Whether or not you think you are in need of a financial planning workshop, some people around you may well benefit: like your children, your grandchildren or your employees, for instance. No matter where you fit in the South African job market – whether young university graduates taking a first step on the corporate ladder, labourers in the workforce or CEOs of large corporates – when it comes to offers of credit, we’re all a target. This is why we take Financial Planning Week, coming up the week of 7-11 September, so seriously: it’s a great opportunity for us to teach good financial planning habits and spread the message of sticking to a financial plan to a greater audience.
The two audiences we believe would benefit most but don’t normally have access to good financial advice are young adults and domestic workers. We’ll be conducting free workshops for both these groups separately. It is our belief that each group has their own set of circumstances, needs and goals and we would ask you, if someone close to you fits into one of these groups and you think this may benefit them, steer them to us…and we’ll do the rest at our workshops (see sign-up information below).
Some additional background thinking on why we see these two groups as so critical to empower and assist:
Young Adults
As new graduates, young adults can easily be swayed by the seductive powers of consumerism – new car ‘deals’, store card accounts, credit card offers – leading to spiralling debt. Living beyond their means too early in their lives is the biggest danger to their financial security. As well as getting into the property market early on, we always encourage setting up a habit of saving from the beginning. The earlier this is engrained, the less likely they are to find themselves in the dangerous long-term position of increasingly spending more, as they become more successful.
Domestic Workers and Gardeners
In our experience, people in the lower income sector like domestic workers and gardeners are easy prey for creditors. These people often face a barrage of consumerism and are also often supporting extended families. With modest incomes and no form of financial planning, it can prove extremely challenging for them to get ahead.
Consumers are often genuinely shocked to realise they are paying two to three times as much for a TV or lounge suite due to exorbitant financing charges. For this group, we encourage an approach of delayed purchases, i.e. saving for large purchases over a number of months as opposed to financing, and we introduce the power of compounding, both in its positive and negative forms. We discuss simple budgeting techniques and cash flow.
Here are the details about the workshops:
Workshop 1: ‘Getting You on the Right Track’ – for 20-35 year olds.
On Tuesday 8 September there will be two workshops (Southern and Northern suburbs), hosted by Gavin van Dyk (Fiscal Private Clients) and Paul Rossouw (Old Mutual). These workshops will offer valuable financial guidance to 20 to 35-year-olds on ‘Getting You on the Right Track’. There will be a number of CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals for a question and answer session. Click here for the invite to V&A Waterfront and Click here for invite to Northern Suburbs.
Workshop 2: Domestic Workers and Gardeners
On Thursday 10 September Craig Torr of Crue Consulting will be presenting a workshop, which is specifically geared toward domestic workers and gardeners. Here Torr will talk about struggling with debt and loan sharks, getting by on your salary and developing good financial habits. Torr is fluent in Xhosa and Afrikaans. Click here for the invite.
Financial Planning Week is a national initiative of the Financial Planning Institute of Southern Africa, during which CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals give of their time to help set South Africans on the right financial path.
For more information please contact Nicola Chiringa on 021 671 0799 or
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