Best Way To Save Money In South Africa

Want To Know the Best Way To Save Money In South Africa?

Don’t you wish you knew the best way to save money in South Africa when you were younger?

Imagine if you had used some of these money saving tips back then and let the power of compound interest work its magic.

You could have accumulated a sizeable sum of money without much difficulty just by saving a little every month.

Still doubtful about the best way to save money in South Africa?

Well, the example below shows you how just one of these money saving tips works so effectively.

• If you save R1,000 cash every month, you would accumulate R60,000 after 5 years of saving your money like this.
• However, If you deposit R1,000 a month into a 7% interest bearing account every month, without increasing the amount, it would be worth over R72,000 in 5 years.
• Therefore, R12,000 is the difference between knowing how to save money wisely and not.

This is the power of compound interest at work which just goes to show that with a little bit of effort & discipline there are some really effective ways on how to save money in South Africa.

It’s never too late to start learning how to save money, so implement some of these easy money saving tips today and start your own wealth creation plan.

30 Ways To Save Money You Didn’t Know Existed

1. Move Your Bank Account

Change your bank to the one that gives you the best interest rate, lowest service charges and most effective rewards program.

Most banks have some sort of rewards program, for instance FNB’s eBucks gives you eBucks which you can use for food & petrol purchases or even holidays.

Otherwise, put the money you’ve saved into an interest bearing account, like FNB’s Money Maximiser, and let the power of compound interest work it’s magic.

2. Stop Buying Fast Food

Convenience food shopping is not only expensive, but always leaves you wanting more & unsatisfied.

If you can’t resist it, take advantage of KFC Specials On Tuesdays or Steers Wacky Wednesday as this is how to save money in South Africa.

By buying fresh food you’ll save money as you won’t need as much to keep you feeling full & satisfied after meals and you can prepare more for less.

3. Stop Smoking

Anyone who smokes these days must have a death wish and money to burn.

There are huge savings to be realised by quitting smoking especially in light of the ever increasing tax on cigarettes.

4. Join Rewards Programs

When you’re looking for the best way to save money in South Africa easily, you don’t have to look further than signing up for loyalty programs for free.

By doing this you will always get money back in the way of loyalty points or savings.

You have to buy groceries, so make sure that when you spend your hard earned money at the supermarket, that it works for you by earning loyalty rewards in return for spending your money.

Only shop at the stores that have money back rewards programs, like PnP’s Smartshopper for instance, as well as those at chemists (Dis-Chem & Clicks), your medical aid company, banks, etc.

Even restaurants have rewards & loyalty programs that can be used to get discounts of your next meal.

There are also Apps, such as the Entertainer App, that allow users to get massively discounted meals at participating restaurants.

5. Reduce Your Liquor Bill

Drinking isn’t healthy for anyone and must be one of the most expensive ways of processing alcohol into urine.

6. Make Large, One Pot Dishes

By making a large one pot dish you can use it for more than one serving or freeze the balance and serve it another time.

Buy a crock pot or slow cooker into which you can dump your ingredients & leave to simmer while you’re at work, saving electricity, and produce make great meals at the same time.

7. Turn Down Your Geyser

You can save huge of amounts on your electricity bill by turning down the geyser thermostat so that it doesn’t use power to continually heat it up to an unnecessarily high temperature.

8. Stop Using Your Credit Card

This requires discipline but there are massive savings to had by not having to pay the exorbitant credit card interest which is an unnecessary expense.

9. Take Advantage Of Specials

Whether it’s groceries or an appliance that you need, rather buy these things when they’re sold at lower than normal retail prices.

You can even do this while you’re doing your grocery shopping by choosing the products on special even if it means not buying your favourite brand.

10. Save On Fuel

Always be vigilant as to when petrol prices are going up or down in order to maximise your savings on the fuel price.

By doing this you can fill your tank just before the price increases or just after it decreases which could easily save you R100 for one tank.

Or better still, get rid of your car and use public transport if that’s an option.

You’ll not only save on petrol, but also insurance, vehicle payments and vehicle maintenance.

If you keep your car, make sure you’re not paying too much on car insurance by getting online comparison quotes from the big insurance companies here…

11. Don’t Shop On An Empty Stomach

Don’t ever go grocery shopping when you’re hungry as you’re more likely to cave in to buying anything that looks good.

12. Cancel Your Unused Gym Membership

I can’t believe how many people are paying their monthly gym memberships without ever going.

