South Africans are facing tough financial times ahead of the festive season as food prices, as well as interest rates, have increased.
However, consumers can tackle these issues with careful planning and by making small but significant changes to how they manage their money.
Here are five tips to help people stretch their rands:
Plan your budget
Create a budget that takes into account your current and future income and expenses. This plan will give you a proper overview of your monthly expenses and allow you to keep aside money for savings.
People can use online budget templates to get started if they are unsure about the process. They can also use budget apps for easy access to their plan.
“When you budget, you know exactly where all your money goes, where you can make adjustments to save even small amounts, and also how to effectively save and leave enough money for unexpected expenses and emergencies,” Sebastian Alexanderson, founder and debt counsellor at National Debt Advisors, says.
Know how much you are spending
Monitoring your spending and tracking your expenses is an important step when it comes to helping you stretch your money.
Review your bank statements and transactions to track your monthly spending. This can help you reduce your spending on unnecessary expenses.
Tracking your spending is a great way to see where your money is going and to draw attention to any possible unconscious spending, according to Christian Hugo, Solution Strategist for FNB Integrated Advice.
Save on fuel costs
Consumers should consider ways to save on fuel costs to make their money last longer. The cost of fuel is constantly changing, so you should be prepared for any situation.
You can reduce your fuel costs by:
1. Planning your shopping for the month to avoid making too many trips to the grocery store;
2. Trying online shopping to save on fuel costs; plus, you can ensure that you won’t be tempted to buy unnecessary items;
3. Joining a carpool if you are travelling to the office on a regular basis;
4. Having your car serviced regularly and making sure that your tyres are properly inflated; and
5. Keeping to the speed limit and avoiding aggressive acceleration.
Shopping
Do your research on the monthly specials that retailers are offering. This will allow you to have a plan of where to go instead of going from shop to shop and never finding what you are looking for. You will also have a clear idea of what you need to purchase, which will allow you to stick to your monthly budget.
Ensure that you take advantage of the loyalty or rewards programmes offered by retailers so you can save even more.
Start saving
According to Justin Asher, head of Marketing & Strategy at upnup, saving can seem like an impossible task to people who have never saved before.
You can start saving money by putting aside small amounts in a savings fund every month. As your financial situation improves, you can increase your monthly contributions.
It is important to keep the savings contribution aside before you take care of other expenses.
IOL Business