21 September 2021 | 5 - 8 min read
How to gain control of your money and live your best life!
Share this
Women play a crucial role in any society, but especially here in South Africa where many often carry a heavy financial burden for their families. And so, we hosted a masterclass focussed on financial advice tailored especially for you, from some of South Africa’s top female financial minds. Renowned author and award-winning personal finance coach Mapalo Makhu shares her top tips with us in this article.
If you’d prefer to skip the article and dive straight into the video webinar, watch it here.
Gain control one small step at a time
According to Mapalo, the first step towards gaining control of your money is a baby one:
1. Learn to budget
Anyone who wants to manage their money needs to budget, which Mapalo says means telling your money where to go. Because if you don’t, then you’ll get to the end of the month, or the end of the year, and you haven’t achieved anything because you don’t know where it went!
Many of us like to say that we are bad with money, but that’s only because we never gave ourselves time to get comfortable with it through budgeting. And before you throw your hands up and complain that you can’t stick to a budget, please give it some time. See it through.
One budget for one month only is too short! You need to budget for a longer period; it’s crucial. Just do it and over time you’ll gain confidence. Give yourself at least 6 months of committed budgeting before you make any decisions about whether it’s something you can do.
Step 2 will be easy once you’re confidently budgeting as per step 1:
2. Build an emergency fund
An emergency fund is something you fall back on when unexpected expenses happen. It’s like a contingency plan or your own personal little insurance policy. An emergency fund is there to cover unplanned costs like a medical bill, car repairs, or to replace a critical appliance at home.
Having this fund gives you the comfort of knowing that you’re okay and don’t have to access credit when unexpected things happen. But how do you start an emergency fund? That’s easy:
3. Start small
Give yourself small goals that are achievable. For example, you might say that every month you will save R500 until you’ve got R2 500 saved up. Once you reach that
R2 500 goal, it will give you the confidence to believe that you can reach those bigger savings goals.
There’s a universal rule of 3-6 months worth of expenses to have saved up in your emergency fund. And the best thing all of us can do right now, is to draw up a budget, be committed, and start diligently saving into your emergency fund.
Financial challenges faced by women
According to Mapalo, women sometimes find themselves financially in difficult positions just because of who they are and how they’re wired. Here’s 3 that she highlights as being particularly challenging for women:
- Women feel obliged to help others, whether that means financially or in ways that might have an indirect financial cost.
- There’s a gender pay gap that women need to contend with.
- Women don’t negotiate and they don’t know how to ask for what they want.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Here’s how to smash through those challenges:
Have boundaries
Stick to your budget no matter what chaos is unfolding around you. This means putting yourself and your family’s financial needs first.
Learn to negotiate
You don’t have to just take whatever you’re offered. Learn to negotiate which means learning to always ask for what you actually want. You have the power. Prepare yourself to negotiate those tough requests; for example asking for a raise from your boss. Develop those skills.
Take care of yourself first
Taking care of yourself first right now means you’ll be able to take care of yourself later and not become a burden on your children or other family members later in life. That leads to resentment and all kinds of issues we’d all rather avoid.
In practice, this also means teaching your children money principles so that they understand that they can’t just have everything under the sun. If they want something, they need to learn to budget and save towards it.
Live your best life
Now that you know how to gain control of your finances, it’s time to shift your focus from the budget spreadsheet to your heartstrings, because the next step is all about what truly matters to you.
What does it mean to live your best life?
Start by asking yourself: Who am I and what do I love? What are my personal priorities?
Your answers reflect the things that really matter to you, and that’s what will guide your budgeting decisions in future to help you live your best life.
Everyone is different and so what’s important to you, might not be important to the next person. And that’s exactly how it should be. This is an important point because when we budget, we often have to make difficult decisions. Budgeting forces us to choose between one priority versus others. By understanding your priorities and what’s important to you, you can craft a budget for a future that will be truly meaningful to you, or in other words: Your best life!
Remember: Don’t feel pressured by friends, neighbours or even society to spend your money in a particular way. If that bigger house, car, or flashier smartphone isn’t in your list of personal priorities, then don’t get it! Spend your money in a way that delivers value to your life.
If you enjoyed this article or found it useful, you’ll definitely love the full webinar conversation between our very own Andiswa Mojapelo and of course, Mapalo Makhu.
Watch it here. You’ll learn Mapalo’s personal top tips for beginner budgeting, figuring out what matters to you, and how to live your best life.
Share this
01 July 2021 | 5 - 8 min read
Managing your finances as a couple
18 May 2021 | 5 - 8 min read
Working from home? Here’s how you could pay less tax.
23 April 2021 | 5 - 8 min read
Building a resilient career
SIGN ME UP
Start making the right money moves today
Put your goals within reach. Leave your details and a Relationship Consultant will call you back.