Why Fewer People Are Checking Their Bank & Mobile Money Balances This January

After weeks of festive spending in December, some Kenyans are quietly realising one uncomfortable truth: money is tight.

January is here, school fees are due, and rent reminders from landlords and caretakers are flying in. Meanwhile, mobile money messages feel more threatening than informative. This is something that happens around this time of year.

Many people deliberately stop checking their bank and mobile money balances. They delay opening M-Pesa statements. They swipe away bank notifications. They avoid logging into their apps altogether.

This behaviour is a subconscious survival tactic known as the ostrich effect.

The Psychology of the Ostrich Effect

The ostrich effect is a cognitive bias where people avoid negative or uncomfortable information to reduce emotional distress.

Just like the myth of an ostrich burying its head in the sand, people hide from information that makes them anxious, even when that information is crucial for decision-making.

In financial terms, this means avoiding checking balances when you suspect they’re low, ignoring loan statements or overdraft alerts, and delaying budget reviews because the numbers feel depressing.

Why Avoidance Feels Good (At First)

The ostrich effect works because it reduces immediate anxiety. Not checking your balance means you don’t feel the panic, you don’t have to confront mistakes, and you delay feelings of guilt or regret. But psychology warns us: short-term comfort often leads to long-term harm.

When you avoid financial information, you miss early warning signs, you make decisions blindly, and you lose control of cash flow.

By the time you finally check, the situation is often worse than it needed to be.

How the Ostrich Effect Makes January Harder

Avoiding your balance doesn’t stop bills from coming. Instead, it creates new problems:

1. Poor prioritisation
Without knowing what you have, you can’t decide what to pay first—fees, rent, food, or loans.

2. Costly coping mechanisms
People will now tend to rely on overdrafts or short-term loans to survive, increasing future deductions.

3. Panic borrowing
When reality finally hits, people borrow impulsively—from friends, chamas, or digital lenders—often without a plan.

4. Loss of financial agency
Avoidance hands control to circumstances instead of strategy.

How to Pull Your Head Out of the Sand

Breaking the ostrich effect requires moving from emotional reacting to logical planning. Here is how to face your January finances:

1.  Pick a time during the day and check every single balance. Write the numbers down on a piece of paper. The "monster" in your head is often scarier than the actual number on the screen. Once it's on paper, it's just a math problem, not an identity crisis.

2. Identify what must be paid (rent, fees, electricity) and what can wait. There is no shame in downgrading your lifestyle temporarily to save your future self from debt.

Final Thought

January doesn't have to be a month of terror. The ostrich effect thrives on darkness and uncertainty. The moment you shine a light on your bank balance, the bias loses its power over you.

You might not like the number you see today, but knowing that number is the first step toward making sure February looks different. This January, don't be an ostrich. Be a strategist. Face the numbers, make a plan.