So if this is you cancel your gym membership or any other membership that’s costing you money if you’re not using it or getting any benefit from it.

Also if you’re a member of one of the big medical companies, you probably qualify for free gym membership so ensure this is activated if you are an active gym user.

13. Buy Used Stuff, If You Can

This applies to everything from motor vehicles to appliances & even clothes.

Just as an example the price difference between a brand new vehicle and a demo model, which also comes with the full factory warranty & maintenance plan, is enormous.

Also, buying good quality used clothes will come at a fraction of the price of new ones.

14. Take Advantage Of Black Friday Sales & Boxing Day Sales

You’ll get just about anything you want if you wait for one of these sales and you’ll save heaps of money in the process.

15. Sell Your Old Junk – Have a Jumble Sale

I’ve made thousands out of selling our old clothes on Gumtree – try it, you’ll be amazed at how much money you can save from the proceeds of jumble sales.

In fact, you can sell any old junk, or what you think is junk, on Gumtree – you will be amazed!

For instance, I was going to throw out an old wooden pelmet which I had replaced with a modern curtain rail, when my wife suggested I sell it rather.

I responded with, “Nobody will buy this”.

Anyway she said what do I have to lose, so I put it up for sale on Gumtree (which is free) and surprised myself when I got someone willing to pay R250 for it.

So try selling your old stuff before discarding it and also use Gumtree to find things you need as there are plenty of bargains to be had.

And remember, if you see something you want, always make a lower offer as you might surprise yourself and get it for a steal.

16. Pack a Lunch

Take your own lunch to work every day even if it’s the leftovers from the previous evening’s meal.

Muffins, hard boiled eggs or sandwiches made with health bread are also good options.

17. Avoid the Shopping Mall

By going to the mall, especially with your kids, you’ll end up buying something or at least stopping for a drink which will set you back at least a R100.

18. Airbnb Your Spare Room

If you have a spare room, or property, you should rent it out or use Airbnb to get it occupied and enjoy receiving a decent amount of cash in return.

19. Cancel Magazine Subscriptions

You can often save money by reading your favourite magazines online rather than getting the hard copy sent to you.

20. Have Breakfast Every Morning

Ensure you eat a healthy breakfast every morning which will keep you feeling full for most of the day and remove the temptation to go and buy fast food during the day.

21. Don’t Pay For Parking

The cost for parking in a convenient area is huge and you could save tones of cash every month by parking in a free parking area even if it means an extra walk.

22. Repair Stuff Yourself

You can save a fortune by not having to get plumbers, electricians and handymen out to fix things that you could do yourself.

If you’re not sure of how to do something, you can find really helpful diy tutorials and videos online which show you exactly how to do something.

23. Use Free Entertainment

Take advantage of open events taking place where you live as well as free movies which you can often get with your loyalty programs.

24. Take Public Transport

Not only is public transport often cheaper, but you won’t need to pay for parking, risk getting traffic fines or pay for wear & tear on your vehicle.

25. Cut Your Own Hair

I don’t how well this will go down with the ladies, but for men you can save loads by doing your own hair.

A barber cut can cost a few hundred when you can do it yourself, save money and often do a better job.

26. Get Cash Discounts

Always ask for a cash discount or some sort of financial benefit for paying up front.

For instance paying your Dstv account up front for a year will save you a month’s subscription charges so you end up paying for just 11 months.

27. Use a Carpool

If you live near a co-worker share the driving to work so that you can each halve your vehicle costs of driving to work.

28. Consolidate Your Debt

By consolidating your debt you should be able to reduce your overall interest cost which could see you saving hundreds each month which you could use to pay off your debt quicker or invest it for growth.

29. Buy In Bulk

By buying all your staples like washing powder, soap, shampoo, food items and so on, in bulk you can save huge amounts of money.

30. Pack Your Own Snacks For Road Trips

Going on holiday is costly enough, but stopping at all the tempting road stops can cost you a fortune for hamburgers and drinks.

By packing your own sandwiches and snacks as well as a thermos of coffee is a great way to save money on road trips.

PS. If you’re a SASSA beneficiary you can get SASSA Loans via Cellphone here.

Conclusion On How To Save Money In South Africa

If you can learn how to save money and implement just a few of these ways to save money & invest the savings you’ll be well on your way to creating wealth for yourself.

Just remember, many wealthy people only become rich by investing their money wisely and there’s no reason why you can’t do it too.