy the upgrade without carrying debt or paying interest.

Finally, remember that your first job is exactly that, your first, not your last. Rather than focusing on upgrading your lifestyle again, invest in upgrading yourself. A professional certification, a new skill or a side hustle that increases your earning potential will always give you a better return than another financed purchase.

Right now, every pay-day is paying for decisions you made a year ago. Imagine what your finances will look like when your salary finally belongs to you again instead of your lenders.

Don't spend the next two years trying to look successful. Spend them becoming financially secure. Because real wealth is not measured by the furniture in your house or the clothes in your wardrobe; it is measured by the freedom to decide where your next salary goes.

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