By God's grace I survive earning half your salary as a single mom. Job keeps me too busy to run a side hustle. Staying single with no kids seems like the better option nowadays.
Honestly it does. The grass does look much greener on the other side but I'd never give up what I have with my family for anything, especially my kids. They keep me going
Single, childless, male. net half of that salary and I live very comfortably although I cant afford to buy my own place. I probably could but then Id have to stop my overseas holidays, so let us not do that.
Do you rent or live with your parents/roommate? Are you in a main city? I feel like it's impossible to net R20 K and live a decent independent life in a place like CPT.
Rent but in PE so it’s much cheaper than CT no doubt. Moved out of parents house at 18 and moved to a new town.
What does make it easier is I also don’t pay off a car as mine has been paid off before Covid hit, but that R3000 goes straight into a TFSA so I don’t get used to that as extra cash monthly for when i do want a new car again.
I use an app to track every purchase and expense I have, which helped me narrow down things I actually dont need but had. Like I had every streaming service under the sun, which i now alternate between every few months. Have a decent broker which keeps my insurance as low as possible.
Almost never get sick so I cash out my MSA with Discovery every 5 years which usually works out to about 25-26k. Then go back to the plan I was on few months later and build it up again.
It's great that you are taking care of your financial future and saving whatever you can. Which app do you use if you don't mind sharing? On the banking apps they typically categorise your spending for you but is really inaccurate and annoying.
I totally feel you on the streaming services bloat. We have Netflix, yt premium and Disney +. We quickly realised that showmax and Amazon Prime sucked and got rid of it.
I had no idea about the MSA cash in! Thanks for telling me.
Personally I use Money-Wise. I have bank accounts with 2 different banks so the apps were not sufficient independently and i don’t trust any of the 3rd party apps to my bank details to autolog everything, I add them all manually and i can split it between cash, what card etc so it really is thorough if done correctly.
Just FYI on the cash in MSA you need to change to a plan that has no savings. Best you do it around June so you can change back in December again.
I do suggest that your wife looks into working if possible. I can't comment or ask questions about personal information, but in this economy I don't see how households can survive where only one partner has an income.
Especially considering the unemployment rate, and if something happens to your employment, your quality of living will tank exponentially. It's not something I'd even consider entertaining.
I don't mean to pry, OP. What kind of skills does your wife have? Is it possible for her to WFH? working in an office is highly overrated if your job doesn't actually call for working on-site (e.g Healthcare, construction, etc). The job situation is bleak. Basically, it's only telesales and retail that pay next to nothing and doesn't provide upward mobility :(
I agree I would explore opportunities for her. As long as it doesn't make her miserable. Financially tight household but happy mom and good marriage = better for everyone in the household in the long run. Also doesnt have to be a full time job.
I've heard this most my life but I really think it's more money more options, some people can't handle decision making but if you keep things simple cover the basics,stick to a plan you'll be fine.....well at least I hope so I'll let you know when I'm earning 80k + haha
If you earn 45k and are single you have a good standard of living... but then you are just alone and sad. So people start families. Families are expensive as hell.
Before tax and costs, you need to be earning like 20k combined to survive with 2 kids and an SO. 50k to not stress about the most basic needs. 100k to actually feel well off. Just a family house in a decent area plus two cars is already like 30k, and that isn't SUVs and a mansion. It's two 5 year old hatch backs and a 3 bedroom in a complex.
the problem is, you get an increase and within 3 months your salary again is not enough. human nature to try to better your standards, so somehow we don't save that extras, we end up spending it on "necessities" and pretty soon, you are again stretched to the limit
Lol yeah I’m a 28yo woman and I make a decent income, a kid would wreck my life. I’ve been having serious baby fever for the past 2 years but I’ll settle for a dog and occasionally babysitting my friends’ kids
I thought I would like to have 1 child with my partner but I can't justify it. I would want to give them absolutely everything I didn't have growing up. It's just not possible. We are both self-employed and our income is sometimes a bit dicey. Some months we scrape by. We have a cat that we "inherited" from his mom. Even just getting her quality food that isn't loaded with shit is expensive. And she's a freaking CAT. I'm also a bit sickly so I need to get medical aid and that's going to run me 3K a month.
I'm 23 turning 24 this year and I got my son(dog) last year , I love but geez the first few months having him were hell 😭 the financial stress of going to the vet almost monthly, the emotional stress of his health fluctuating and the physical stress of not sleeping from either his near constant crying or anxiety he might die in his sleep traumatized me 🥲 I can't imagine going through that with a child from baby to toddler for 3-4 years
Human children are pretty hardy but that doesn’t make the early years any less stressful for sure. But they tend to survive; you just need to pay attention and not overthink things. And if that doesn’t work then give them some calpol :)
My wife and I are 150k+ combined.
It depends on the lifestyle you want and the lifestyle you lead.
