Views:709 | By: Alice Somebody once said, "A picture is worth a thousand words." If this is true, the picture of this skinny, scruffy, confused, and desperate woman I once saw while working at a bank must have been worth at least ten thousand words.

She seemed like she needed food more than air.

She walked to my desk and asked for the account balance of a man, and I politely refused, telling her the rules do not allow such a kind of service. Still, upon inquiring, I discovered the account belonged to her deceased husband, and she even had his death certificate.

This husband was a high school principal, and from the passport, he looked healthy and at the top of his life. However, I discovered he had a zero balance and was servicing the loan. His balance had covered this loan.

I was heartbroken, and someone else had to chip in to pass the message on.

This story changed my perspective on life in a significant dimension. From that day, I vowed to tell everyone I love about any money hidden somewhere, and my Mpesa pin stopped being a secret from that day.

I was young and fresh from college, and I made such a wise decision. Now that I have a baby, they already know who will be in charge of her and other little coins if I bow down.

Did you know that out of every three people, only one has a will? That means two out of three adults do not plan for the future and leave it up to someone else to decide what happens with their assets once they are dead.

The pain of losing a loved one is unbearable and traumatizing. Now imagine losing your loved one and then losing their assets at a go or, even worse, getting entangled in fights and fists over their investments. Isn’t that stressful, draining, and overwhelming? So why do you want your loved one to go through such a traumatic experience?

If I may ask, have you told anyone about your Mpesa pin? Never mind, I am aware your pin is your secret. Of course, you’ve heard that countless times. But, have you considered how long this secret will remain helpful?

Almost all of us have savings secretly stuck in our Mpesa and Mshwari accounts. But do you know the fate of your savings if you were to die today?

Guess what? That cash you are faithfully protecting will automatically turn into public funds if your account remains dormant for two consecutive years in a row. Yes, you’ve heard me right.

According to Safaricom data, as of June 2021, over Ksh 266 million whose owners have possibly died were held in Mpesa. So why do most people die without leaving a written will?

Isn’t it better to let your kin know your password to avoid such a mess in case of an emergency? Or are you cool with the state owning your assets?

I know that writing a will can be intimidating, but it is something that everyone should do. The good news is that writing a will does not have to be expensive. If you are the type of person that wants to protect your assets for your loved ones, then write a will.