Boy,the greatest risk is to risk nothing.Invest in something land,stocks etc.Time brings the difference in returns.By the time you are discovered by a "miner" and you find you can not save a penny you will have covered some financial distance.

@ GithukuSM I totally agree with you. I am risk averse...and i guess am taking too much time to action.

@mashaa, save firstly 4 emergencies e.g job loss (..stocks, bills, a little in cash 100K). Mortgages...i feel u...ur biggest headache wen building ur own hse is finding the land, secure it 2day. Buy both 4 speculation and where u foresee urself building and living in. Dowry, car(s), wedding(s), masters,kids these will catch up with u so plan for them too with stocks, insurance schemes, land.
Lastly, sacrifice a small part of ur savings to start financing small businesses (farming, mpesa, taxi, car hire etc) that will teach u valuable lessons in running ur own business and in future provide a second income stream and security against job loss.
To benefit from the time value of money, you may have to do these in parallel, cheers!

@ Babyelephant, Thanks. I have set aside 120K for emergencies in cash. I am still learning about stocks and will surely put something small there. In the meantime am actively looking into purchasing land for speculation mainly. Thanks for reminding me to plan a little for further education. I had almost overlooked that. I will steer clear of mortgages for now. I am still toying with starting a small business to give me that second stream of income. You aptly put it when you said i have to multitask. That is a skill i really need to refine.

how about bond market?...Guys making good money there

kaka, weka hela zote kwa ardhi, na utanikumbuka !

on the contrary bonds are not risk free, some of the risks are:

1. Interest - interest rates may rise and reduce value of bond.

2. Default - a corporate bond issue may go bust with not enough assets to cover liabilities

3. Degradation - your bond could be degraded from investment to junk causing loss of value

4. liquidity - you want to sell but no one will buy

5. Sovereign risk for gov bonds - the Greece saga

by the way, every investment including bonds have risks. the best are government bonds, barring any major shocks..

I would suggest that you buy land which you can resell later to get your own house.

the other option would be to start investing in your family's education(that is if you have kids)

@Mashaa I must commend you on your spending and saving culture. My 2cent opinion is: Save equivalent to 4-6 months of your montly expenses for an emergency. Next invest in Land/Real Estate; think in terms of buying land for speculation and or development. Since you are risk averse and want a second stream of income buy land in areas such as Thika, Kikuyu, Kitengela or Nakuru since they are faster development in those areas and land is reasonable and then put up rental houses or speculate. Killing two stones with one bird.

I would have said stocks and shares before real estate but as per most Gurus of Wazua started in Shares but ended up in real estate. So, why not start from there. Real Estate is King.

You might think shares but invest in Companies you have a knowledge in what they do. To paraphrase Warren Buffet: Invest in 3-4 companies where you understand their business. It should be easy to understand. If it's too technical, avoid it. Invest between this time & next year (since most shares are going at a discount) after that, it will be all smiles to the bank.

Also think in terms of investing in yourself. Invest in Education since it will increases your earning power, get a better job. etc etc. If the worse come to the worse, you can lose everything but nobody can take away your education.

If you have kid(s) take out an insurance policy for yourself to hedge them against the worst.

I recommend this Read: The Richest man in Babylon by George S Clason. Quite an eye opener & John Wiley & Sons -The Warren Buffet Portofolio - Mastering the Power of the Focus Investment Strategy

Happy Punting