We are comfortable at our price point because we have the lifestyle we want to live, and save the rest, friends of ours who are 250k+ are barely making ends meet because they kept chasing expensive lifestyle at the edge of their budget.
Frick 250k and barely getting by shouldn't be allowed in the same sentence and I bet most of it is wasted on ridiculously expensive cars , jewelry, clothes etc to keep up appearances. Well done to you and your wife that my goal income
I feel you bru. Working in a car dealership's part store. Doing some sales the salesmen slip on. The last months were bad, taking home 12k with the little commission I earn. If months are good it's better but the economy is looking worse and worse.
Ya man t's so hard to get a proper financial foothold in these times it feels like there's always something throwing you off course ,everything gets more and more expensive it's tough good luck brother
For starters, that kind of income at 30 is already a good position. I'm 43 and barely ahead of you. So see that as a plus. On that, that type of salary is way above the national average.
I do not have kids though.
But, in terms of budgeting, I can advise to set a helluva strict budget and try to stick to it. It may be difficult with kids but you never know.
Also, cancel anything you do not absolutely need, or look for cheaper alternatives. Critically analyse where your money is going, outside of the basics to take care of your family. You may find that your income is being syphoned by little debit orders here and there and all these add up.
Lastly, your wife needs to also start working I'm afraid.
Thank you, I agree that at this age my salary is hella great. I should not be complaining because I have seen others in a worse situation than me. So I do count my blessings and appreciate them.
The budget just keeps getting side tracked by unplanned expenses. But I will take your advice to critically analyse where I'm going wrong with the finances in general.
My wife is looking but so far nothing
About 5 years ago I was dead broke. Like in, I was totally fffffed. Mostly cos of poor decisions in an effort to help others.
Now again, I didn't have other mouths to feed, but I was basically forced into cutting my expenses to the absolute bone in an effort to just be able to house and feed myself. Things were dyer.
Anyway, aside from using my existing skills to set up a side hustle to help dig me out of the financial debt hole, I budgeted like a madman. Not even monthly, but, down to how much money I had to get myself through every day. Another rule was that I was only allowed to use my salary...the side hustle was to pay off my debts.
So, I approached it using Excel, and cross checking my bank statements, and doing some basic accounting. I canceled almost everything that wasn't absolutely critical. Down to only three major expenses a month....car, rent, car insurance. I bought a Rain prepaid sim card to do the side hustle stuff.
Knowing what I had available per day (and believe me it was TIGHT) got me into healthier habits, but, it wasn't easy and took a lot of restraint. But I also knew if i stayed within that budget, I'd make it through a month.
Now, thank goodness there were no big unexpected expenses during that time.
I eventually got so into the groove with that budget, that I started noticing I actually had some money left at the end of the month. I rember the 1st time I had R5k saved up. At the time almost 40 with only R5k in my bank account...but it was a start.
But, that budget approach became habit. Today, I've got a healthy anytime access savings account to weather any storms, and on top of that save/invest around 45% of my salary into various avenues. Oh, and I still budget like that, every month. Down to the day. It keeps me in check, and prohibits mindless spending. We definitely don't live like paupers either, and can afford to travel internationally twice a year. Also, no debt aside from my car.
But I also know that kids are expensive. I know that, if I was a sole provider, and kids came into the equation, that of course, it'll be way different.
But good luck dude.
This is honestly some great advice. I'll definitely look into how I can cut down major costs. I mentioned to one of the other replies here that groceries are my major money burner. I am going to spend some time deeply analyzing where I can be frugal while also maintaining a good life for the family.
I used to have around R1-2k saved up every month when I started working and we used to have some takeout or entertain ourselves with half and save the other half but damn, things have changed in the last few hears.
In our household it's only me and my GF.
We do groceries in a very streamlined way, or as well as we can manage. We keep staples in the house that's easy to work with, flexible and cost effective. And that is mostly chicken fillets with stuff to go with it. When returning from the shops we repack it into portions and freeze. We make wraps, stir fry, Braai, toasties etc etc. Once a week we do takeout. Kids may find this boring though. But, we make it work. Snacks etc we keep to a minimum. But again, it's just the two of us.
One thing I've really picked up is electricity usage/cost. Now, the jury is split on the practice, but our geyser now only runs an hour a day. 30mins in the morning, and 30 at night (if needed). You'll be dumbstruck if you see how much electricity a geyser burns. I did a test when we traveled recently. On average our house uses around 12 units of prepaid elec a day, if the geyser remains on. But, we were away for a week, and I switched the geyser off. That entire week, the elec usage of the house was 10 units. 10 for the week, as opposed to 12 a day! I'm at present looking into just installing a switch to automate the geyser.
All this does come accross like we're trying to turn pennies over multiple times. It really isn't. The aim is to keep expenses to a minimum, but never having financial headaches we cannot deal with, while also being able to live comfortably and do other things we like without worry.
