Top 3 ideas to recover from overspending

Top 3 ideas to recover from overspending

 It’s 2015 and all we can say is: out with the old and in with the empty pockets…

Every year as we move into a New Year, we become more and more involved with creating new goals and we forget about the long line of possible debt that we brought into the New Year with us. It’s never shocking how consumers flock to shopping (in all shapes and sizes – from online shopping to spaza shops) like bees to honey. Whatever the reason, the New Year shouldn’t just bring a sense of goal setting and resolution listing, it should bring a sense of savvy living – an adoption of a lifestyle that allows you to set a budget and maintain a good spending culture throughout the year!

The scariest part of it all is that according to a survey conducted by Deloitte (featured in an article in December 2014); South Africans sit at the top of the big spenders list. “Atop that list are South Africans, who will spend an average of 144 euros (R1994.26) on gifts for the holidays…That accounts for 15 percent of the average adult’s yearly income…In other words, South Africans spend relatively triple the amount on presents, compared to income, as Americans, who will allocate $781 (R9126.91) for gifts, or 5 percents of per capita income. Of course, rich people skew the figures for everyone, and income inequality in South Africa is much higher than the U.S.”.

If that doesn’t scare you, then couple in the rise in cost of living and the additional circumstances that always feature in your year (unwanted prices hikes in petrol, retrenchment, school and tertiary education, etc.). We want to encourage a year of saving in 2015 (a year that can be budget friendly and entertaining and guess what, not leave you in despair when it comes to looking at your bank balance). We will be following these tips as well so take the journey with us…

1. Get rid of the clutter

It’s so easy to let the clutter rule, especially if everything you own becomes tagged as holding sentimental value or worse you become too lazy and attached to let it go. The more time you hold onto the clutter, the less space you have and the more you lose out on a rand or two. What you are storing could be put to good use by someone else.

• Go through all your stuff (electronics, clothing, furniture, toys, etc) and ask yourself these 3 questions:
  • Do I use this item? (if it’s not at least I day a week then you have no use for it)
  • Does this item add value to my life? (this relates to the previous answer – if not it could be adding value to someone else’s life)
  • How much is it costing me to store this item? (this is an interesting one, if you were storing this item in a storage warehouse, you would be paying approximately R400 to R500 for a 1.5m x 1.5m space).
• The best way to get rid of the clutter is either to sell it (there are several online sites that you can advertise your stuff on for free) or be a good Samaritan and donate it.

2. Commit to a budget

It’s so easy to fall into the credit line – make a commitment to not spending with money you do not have. Stick to the necessities and believe us when February comes and you stuck in one of those circumstance you’ll be able to pat yourself on the back.

• If you do not trust yourself enough to be diligent then give your credit card/ account cards to a friend or family member to keep for you.
• Use coupons – take advantage of all the sales and coupon specials that will be emerging during this time of year – then you can join us when we treat ourselves for good behaviour next month.

3. Get yourself a discount card/ loyalty card

We know the feeling of being wary when it comes to loyalty or discount cards, but remember many of these cards are aimed at rewarding you (the all seeing customer) so stop being so paranoid and invest in one. Might we suggest our GoRhino Loyalty/ discount card, while we have your attention? Our card provides you with discounts with a range of services, from restaurants to travel and lodging to movie benefits to rental cars and so on. The best part is you only pay R79 a month and a portion of your membership goes to Project Rhino KZN to help with Rhino Conservation. If you are interested, leave us a comment or connect with us on Facebook.

That’s all folks, till next week, happy budgeting from all of us at GoRhino!

Thanks to USA Today for the information.