Where ever you go these days it costs you money.
Tipping your waiter, car guards, paying for parking and giving your change to the beggars at the traffic lights. It all adds up and when you look again you have forked out quite a bit.
Even if you just stop at a shop for five minutes, you are expected to give the car guard a tip. Most of the time the car guards are not happy with R2 and will give you a dirty look as you drive off.
I think R2 is a lot of money, when you take into account most shopping malls and centres pay car guards a small salary. And I am sure the tips add up to very quickly.
Another thing that grates me is that the car guards think you cannot reverse out of a parking bay. If I remember correctly I passed my driver’s license test.
I know it is tough out there and everyone is trying to feed their families, but motorists also have expenses and families to feed.
The cost of petrol is ridiculously expensive and although you might be driving a fancy car, it doesn’t mean you have money to give to every beggar or car guard.
I think the parking at shopping malls is also over-priced. Almost all the big malls charge between R8 and R15 for parking, albeit only for an hour.
At the end of the day the cost of living has become unbelievably expensive and working class people can barely afford to live anymore. So if you cannot give money to every beggar and every car guard, don’t feel bad. I certainly don’t anymore.