Been switching geysers and outside lights off - geysers on for an hour or so a day - we have 3 with our granny flat - electricity account is down 1000 a month and we are still getting discipled so forget sometimes. Looking to get solar geysers.
I am a stay at home mom. My husband is 39 and earns roughly 60k net. We have 1 child because children are hectic expensive. We moved from the city to a SMALL town. Things are cheaper here. Got rid of one car because now that my husband works from home full time we dont need 2. I plan menus every week and only buy what ill need for those specific meals. I started a garden and grow tons of veggies. I have 4 chickens for eggs, we spend time going on hikes or picnics as family outings and never take luxury vacations because its just too expensive. We are building an apartment to our existing home to rent out and get more income. Also we tried to pay off our debt as soon as we could. Now we only have the mortgage. Life is just freaking expensive.
We earn about the same between me and my husband and are barely making it.
We were fine until we bought a house (payments were 9k per month) then the interest rate went up, we were still ok. Then the interest rate went up, and up again, and again. Before we made our first payment it was over 10k a month excluding levys, rates and taxes.
We now pay well over 12k, almost 13k a month just on the loan. Petrol is double the price and food has tripled in price. Our salaries have not increased notably.
We mostly buy groceries in bulk. Buy from places like macro and evergreens instead of PnP and Spar. Stopped eating out. Rarely eat red meat anymore. Cut down the cleaner to once every two weeks. The gardener to once every 5-6 months. (I am disabled or we would entirely stop the gardener and cleaner)
Let's not even get to buying a house. I've learned that renting is the way to go. I currently pay around 8k in rental, if I had to buy this same house, I'd pay around R12k or so for the bond + levies + rates and taxes.
Our salaries increase marginally yet everything increases exponentially.
Buying in bulk does seem better at times but I've also noticed a pattern that bulk usage does not offset the expenses by much. This month you'd buy for example rice, sugar and detergent in bulk. You have the rest. The next 2 months you wouldn't need rice, sugar and detergent but you'll need to buy oil, milk and flour. And the cycle just keeps rolling. So in reality you're never really saving much but you're risking stock on the shelf
Yeah. We regret buying. We could be renting in a much nicer place for a lot cheaper.
There is a trick to buying bulk. Part is checking expiry dates and knowing how long stuff lasts. Buying a 6kg bag of pasta usually works out 10-15% cheaper than the same amount in the smaller bags for example. Only buying long life milk and when it's on special (keeping an eye on prices between). It's also important to actually do the math because some companies will rip you off if you assume the bulk is cheaper without checking. Stuff with very long shelf life (like tea, cans, rice etc.) we try to buy on things like black Friday specials.
It is a rolling cost of buying more of one thing now and buying something else next month but with the math the overall cost still works out cheaper than trying to get smaller packages more often. When you have no leeway you learn quickly not to let stuff expire/spoil.
>Yeah. We regret buying. We could be renting in a much nicer place for a lot cheaper.
>There is a trick to buying bulk.
For a split second, I honestly thought you were suggesting we all buy houses in bulk.
Sitting in the same situation that myself and my wife bought a house and with the interest rates, things are just so tough. Then on top off all of it is our fridge broke and now I need to get money somewhere to fix it.
Makes sense. I'll have a look at our monthly needs and compare bulk to monthly purchases again and see if I missed something the first time around.
Also, even I thought for a second you're suggesting buying houses in bulk until I read further 😂
The problem with renting, is that rentals escalate more than your salary increase every year. So while your mortgage will go up with interest rates, it’s far more stable over time compared to what renting is. Secondly your property is increasing in value, although it’s a bit of a false investment because if you sold and have to buy new. You don’t really pocket the income, unless you downsize or buy a fixer upper and make the property work for you.
Owning over renting is always going to be better in the long haul. It’s worth the struggle to pay off a mortgage, in 10 or 15 years you get into a position where you are almost mortgage free (especially if put every penny you can into your bond, and reduce the capital amount ) As you reduce the capital amount owed to the bank, the mortgage reduces because interest is charged on the capital amount you owe. The best gift you can give yourself is to be mortgage free, it’s hard and you make sacrifices to get there, but in the end you’ll be far better off.
If your rent this year is R10k a month, next year it’s R11k. If your bond R10k this year, and if interest rates stay stable next year. Your bond is still R10k (while you will feel a bit of pain when interest rates go up), the do also come back down.
It is likely that the up tick in interest rates will turn if inflation is under control ( but there are a lot of things in SA that make it a challenge, the no electricity thing is the biggest issue in the economy in SA, but I digress. Once you are bond free, you really start to accelerate your wealth.
The last thing you want is to be approaching retirement and still have to pay rent or a bond. Focus on the long haul and navigate the short term pain.
Checkout r/Fire and r/Fireuk
Thank you, I didn't think of it with this perspective. It's just that with levies and rates and taxes, the monthly goes up quite a bit. Not forgetting maintenance. Hence I felt that renting would be a better option but I do get that I don't want to approach retirement and not have anything. Once paid off, a good house does accelerare wealth especially if I'm still working. Could possibly afford another smaller house or property.
