It's important to define your attitude about money, and adapt it to meet your financial requirements. How you feel and deal with money as well as your attitude to saving, directly determines your financial well-being.
If you are too cautious with your money, then you are playing it safe and stash it away in a savings account. However, to stand a chance at beating inflation, you will need to expose your money to some risk.' Risk appetite determines the success of an investment. We are raised to invest in things that are guaranteed and not to take chances. If you invest in a money market account, you will generally get returns of below inflation and fees will cut into your capital. Don't be penny wise and rand foolish." Floris Slabbert suggests the above. She is a director of Ecsponent Financial Services.
If you have a bad attitude about money, chances are that you're not saving enough, spending way too much and have a lot of debt. If you treat it with the respect it deserves and have a positive outlook on your savings goals, you're more likely to succeed with your ambitions. Be aware of your state of mind. It's like buying groceries on an empty stomach. Our emotions drive our decisions quite often. It's not something that you can get right all the time, but it's important to take a step back and think before you commit.
Do you feel that you are entitled to the money that you have, as well as to do what you want with it? If you have a family to support, debt obligations, such as credit cards, loans and other financial commitments, then you don't have a total say about your income. "We often get caught up in the bright lights and think," I must have this now." Take an extra moment to decide if it's worth while and can you really afford it."
If you want to save for retirement, don't delay, start now!! Research shows that 94% of South Africans cannot maintain their lifestyle at retirement. Be brave and start with an amount that you can afford.
Often we see ourselves in the debt equation, but in reality our savings and retirement funds also deserve a portion of our hard earned money. A few suggestions are that you put money in your savings and it's no longer a grudge to do at the end of the month when you have very little left and have the least desire to save. The good news is that the money you have at the end of the month is yours to spend how you like as you have paid your bills, debts and yourself. Don't go overboard though.
Happy Saving!
Sources : Finance Monthly magazine, Jeanette Marais, CEO of Momentum Investment, Club Magazine, Pixabay.