Many women

Saving should be the ultimate reward

South African women have reason to be angry. Many of us live in fear for our lives and the lives of our children.

“Woman shot dead by her VIP guard boyfriend”; “Dad hacks his three kids to death: man accused his wife of cheating”; “The tragic life of Khwezi relived” – all headlines in Monday’s Sowetan. A day in the life of South African women.

So, when Women’s Month rolls around, you can be forgiven for being less than impressed when companies use it to try to flog their products and services. Every year the financial services sector reminds us that women earn less than their male counterparts, live longer than men, and therefore need to save more than men; and that 46% of SA mothers consider themselves single mothers.

These messages highlight our vulnerability, but do they inspire us to invest or cover our risks? I doubt it.

Investing and insuring your life or your income are lofty goals when you don’t know how to work with money. I know from experience. I didn’t learn financial literacy in the home.

Today, my parents are financially dependent on my siblings and I, and while we support them, joyfully, all of us are also supporting children of our own – a reality for onethird of urban, working South Africans.

How are we to get ahead when we have so many dependents draining our finances?

When I was 30, I landed a job with a publication dedicated to teaching readers about personal finances. I was about to slide into a debt trap. I had three clothing accounts, an overdraft and a credit card.