Dos and don’ts

“These are savings and debt hints and tips that I wish someone had told me when I started work and earning money years ago,” says senior financial planner Saville Saharin.

✓ Banking fees for returned debits can be very expensive. To avoid this, have two separate bank accounts, with one purely for your debit orders. When your salary is paid, transfer the amount needed, plus a little extra to cover banking fees etc., into your debit orders account.

✓ Try to add extra amounts to your debit orders account whenever you can to build up reserves – the aim is to have six months’ worth of debit orders in this account, in case you lose your job, or incur extra medical or other expenses.

✓ Instead of incurring debt, rather try to save for an item first and then buy it for cash.

✓ That said, there are some items where debt is acceptable, such as buying your home, as its value should go up.

✓ Make sure that you have sufficient life insurance, criticalillness and disability cover in place to provide for you and your family, to prevent them from getting into debt and/ or to help them to settle your outstanding debt.

✓ Open a savings account, and put money into it regularly with a specific aim in mind, such as a holiday – saving money is much more fun when you have something positive to look forward to.