WITH prices rising quickly, people in Mzansi are feeling the pinch.
More people need to dip into credit to survive sooner and sooner after pay day.
Susan Steward, marketing manager of Budget Insurance, said: “It’s easy to neglect our saving and budgeting goals.
“If you change the way you do things and plan your spending wisely, you can get or stay out of debt and do much more than just survive.”
Here are Steward’s tips to help you with your money:
- Create, maintain and revise your budget: If you don’t have a monthly budget plan, now’s the time to start one.
- Bank wisely: Check your bank fees carefully and look at the interest you earn on your savings.
- The Tenth Rule: The Tenth Rule is that you must save 10% of your monthly income.
- Be careful what you cut: When money is tight, there are certain expenses you may be tempted to cut from your budget, like vehicle and home maintenance or your monthly insurance premium.
- Revise your spending: Look at your grocery bill. Are there ways to improve your spending habits behind the trolley?
Try creating a weekly meal plan, buying in bulk and stocking up on discounted items.
- Stick to your goals but be flexible: Your budget and savings goals can be impacted by events out of your control and you’ll need to revise them accordingly.
- Reap the rewards of goals reached to up your motivation: If the goal was to save enough money to go on a holiday, then go ahead and enjoy that well-deserved break.
- Make some changes behind the wheel: There’s nothing you can do about the petrol price increase but there are things you can do to make your tank last a bit longer.
- Go old school: There are many useful budget apps out there but also many dodgy ones that steal your personal data without your knowledge.
If you want to use an app, make sure it is from a reliable source. Remove it if you suspect anything.
Sometimes it is safer to write your budget on paper.