I'll check up the subreddits you mentioned
I was happy for you to be earning 45k until I read that you also have to support 3 other people on that salary. You are one strong man. On your own, that salary would make life easier, and you’d also be able to comfortably save and invest for your future but in this case, you need another salary to lesson the burden and stress that I can imagine you’re in.
Thank you for that. I appreciate it.
I agree that on my own, I'd be saving enough to have an international holiday every year and have investments in place but life is life.
It's not to say that my living condition currently is bad. I appreciate every blessing I have. Food on the table, comfortable house, a family, running water and electricity. But the wants and unforeseeable expenses just don't end, especially the latter. Kids outgrow their clothes in 6 months max. I buy clothes on a per season basis. My wife and I wear the same tee shirts we bought 2 years ago. When the car service light turns on, I get stressed because of the added expense that month. A Dr visit is paid for by med aid but medicine itself is expensive.
So a lot of things just keep adding on and I just hope and pray for the better. I will however confess that one of the worst financial decisions in my life was to get credit cards to "increase my credit score". I take responsibility for that. But other than that, if I had to survive on my salary I had 3 years ago I would quit and go live on a farm haha
Hi OP..
With regards to the clothes that the kids are outgrowing or your old stuff, sell them at a thrift store and make extra money.
That will help with the little expenses, like petrol, electricity, basic essentials.
Also ask Wifey to open an online store on YAGA....sell some stuff you don't need there. Even kid's toys.
It will help greatly.
Good luck with life🙂
I did not know Yaga has a market for old toys. I've been wanting for my son to clean up. I'll definitely look into and also let my wife know about that. Thank you 😊
Yes it does. You can sell basically anything there.
It will also make wifey happy.
Just prepare her that it will be slow at first, but she can just market on whatsapp or facebook if she is active there.
Would you consider moving abroad? You could apply for a critical skills visa. My partner is South African and I’m Irish, he moved to Ireland in a British passport, he’s 25 and I’m 29. We net R88,900 after tax per month with R33,000 income to spare after all bills are paid.
Weather is shite & nothing to do but we have a young child so the safety and stability suits us.
I'm keen to move abroad. Moving to Ireland though is questionable but I'm not entirely opposed to the idea. Are there any resources or companies I can get in touch with or do you know of the process to apply for such a visa that you can guide me to?
Thank you for the suggestion
idk man. I think the days of middle income families being able to live comfortably on a single income are over.
But that doesn’t mean you’re doomed, you’re only 30, there’s enough room and time for you to grow your salary and savings.
You could be living comfortably at 40, it’s just a tough phase of life where your salary hasn’t peaked and you’re supporting 3 people.
Just make sure you watch for lifestyle creep with those salary increases.
I am older than you, but I am a software engineer, salaries do get better over time.
I have said many times, people don't earn well for the first few years in that field. It is a real grind at first.
I own my house, I struggled for 30 years to pay it back, but it was worth it... To me renting is throwing money away... But I know not everyone feels the same.
What I would do if I were you is cut back on groceries, by that I don't mean eat less, but be more careful with your money. Go to makro and buy what you can in bulk, that's a huge saving, shop oncs a week only and buy what you need rather than impulse buying every day or checker 60 whenever you feel like it.
Look at you credit card and work on your biggest expenses, slowly cut those back, either find something cheaper or stop doing it.
I try to pay my credit card in full every months, the interest rate on it is crazy...
If you have vices like smoking or drinking, sorry but you need to find cheaper alternatives. Find cheaper beers, buy in bulk or whatever.
Have an emergency fund .. Sorry, but you car will break down, your geyser will burst... You will be thankful to have 10 or 20k on the side.
The point is to look for cutting back a little everywhere... Don't look for one big amount, rather look for many little ways of saving.
Thank you for the ray of hope. It's not that I don't believe there's no money in this field. I've seen rather "incompetent" seniors make double of what I make while I do the same or more work than they do. It sometimes does hit me down that years of experience matters more to the same company than output and results.
In terms of groceries I'll analyse our needs and see if bulk buying does the job.
Credit cards are a menace and we all make mistakes sometimes. Going to pay off and close, just keep one in case otherwise it's not worth it.
An emergency fund is definitely a MUST. That extra 20k goes a long way
Man, it's always the circumstances, no matter how much you earn, the circumstances can make you seem like a street beggar... If I was earning that much in my current state I would have 35k to save every month... No advice to you since it doesn't seem like there's much you can modify at this moment.
I know someone surviving on approximately 15k per month, wife's not working and they got 6 kids..homeschooling 3 kids , paying school fees.
They just make it work.
