Why Are Campus Students Always So Broke?

By Njeri Mickeydan Kioko

A broke and stressed campus student. Photo from pinterest.

I remember my first year in the University. It was the third week of the semester. HELB loan just dropped two weeks ago. I had KSh 20,000 in my account. I was feeling like a millionaire. I was buying juice from the canteen without even asking the price. I was that guy.

After some weeks…? I just checked my M-Pesa balance. I had KSh 320.

How? What happened? I haven't bought a new phone. I haven't traveled back home. I just... existed. And apparently, existing as a campus student in this economy costs more than the entire GDP of a small county.

I looked around the hostel common room. My neighbour is boiling water for his third cup of "True Tea" because he can't afford real food. My other friend is literally counting 20-shilling coins to buy airtime to call his mum and ask for "something small." We are all in the same boat.

Here is why we, the bright minds of tomorrow, are completely, utterly, and perpetually broke.

1. HELB Is a Mirage

Let's just address the elephant in the lecture hall.

HELB gives us this money and acts like it's a scholarship. It's not. It's a loan. But do we treat it like a loan? No. We treat it like we just won the SportPesa jackpot.

When that money hits, we forget we're supposed to use it for 4 to 5 months. We start acting like CEOs. We buy new sneakers. We start eating at that fancy kibanda that charges KSh 250 for a meal. We take the Uber Chap Chap instead of the normal one.

Then two months later, we're eating ugali na chumvi and wondering where we went wrong. The money wasn't meant to last a week. But in campus, KSh 20,000 feels like retirement money- until it runs out in 21 days.

2. The Hostel Trap

Hostel life is tricky, my fellow comrade.

You pay your rent. You think you're sorted. But then;The water and electricity prices have “gone up” so the rent increases after every semester by Ksh 1000. The electricity token finishes, and the landlord is borrowing you money KSh 200 so that he can pay the token. The "caretaker" suddenly needs "tea money" as a token of appreciation because he offers security. The Wi-Fi password changes every two days, and you have to pay KSh 50 for the new one.

You budgeted KSh 5,000 for rent. You end up spending KSh 7,500 just to have a roof over your head and a place to charge your phone. It's like a subscription service that keeps adding hidden fees.

3. The "Eating Out" Epidemic

Campus students enjoying food in a hostel. Photo from Pinterest

We all promise ourselves, "This semester, I will cook. I will buy my own raw food and cook every day."

Then lecture ends at 5 PM. You're tired. You're hungry. The utensils are dirty. You look at your roommate and say or even tell yourself, "Twende kwa hoteli." or “Wacha niende hoteli.”

Next thing you know, you've spent KSh 300 on a single meal. Do that twice a day for 7 days? That's KSh 2,100 a week. You could have bought a whole bag of potatoes and a sack of flour for that money. But no, we are paying the canteen mama's school fees with our HELB money.

4. M-Pesa Syndrome

Someone paying item he bought using his phone. Photo from pinterest.

We use M-Pesa for everything. That's the problem.

In campus, you don't feel the pain of spending. If you had to hand over a crisp 500-shilling note, you would feel it. You would hesitate. But tapping "Send" on your phone? That just feels like numbers on a screen.

You buy airtime. You buy bundles. You send your girlfriend KSh 200 for "transport" (she doesn't take the matatu, she buys a new top). You send your boy KSh 500 for "a quick loan" (he's buying himself stuffs). You pay for the group presentation or assigment printing. All via M-pesa.

By the time you look at your balance, it's gone. You can't even trace it. It's like digital magic-except the magic is poverty.

5. The "Group Contribution" Culture

Campus is all about "Chama" and "Merry-Go-Round" but for spending, not saving.

Someone's birthday? Everyone chips in KSh 200 for going somewhere to ‘celebrate’.

You have stress? You go to be "stress free" with your friends at the local pub. That's another KSh 500 for your own drinks.

Someone is experiencing a tragedy? We have to do a "send-off"—that's maybe KSh 300.

We are always contributing to something. We can't say no because we don't want to be the "stingy" one. So we hand over our money, smile, and then go to bed hungry because we don't have enough for supper.

6. The "Nikopeshe" Trap

Let's be real. There's always that one friend or that one girl who hits you with the "Hey, unaweza niokolea…ntakurudishia" text.

We all know what that means.

You're minding your business, saving your last KSh 100 for at least for a meal, and suddenly someone sends you a text "Tajiri! Si uniokolee…ntakurefund" request. You feel obligated. You don't want to be "broke" in their eyes. So you send it. And now you can't afford your meal.

We are too proud to admit we're struggling. We'd rather fake it 'til we make it, but the only thing we're making is a reputation for being easily pressured.

The Only Survival Strategy (The Painful Truth)

So how do we survive this madness?

I've tried writing down budgets. I've tried "kutuma pesa kwa m-pesa" to hide it. Nothing works because Fuliza always calls my name when I'm desperate.

The only thing that has ever worked for me? Pretend the money doesn't exist.

The day HELB comes, I immediately send a chunk to my M-Shwari or a Bank account. I put it in a place where withdrawing it takes 24 hours. That delay saves me.

I treat that money like it belongs to the government-untouchable. Then I force myself to live on the rest.

It means eating Ugali and skuma for two weeks straight. It means asking for "mathe" (the lady who sells veggies) to give me "mama mboga discount" because I’ve a fixed budget. It means walking to campus instead of taking a matatu or uber.

But you know what? It works. Because if I see money in my M-Pesa, I will spend it. I know myself. I have zero discipline. So I just remove the option.

The Bottom Line

Being broke in campus is not a personal failure, it's a rite of passage.

We are young. We are hungry (literally and figuratively). We are trying to balance academics, social life, and the pressure to look like we have our lives together while living on a budget meant for a small goat.

Don't beat yourself up if you're down to your last 50 bob. Half the university is in the same position. Your lecturer probably is too.

Just remember: before next semester, hide a little something somewhere. Cancel that subscription you don't use. Stop buying unnecessary fast food  when you can just cook once or twice and eat healthy and to your fill. And for goodness sake, stop sending money to a person who always urgent text to loan money from you, especially if he/she needs you when he/she has a problem. Enjoying your youth is not bad, but just be careful not destroy your life on the process. Assisting someone is not bad also, but if you are on a fixed budget; accept it and just give a polite feedback like “Hey,sorry about what happened to you but I’m not in a good state financially right now but when I am I will chip in something.”

But if you are able to assist, please do. Even I, myself, I assist where I can; and where I can’t, I come clean about it.

We'll make it. Eventually.

But for now? Let me go plan how this semester will be for me.