FROM THE EDITOR

I LOVE the Allan Gray television ad about a working man sending money regularly home to his parents in a rural village, only to discover, on his father’s death, that his father had saved every cent for him.

In a similar vein I remember as a small child walking up the road with my mother to the local building society where she would deposit R5 a month towards my tertiary education. (That R5 would be worth at least R500 today, and a building society, if you are of a younger generation, which you probably are, was essentially a type of bank.)

The culture of spending cautiously and saving regularly, which was inbred in my parents and the folk of their generation, and which to me is so noble, has been overtaken by a world that is preoccupied with material things and living in the present.

Don’t misunderstand me: there’s nothing wrong with brushing aside your cares to enjoy life in the moment. But there is something wrong in being unprepared for what tomorrow may bring, especially if you have dependants.

The most effective thing you can do to prepare for tomorrow is to build up a financial reserve through saving regularly, as my parents’ generation did.

It’s not as onerous as you think. Start now, this Savings Month, by having a monthly debit order on your bank account. Very soon, you won’t be missing the money you’re putting away automatically.

And once put away and slowly growing, preferably in the appropriate savings or investment vehicle, don’t be tempted to dip into it. Pretend it doesn’t exist.

Martin Hesse

He who buys what he does not need, steals from himself.

– SWEDISH PROVERB