Wait! Don’t make that money mistake

iused to have a ‘drawer of shame’, full of unopened letters from SARS dogging me about freelance income I’d forgotten to report in 2012. I opened one letter, felt overwhelmed by the financial jargon and, for some reason, decided not to deal with it until I absolutely had to. Three years and one accountant later, I faced my mistake.

The penalties had grown my balance to three times its original size! I beat myself up about it, but now I make sure my taxes are on point. “When it comes to money, most learning comes from doing,” says Stefanie O’connell, a personal finance expert. “By fixing your mistake, you’re taking full ownership of your financial life.”

Ahead, women share their blunders – and what they learnt from them.

“I was R120 000 in debt from emotional shopping after my divorce.” – Rachel, 49

I got married at 19, but just a few months later, I got a divorce. I didn’t file for spousal support because I wanted him out of my life entirely, and I got several part-time jobs to cover

the rent, on top of going to university. It was the first time I’d ever lived alone – I’d gone from living with my parents to having roommates to living with my ex – and suddenly I had to figure out how to be self-sufficient.

I started going to the mall two or three times a week and making impulse purchases for R600 or R700 on clothing and makeup. I didn’t need this stuff, but I was so depressed that I’d do anything to feel better in the moment. I’d think, ‘ This makes me feel pretty and I deserve to be happy.’

Eventually I racked up R120 000 of credit card debt, spread out over nine cards; a few months later, I also had home and student loans to pay. In total I owed R1 790 000. At my lowest point, I had R10 in my savings account!

I ultimately realised I had to stop burying my head in the sand. I started reading personal finance blogs like Dear Debt (deardebt.com)and made a plan to pay back the debts in order from the smallest to largest. I paid back over R145 000 in the first year alone – including all of my credit card debt. Once that was done, all that was left was my home loan and a car loan.

Now I’m able to start putting small amounts of money toward retirement and savings. I learnt that, even though progress can feel slow, every little payment counts.