According to African Bank, 2016 has been a hard year for South Africans in a financial sense.
Alfred Ramosedi, African Bank group executive for sales and marketing said, “Consumers have been affected by the recent drought, which hit farmers hard and caused food prices to rise substantially. Many South Africans are feeling insecure about managing their finances.”
He added that it is important to start preparing for the months ahead, which for many people are the most stressful when it comes to financial responsibilities.
He offers advice for the final quarter of 2016:
Saving
With the festive season fast approaching, it is important to start putting some money aside each month to buy gifts and food for special occasions, pay for holiday activities or getaways and more. Employees often get paid early in December in preparation for the holidays, this does, however, make the wait until the January payday much longer. While loans and credit cards can be helpful, it is better to prepare a budget with this in mind in order to avoid overspending in December.
Think about your travel plans
A lot of us like to go away over December on a family holiday, but it is a very expensive time to do this. If you have flexibility in terms of travel plans, you may want to wait for March or April before travelling. Flights are expensive over December, as is holiday accommodation.
Consider consulting a financial advisor or planner
Financial advisors can give you more insight into your personal finances than you currently have, especially if you’re somebody who doesn’t have a whole lot of knowledge or interest in how finances and the economy work.
Plan for rising food prices
Many experts are predicting above average rainfall from November to January, but even if the current drought ends, food prices will continue to rise, particularly for red meat. Food price inflation will hit a peak at the end of this year, at around 12 per cent, according to experts.
