Lock down your savings

SANDTON – The current two-week lockdown period can provide an ideal opportunity to get back on track with your savings.

July 5, 2021

Content Provided 2 minutes read

While the past 18 months have been tough for many, it is never too late to start saving your money.

This is according to African Bank product manager, Sarika Maharaj during National Savings Month. She noted that with the move back to alert Level 4, there may be one bright light for the community to hang on to.

National Savings Month is an awareness campaign driven by the South African Savings Institute in July each year. It is aimed at promoting debate around key aspects of saving, raising awareness on the benefits of short, medium and long term planning, and building relationships with key partners to leverage future opportunities.

“Certainly we saw last year how working from home saved fuel, having to stay home saved unnecessary trips to the mall and with restaurants and fast-food outlets closed, families also saved on this type of spending,” said Maharaj.

She added that thanks to the lockdown, money was still in the bank or being used towards essentials and paying off debt during this difficult time.

“If saving money in the lockdown has made you realise how much you spend on unnecessary things every day, month or year, then why not make saving a lifelong habit instead of seeing the inability to spend money as you please, as a lockdown curse?” Maharaj asked.

She noted that many people may have started off well in the beginning but lost track over the past couple of months, but the current two-week lockdown period could provide an ideal opportunity to get back on track.

African Bank shares the following 10 tips to help you make saving money a way of life:

Make a grocery list before you go shopping and stick to it.
Make home-cooked meals the rule, not the exception. Just because restaurants are only doing takeaways, does not mean that you should splurge on these.
Shop online to safely get essentials into your home, not as a means to get pretty, expensive ‘must-have’ sale items delivered to your doorstep.
Pay off debt, especially credit card debt, and lock your credit card away to avoid temptation.
Keep tabs on your spending and scrutinise this at the end of each week. You may not believe it now, but being frugal becomes addictive.
Get the whole family involved and talking about saving money. Point out to your children how much you have saved by cooking at home instead of ordering take-out, for example.
Set savings goals with the family. There is no greater motivator than a dangling carrot in the form of a family holiday or enough money to allow your children to further their studies.
Compare your spending habits over the lockdown period and see if you have managed to continue saving.
Cancel credit you don’t really need and keep tabs on your bank fees.
Open a high-interest savings account and start reaping the rewards of your change in mindset about saving money.