Savings Diaries How Real South Africans Save
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Savings Diaries: How Real South Africans Save

19 March 2020

See how a 44-year-old sales and marketing manager saves and spends – and why she needs to prioritise her future savings plan as soon as possible.

Monthly Income (after tax):R43 000
Insurance and Risk
Life insurance (myself and my spouse): R2 600
Medical aid (for two adults and two children): R3 000
Gap cover: R870
Car insurance: R800
Savings and Investments
No savings for retirement or an emergency.
Other Spending
Utilities: R2 600
Groceries:R12 000
School fees (two children): R5 200
Children’s nanny: R7 000
Kids’ extra murals: R800
Entertainment and other: R6 000
Petrol:R1 300
Toiletries: R800
Money left at the end of the month: R30

Lessons Learnt

“I was really shocked by these results. When I actually sat down and looked at my income versus my bank statement, I couldn’t believe it. I am spending far too much.

What scares me most is that the entertainment and ad hoc amount is so high, and I’m saving nothing for my future. In fact, I’m not even putting money aside for a rainy-day fund – if my car broke down tomorrow, I’d struggle to afford to fix it.

I also think that my family and I are spending far too much money on groceries. We can definitely reduce that spending by shopping wisely, making use of monthly special offers and buying certain items from certain shops, rather than getting everything in one place and not shopping around for deals.

If we just cut back on two restaurant outings a month (approximately R1 600) and saved R1 500 on our groceries, that’s already a saving of R3 100. That’s a good amount I could be saving towards my retirement with – a big blind spot in my finances at the moment.”

Need help getting your finances in order? Contact a financial planner today and work towards a financially healthier you.

This article was prepared by Sanlam Reality.

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