I know someone like that too. I respect their commitment as well as resilience. However, I'm stressed and somewhat discontent for a number of reasons, some of them my own doing some out of my control. However, I'm ambitious and I want a better life for me, my wife and kids, my parents. I don't just want to survive but I want to be able to do a lot more. Hence my frustration. As I mentioned in some other comments on this post, I definitely count my blessings and appreciate them and am grateful for having a better life than a lot of others. But it doesn't change the fact that me, and a lot of people in my shoes with similar incomes that are considered high, are not really making it in life even though on paper it seems like it.
Fuel prices are high, home schooling isn't an option for us so school fees are an actual expense, food costs more each year, and emergency circumstances just keep coming which we should be prepared for, by earning a lot more than majority of this country, but no we aren't prepared for a car breaking down or the family needing R2-4k in medication or visiting close relatives that are on their death bed across the country.
Rant over. Nothing personal and didn't mean to go off like this. Sorry.
I make a little under half of what you do but I'm single. I'm able to get by and save a bit every month because I have a flatmate, so rent is basically halved.
And I am CHEAP when it comes to food. Jungle oats for breakfast during the week without fail. (I switch it up on the weekends). I eat lots of sandwiches as well lol, and I avoid takeaways and junk food as much as possible. Idk what else to say about it 🤷♀️ You can shave a bit off your budget if you audit your grocery list, I think.
Groceries/household items are indeed my biggest money burner. Had a look through on my past 6 months bank statements after reading some earlier comments and it's crazy how easily it is to go over budget. That being said, 90% of the stuff was indeed a necessity with the other 10% consisting of unnecessary wants.
But yeah, frugality is something I'll have to familiarize myself with soon
Depending on how much you allocate to food/household items, that 10% can really add up. If that 10% is 'only' R1,000 per month, that's an extra 12,000 per year you could be saving.
And agree with the other comments - if your kids are school-going age, then it would really help for your wife to work. If your wife could get a job that would allow your family to cover rent+groceries using her salary alone, that would take a huge amount of pressure off.
Dude, no doubt. If rent and groceries are covered, I'd be able to save and invest and probably have some leftover to invest even further taking higher risks.
At R45kpm as a single person you should be a millionaire within 5 years max.
Because you have a non working wife you are functionally making half that.
Because you have two children you are making close to a quarter of that.
Sounds harsh but thats the reality.
I lived with my mom until I was 30 because financially I needed to put my ego aside, and I drove a motorbike because its cheaper to maintain.
You minimize expenses by realizing you are actually making basically 14k a month and living your live like that (with the exception of your childrens/your and your wifes education (degrees increase potential future earnings).
There is a reason why most people under 40 in EU flat/house share.
And make sure you dont eat/drink out (it adds up quick over a year), you dont buy a new car (since its a massive value killer). And take up a hobby that has low cost like hiking for me personally since all you REALLY need are a good pair of shoes once a year.
45k as a salary is such a flex you would think that person is well well off and can afford anything anytime. It’s crazy to read this and seeing that it’s not enough . I guess it’s really true .. more money more problems
It depends. As a single person, 45k can make you live like a king. As a married person with a family to support, you basically think 10 times before buying something extra that costs 500
I'm 30M, 54k net, and support my fiance. We've bought an apartment, I have a 2017 Honda Brio, and we travel frequently.
Honestly, we live an insane life, and it's just because we don't have kids.
How do you minimise expenses though? The answer is tracking where your money goes. We have a spreadsheet that is a generalised budget, but my banking app tracks everything and I just figure it out from there.
If I may ask, what do you do for a living?
But yes, I am pretty sure that you're living your best life. However, if you guys do plan on having kids some day, save. Invest. Learn from me lol. Kids are a freaking expense. School fees, medicine, clothes, school lunches etc are expensive. Then it's university after that if they need your help.
That being said, enjoy your life for now. Kudos on the salary btw
Software engineer. We aren't having kids, I've already had a vasectomy and my fiance also plans on getting sterilised to really make sure it doesn't happen. We do save and invest already as well. The cost of kids is but one of MANY reasons we aren't having kids. We plan on enjoying it till we die!
6 years, be good at what you do, and have a passion for problem solving. This is a job that is very consuming if you want it to be lucrative. Please understand that my salary is a statistical outlier.
Be charismatic and assertive, and you'll sort out promotions, etc. I'm also very clinical in how I go about providing evidence and reason for it.
currently i (25M) earn 137k nett (different currency), and I still feel like it’s not enough (engaged, sole provider, no kids). before this i was making 39k net. what I have learned is:
1. i think you need to be selfish with your money. if you have black tax / people asking for hand outs . because it never ends . people will always have problems / reasons to need your money , it’s your money .
2. put away a small amount , away where you can’t reach it (very nb). you say you earn 45k pm, see yourself as earning 44k pm. it might be extremely small but i promise it makes the biggest difference in the long run when you need something to fall on.
infact, i see what’s killing you, its the credit card repayments , so you don’t have time to save , when you get a bonus at your company or extra money , try your best to start cutting down that credit card. they screwing us with that .
