Silly Spenders show their faces as Christmas Approaches

What are Silly Spenders and are you one of them?

After Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan delivered the midterm budget speech announcing spending plans for the public purse, and tweeps took to twitter driving a point about debt and careless spending in South Africa.

With the festive season slowly approaching and people anticipating month-end salaries, financial discipline is likely to slip or fall over the next couple of months.

Although the tweeps are not financial experts, they took to twitter to post some advice for all the #SillySpenders when it comes to their budgets this season.

Here are some do’s and dont’s for all the #SillySpenders:

During these challenging economic conditions in South Africa, consumers would do well to spend their money wisely and avoid falling into the dreaded debt trap. Christmas is an expensive time for all of us, but don’t go overboard on gifts and entertainment and spending money you don’t have.

In January, the yearly cycle starts again and there will be demands on our income as we face undue financial stress if we have been unwise in the way we spent our money.

How Debt Accumulates over Christmas:                                 

Debt often results from an accumulation of many smaller purchases; each one doesn’t appear to amount to much, but when they are all added together, they can make a very big dent in one’s budget.

When December hits we consumers also tend to forget that we must still provide for the usual expenses such as rent, school fees, clothing, food, transport, etc. and want to spend most of our available cash on items which we do not really need and actually cannot afford.

Here are some pointers to help you get through the Christmas frenzy:

• Try not to be tempted by the flood of advertisements in newspapers, on radio and television, including letters offering credit;
• Plan carefully and pay particular attention to your budget, especially bearing in mind, the additional expenses that come with the New Year;
• Don’t spend what you do not have – this means do not live beyond your means;
• Be careful of “no-deposit’ offers, because those are loans and can attract high interest and other charges;
• The Christmas season brings out the giving nature in all of us, but be careful to give only what you can afford.
• If you do decide to borrow money, make sure you borrow only for what is strictly necessary and ensure that you can afford the repayments;
• Spend wisely now so that you can enjoy a financially relaxed and peaceful new year.

It looks like being in debt and careless spending in not a laughing matter anymore in South Africa.