Moilamafi Maureen Mashiane- Momentum Financial Planning

20/04/2023

Did you know? April is Financial Literacy month.

*Financial literacy refers to the ability to understand and apply different financial skills effectively.

*Practical application of financial literacy includes debt and credit management, saving, budgeting, investment and banking.

*Lack of financial literacy leads to ‘spending money that you do not have’, bad credit, keeping up with the Dlaminis, indebtedness, bankruptcy, and other negative consequences.

*Being financially literate from a young age enables one to use financial resources effectively and ultimately leads to financial freedom.

*Be financially literate! Share the applied knowledge with peers and more importantly with KIDS!

Click on the 'Get in touch' button on the poster below and let us engage.

Families can use everyday 'teachable moments' to set their children up for financial success

18/04/2023

Do you want to have peace of mind? Leave your legacy to the rightful heirs, it is that simple. Let us start the conversation.

Here are 5 ways your Will gives you power.

15/03/2022

Everyone wants to live happily ever after with their partner. More often, you find that your financial literacy is on different levels and therefore you think and see money differently. It is not wrong to have different views however as partners you should work together to build a great life. You don't even have to start wondering if he is the right partner for you, simply get a financial adviser who will help you navigate this financial storm.

So you’ve tied the knot and want to have a great life. But do you and your partner think about money the same way?

03/03/2022

for a rainy day

Emergency events do not send warning signs to anyone, they just occur, and they need to be addressed immediately. Can one be prepared for a rainy day? Click below to find out.

It’s more important than ever to build up emergency savings that you can fall back on when the world gives you a financial knock.

23/02/2022

Today, the 23rd of February, the Minister of finance will be delivering the Budget speech. This is the national budget and we as individuals have our own personal budgets. Do you have one and managing it well? If not, this is the right time to start creating and following a budget. You will not understand what the Minister of Finance will be saying if you do not have your own budget. Let me help you create one.

15/02/2022

Is credit good or bad?
Kids are never too young to learn. And remember, what we teach our kids is a foundation for life. Let us help our kids to be financial literate. It starts with you and me.

A short lesson about what credit is – for kids aged 8 to 12

09/02/2022

Now that you are practicing how to budget you will see by month-end that you were able to free some cash by eliminating unnecessary expenditure. A few rands every month will lead to a few hundred of rands in months and so it goes. Need I ask, what are you going to do with the extra cash? Spend it, spoil yourself ………..…. Oh no, please don’t.

The little cash that you have freed must be put into your debit account so that your everyday expenses are run with your own money. Do you know what this means……you avoid using for monthly expenses, remember the concept of ’ debt’ that we talked about last week. Even better, you would have learnt to live within your means.
With this exercise, how much do you think you can save? ……R0,00. You will not save anything; you will be learning to manage your finances. Saving will be when you can show the physical cash, that is, have the cash in your hands or have it in a bank where it can earn a little something, that is .

Here is an exercise for you- For those who are preparing to celebrate Valentine’s day 💗🌹💞, record all the transactions which give you 20%, 50% or 75% off a purchase. If you can show the physical cash that you have saved through these discounts, you are certainly ready to start investing. If you can’t show it, let me help you with the budget plan.

01/02/2022

cost of credit

On Thursday last week the South African Reserve Bank increased the repo rate by 0.25%, from 3.75% to 4.00%. When this happens, banks also increase their prime lending rate by the same margin, to 7.50%. The prime rate is the rate at which banks charge its borrowers/customers.

The interest rate is the cost of debt for the borrower and the rate of return for the lender. The borrower is the one who goes to the bank/matshonisa to borrow money and therefore a rise in interest rates increases the rate at which they are charged and consequently their debt. The lender is the one who goes to the bank to invest their money and higher interest rates increases their investment.

When you borrow money, you have to pay it back with interest. For example: Maria borrows R500 from a matshonisa who charges an interest rate of 20%. Essentially Maria will have to pay back R600 (R500 x 20%), that is R100 in interest payment.

Similar to the furniture, car and other goods that we buy on credit, the cost of credit adds to the debt. Often we see a plasma TV advertised for R4 500 at 15.7% and then in bold letters they say pay R300 monthly for 24 months. Since Maria can afford the instalment, she simply signs the contract. And here is how the transaction pans out:

Example
Cost of TV R4 500
No of months to pay 24
Instalment R300
Total payment R7 200

In the example above, Maria ends up paying R7 200 instead of the cash price of R4 500, that is R2 700 more. The cost of credit is 60% (R2700/R4500 x 100%) meaning that she is paying 60% of the original price in interest.

Can the cost of credit be avoided? Most of the time, yes. If only Maria waited, while saving the R300 pm for 15 months, she would have bought the TV for cash.

money smart and avoid buying small items on credit.

26/01/2022

Time to spring clean your finances✔

It is almost the end of the month of January, some of us have been paid and shooooo what a relief! Do you feel the same way? Then I ask myself, for how long are we going to feel this way? Are we not going to continue, month after month, with our habits of just spending without accounting for our hard-earned money?

One of the questions I will ask is; how much did you earn in December? I am sure we all answered it in a instant, I know it by heart or it was there on the payslip or in the bank. Further I ask, how much did you spend in December, and in January? Mhhhhhhhh, not so many people will have an instant answer for this one even when given a few days to collate the information. Why is that? …...It is time to clean your finances.

Tip #1: Draw up a budget. A budget is an account of your expenses versus your income. The first element of drawing up a budget is to record each and every purchase and expense that you make, from groceries to tips, parking ticket fees, bank charges, car wash etc. Start this exercise tomorrow if you have received your salary, else start it on the 1st of February. On your next pay day or the 28th of February check your income against your expenses and determine if you are within or out of your budget. Need help with the budget process, I am a phone call away.

Repeat this for the next 3 months and let me be the judge of your tip #1 finance spring-cleaning project.