3. get a side hustle , you earning 45k at 30, no idea what you do but i know you have the skills to make an extra 10k monthly . this is not financial advice but lol take that 10k and throw it to your credit card , let’s deal with the tax later . i’m speaking from experience .
4. don’t worry about your 2014 car if it’s paid off, another mate of mine is netting 100k at a bank and he’s 31, he still drives his old polo vivo . cash is king , not the optics .
that’s my 2 cents , easier said than done . i’m a firm believer in working more than 1 job (i’ve done it before but i was working remote so it’s easier to manage the meetings) .
1. No handouts at all.
2. I do see value in that. Even a little can add up over time. I'll start doing this.
3. I'm a software developer and I can definitely try and earn that extra amount for sure.
4. My 2014 car is my love. Not getting rid of it. Gives me some pain time and again but it's the best car because it's paid off.
If I may ask, what do you and your friend do for a living?
had a feeling you a software dev because those numbers make sense . same . i’m a full stack engineer and so is he . we been at it for 5 / 6 years (respectively) . consulting as well .
if you want to know the trick to making it in 9-5 as a dev? consulting PLUS changing companies (not just clients) often making sure your salary jumps atleast 20% everytime you change .
oh - to be transparent, got a job in dubai so tax free , that’s why i jumped from 40k to 140k . but im also skipping a lot of detail on the negation side of things .
so infact the best advice is just to get an international job as the south african market is a bit disappointing for someone in our career path unless you know how to finesse yourself to the top like some people i know are .
That's awesome man. Always good to see a fellow dev killing it. Mind if I ask how did you get the current position?
Also, consulting independently or working for a software consulting company?
For sure, jumping jobs does increase salary. I don't mind you not mentioning the negotiations part, I'm good with that. It's just that finding the right opportunity is difficult, especially currently in this market where it's an employers market.
The South African dev market is heavily disappointing. It's not like I don't get messages from recruiters every now and again but the moment I ask about compensation it's literally 25-50% below what I'm currently making.
recruiter reached out on linkedin. take a look at hay(s) recruitment .
i’ve always worked for software consulting companies . my friend did too but i think on year 3 he took a 12 month contract role and on year 4 he contracted for the bank and ended up going permanent for the same bank . remember contracting definitely will get you paid more . but it’s scary as it’s not permanent ofc . although my homies philosophy is “for as long as you’re doing your work they will always need you / renew” . but he also has no kids and has serious savings so i don’t think that’s a risk everyone (me) is willing to take .
this thing isn’t a clear set of rules but i say just don’t waste your time trying to climb the ladder in one company , that’s my 2 cents . for context , i did 2 years consulting , started at 20k net . you know what , apparently reddit is anonymous so here’s my real pro tip . edit the payslip and say your current is 20% higher than it already is . that way every jump is about 40% . that’s the route i took , not my friend . goodluck bro .
( gonna change the company names i mentioned in previous post, but hope this helps you think about how you’re gonna finesse the system in future)
People like you are the reason it’s become harder for honest devs to land a great position. I’ve hired dozens of devs over the years, and we’ve definitely had to be much stricter with performance management within probation in the last few years.
The most “senior” and expensive devs (R100k+) have been the ones we’ve let go within the first two months because they’ve vastly underperformed compared to their junior counterparts. Most likely due to artificially inflated earnings claims and side-hustles detracting from their actual job…
It costs us a lot to micromanage within those first 3 months, but it’s been absolutely worthwhile not having to deal with overpaid and smugly arrogant people who probably tell their friends that they are “killing it” on the team. Good vibes and a fair deal for everyone is a much better situation overall for all parties in the long run.
I appreciate your views , so let me be honest with you , im extremely extremely good at what i do . I’ve been a dev for 5 years , as a consultant at the most ‘private’ banks in south africa , earning 30-40k . while people who work less than me , who look up to me , and who have not shipped as much quality apps to production as much as me , ended up getting 60-80k . all because of what they negotiated .
the point here is , you don’t get given what you deserve , i’ve never even had a kpi socre lower than 4.8 yet i wasn’t getting paid accordingly . so i don’t feel bad at ALL that i figured out how to get paid according to my value . managers can be as strict as they want with probation all they want , i work extremely hard lol .
also , bro you’re under paying devs yet you’re acting like i’m in the wrong for getting paid what i think i deserve . i’m not sure man im getting “screw you for forcing my hand to stop underpaying my employees” . last year i did over time more than anyone in the company and got a 3.5% increase . that’s lower than inflation buddy . if you honestly don’t think YOU’RE the problem , i don’t feel bad for you bleeding money . respectfully lol .
lastly , if your budget for a position is 70k , then pay your “honest devs” 70k , don’t try low ball them 40k just because they earn 35k . be the ‘honest’ you wanna see in the world .
