[Rek jou cheque] SAVING THE RIGHT WAY: How to beat scams and build a lekker lump sum
One of the saddest things I have seen on social media recently is people once again being conned by their “hamper lady.”
After paying religiously for hampers (which usually consist of Christmas meats and luxuries), their money, goods and the person they trusted are now nowhere to be seen.
Very few people have spare money to replace what they have lost, painting a bleak Christmas for them and their families.
This makes me angry. Obviously, not every person selling hampers is pulling this dirty trick, but when it does happen, it raises the question of why are people trusting other people with their money instead of saving it themselves?
Is it because we cannot trust ourselves to save our own money and would rather trust someone else to do it?
Here are some simple saving challenges that don’t require you to set aside massive amounts of money.
The 52–week money challenge
With this plan, you save a little more each week than you did the previous week. So you save R10 in the first week and R20 in the second week.
By Week 5, you’ll be setting aside R50 and so forth – until, by the end of the year, you’ll have saved R13 780.
As you’re saving weekly, it’ll become easier to make a habit of it. For many people, it’s also simpler to save weekly instead of setting aside a large amount of money once a month.
How to get started
Write out all 52 weeks of the year on a spreadsheet or print them out on a single page – there are charts on the internet you can use. Then fill in how much you want to save each week and tick it off as you go along.
Open a savings account just for this money
Most banks offer separate savings accounts as part of your primary account.
Save your money in a savings account or somewhere else where you don’t have easy access to the money.
Cash in a jar or money under the mattress isn’t a good idea, as they’re too easy to get to when you’re desperate for geld. Remind yourself to save by, for example, setting a reminder on your phone.
Make adjustments
The starting amount doesn’t have to be R10. If you start with just R1 a week, you can still save R1 378 by the end of 12 months. If you begin with R5 a week, you’ll have R6 790 after a year.
Some people find it easier to start with the largest amount. So, instead of starting with R10 in Week 1 and increasing the weekly amount by R10, you can start Week 1 with R520 and set aside R10 less each week.
Another option is to save as cash becomes available.
For example, if you have R410 available, tick off Week 41. If money is tight the following week, you could put away Week 9’s R90. Do this until you’ve checked off each week’s target amount.
Join a Stokvel
This method of saving (usually with a group of trusted friends) works because members encourage one another.
- Agree on how much each member will contribute monthly. If everyone contributes the same amount, it’s easier to divide the savings (and the interest on savings) fairly among the members.
- You can decide when it should pay out. For example, everyone gets their share at the end of the year. Or you might decide that members take turns receiving the full amount in a month. For example, if there are six members and everyone contributes R100 a month, Member A will get R600 in the first month, Member B will get R600 in the second month, and so on until everyone has received their fair share.
- Establish rules, such as who keeps track of the contributions and what happens if a member decides to leave the group.n If you’re only going to pay out after a set period – say a year – you need to have a separate bank account for this money. Some banks have stokvel accounts for this purpose, but be sure to compare banking fees and interest rates before choosing one.
Do the 10c challenge
You start your savings year with 10c a day, then increase that amount by 10c every day. With 365 days in the year, the largest daily savings amount is R36.50.
How to get started
- Use a wall calendar or your phone’s calendar to tick off the savings days. For example, on Day 1 you save 10c, on Day 2 it’s 20c, and on Day 3 it’s 30c. By Day 100, you’ll be on R10 a day, and by Day 200, it will be R20.
If you want, you can change the daily amount to 50c or even R1. Open a bank account specifically for this money so you won’t be tempted to spend it.
Work out whatever way of saving works best for you, but the point is to just start somewhere.
At the very least, you won’t be sitting without Christmas lunch because the hamper lady went missing with your goods and your money!
I wish all my readers who celebrate Christmas a happy, safe, and blessed holiday with your loved ones.