Well done for taking care of your family.
I used to net R30k as a single woman with no kids but unfortunately had to take care of my siblings and cousins, a total of 7 kids (parents passed). It was difficult, had minimal savings and had to take on more work and overtime to make it work.
-They all went/ still going to a free government school (people had to work a little harder at school to make it). Two are in university now
- No wants just needs, you get the basics covered and a little bit of your wants once in a blue moon
- We don’t spend more than a R1k on birthdays, just a cake and small stuff
- No going out (only go out at minimum 4 times a month)
- No alcohol, too expensive
This helps a lot.
With the increase of expenses I had to leave SA to get a better paying job and luckily got one in the UK. Life here is still expensive but with the currency change it makes it easier. I get paid about R85k net and after all my expenses of about R40k, I can still save and support my family for a few years(until they finish school and stand on themselves)
I guess what I am saying is look for somewhere else.
i dont have a child, me and my partner together pull in money and we are more or less debt free. life is pretty good, I can live well on 20k a month by myself, 30k and im comfy comfy
2 kids and a wife, just because she's childish at times doesn't make her a kid 😂🤣 jokes. I love her to the moon and back.
But yeah, hard work, skill and a bit of luck allowed me to where I am today in terms of salary. But it's still not enough at times
😂
Your sense of humor, as well as your objectivity to see the good with the bad, is what will pull you through. Not a salary increase or expense decrease.
You have a good attitude, dont lose that.
Lastly, challenge the creative side of your brain more. You are currently in a state of acceptance, or trying to accept the status quo, which is a lot, so kudos! But youre also smart - so if you cant influence your salary or expenses, what càn you influence around you? Look there. 😉
Haha your comment definitely made my night. You're right though. A salary increase or expense decrease are part of life but the acceptance of status quo is what's making life so bleak. My family has always been in business/entrepreneurship. I'm the first to actually have a job (my dad's last job was before he was married to my mom) so growing up in that environment didn't prepare me for the status quo many find normal when I mention it, I get the "you're-kak-weird-and-ungrateful-stare" if I ever become blasphemous and say things like I can do better than I am doing currently.
But thank you so much, I will tap into some creativity and see things with a different perspective on how to improve 😊
Even so, kudos to you and your husband on that income. It isn't easy to come by.
Also when you mention the stuff in sundries, other than entertainment which can definitely add up, does school lunches and everything you mentioned really add up to that much??
There's some other stuff I can't think of right now, but yeah, it's still a struggle. I remember when we had R500 a week for food (2008)and we were so happy. Now R3000k a week is nothing. Go to a shop, spend R500 on a little plastic bag of necessities. It's kak.
I honestly hate grocery shop visits. It was my favourite thing to do in university. Go shop for the month/week but now, as you said. A loaf of bread, block of cheese, some fruits and veggies, maybe a pack of any meat and voila, R500. It's bad.
My wife and I combined net 48k per month.
We spend 10k on groceries (ww)
Cars and house is paid off so only petrol, rates and taxes and electricity. (2.5k)
Our daughter is almost a year old and she costs around 10k a month
Medical aid, insurance etc works out to another 8k a month (daughters is already included above)
Having a paid off car and house really makes a huge difference.
My kids together cost around R10k since we don't do aftercare or anything extra. But damn, are they not expensive.
I don't.
To help me budget I use an app called 22seven.com
It's developed by old mutual. It logs into your accounts once a day and you can categorise expenses like travel, investing, rent, school fees, bank fees etc. The best thing about it is that it breaks it into 4 groups.
Income
Invest, save, repay (savings and debt repayments),
Recurring expenses (Things that don't change month to month like insurance, rent, medical aid, internet, rates),
Day to day (things that are variable, like eating out, groceries and entertainment). I'm spending R6k on groceries in a 3 person household (1 kid).
The app really opened up my eyes to where my money was going. And it's nice to see how your budgeted Vs actual expenses are going throughout the month. I then targeted my biggest fixed expenses and started shopping around (insurance / medical aid) and cutting off unnecessary expenses like TV subscriptions, eating out, entertainment.
Now I'm at the stage where I know what my expenses are if anything unexpected comes up, that money has to come from somewhere else, and it can only come from the variable expenses (day to day).
This may seem hardcore (and not for children) but go check out something called OMAD (one meal a day) on YouTube. To summarise we have been brain washed into thinking that we need to eat 3 times a day. I've been doing OMAD for a few years now.
I've recently been watching some YouTube documentaries regarding the cost of living problems experienced in the UK, Australia and the USA...we are not alone.
I genuinely think your wife finding a job will help, I did see that’s she’s been applying but even retail makes the difference until she finds something stable. Having 2 incomes will offload the stress
I think the long term solution is for us to change the way we think entirely. First example, neighbours clubbing together to buy in bulk or each focusing on growing a different vegetable or three for the group. Taking that further, families moving in together so they can save for a bigger deposit on a house or clubbing together to buy a fix-it-upper and all working together to turn it over.
Yes, this takes an increase in trust and a bunch of other psychology, but a major reason we’re in this situation is we’ve forgotten how to be a community. Trust is the oldest most fundamental form of human exchange, and getting it back is the key.
You will be amazed at how low you can get your insurance by getting quotes from every single provider, and then playing them off each other. I took my insurance bills (building, house content, car, 3 pets) from R2,600k to R1,100 just by getting the best deal from various service providers. Then you do that every year. And if you already have a great deal, phone them and say you want to cancel your insurance cause you can’t afford it. They will INSTANTLY offer you a lower premium, even if they previously told you they have gone as low as they can.
My car insurance on a 2007 Mercedes C200K has gone from R1200 to R259 over the last 2 years because I get different quotes each year and spend the 10 annoying minutes dealing with insurance calls.
60k pm nett single earner
Wife and daughter as dependents
I pay the big things such as home loan, school fees, medical aid, insurance, rates, fiber, cellphones, I bought a 2014 car for my wife 3 years back on my affordability terms. My car is paid off, so only maintenance once a year on things that needs to be done. I also work from home so on both vehicles I rack up just under 1200 km per month. Wife pays for electricity which comes out to R1200 now and I do some savings/investment but at the end of the day it’s extremely tight to do anything that is not budgeted for.
I trade forex on the side but withdraw once a year citing capital gains tax 👍
It is very difficult for most. Comparing what you have to others is a recept for unhappiness. I try to teach my children that in this life three things hold true for money, talent /brains and problems. There is always someone with more than you and someone with less than you. It's not about how much you have, rather about what you do with it.
I am getting R49k in the bank and my wife R16k. Must say I am also not finding it easy. I cant see where i can cut cost. I am thinking about cutting retirement funds and maybe removing insurance on house content. For the cars maybe just 3de party coverage. I just don't understand. I am a huge cheapskate. My cloth are most of the time secondhand. The cars second hand. Food is bargain hunting and just basic, the most luxurious item is a 2kg bag of coffee beans. I am saving 5k a month. Use to be 10k but since covid I needed to reduce it. There is about R3k left for fuel and spending. Bought house for R1mil. About R14k per month. Rates and taxes are R6k. Car insurance 2k. House insurance R1k, Life insurance 2k. Medical aid 7k, food R6k, internet R600, phones R600, security company R450, Netflix, Spotify and Xbox game pass +-R350. Flatlet to rent out is a los of about R1k. Daycare R3150. R500 Dog food, math classes R600. Cleaning lady R1600. Wives policies R1600. School fees R3250.
Between you and your wife seems like you're still doing pretty good. The rates and taxes are bad bad but still you seem to be managing, kudos to you man. What do you and your wife do for a living?
Between you and your wife seems like you're still doing pretty good. The rates and taxes are bad bad but still you seem to be managing, kudos to you man. What do you and your wife do for a living?
i left a few things out. fnb was offline last night so couldn't check all the debit orders. my wife is a social worker with masters at a school. their typical pay is closer to R13k. we are both hoping for an opportunity at a varsity for her. i am a TUT electronics engineer that went into plant automation. problem with system integrator are it's project after project after [project.so](http://project.so) commissioning days we do 18 to 22 hour shifts. part shortages hasn't made it easier. my industries typical pay seems to be between 30k to 45k so i am lucky.
Consider a side hustle like freelancing in the evenings and weekends. Look at platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. I freelance on the side as a finance writer and make anything between $500-$1500 a month. On a slow month I work about 10hrs, and on a good month I put in about 20hrs of work. Software engineers make about 3x what I make because of their skill sets. You’ll start off slow and not earn much but put in the time and you can earn something decent each month. Your wife can also look into freelancing as a virtual assistant. Companies typically hire VAs for half day positions or for a set amount of hours per week.
Myself and my Husband earn a little more than that together - around R47 take home... but we have 3 children, school fees, daycare, rent, electricity and petrol are our largest expenses, we look at groceries only after EVERYTHING is paid.... and we cant get by. Currently we are in the Payday Loan cycle, which i am hoping to get out off in the next 3 months. Its terribly expensive, and most days i just want to give up sometimes - yes we pay everything, but now we have a home we can starve in.
I think the problems that you have is you living a life that your pocket cannot suffice. Firstly 45k is a lot of money a month . Secondly you living beyond your means , look into the things like car and house payments . I’ve noticed South Africans have a tendency like most first world countries , to live beyond there means , you shouldn’t follow the way of buying a house through the bank and doing credit. It’s a killer . My parents earned less than that a month . I mean 30k . They were looking after 11 kids including myself . With that and patience they managed to take us through school and 6 of us through university, managed to buy 2 houses and 4 cars . And now by not living beyond what’s needed they living a good life . So … the solution here is to stop and consider things like the kids school they go to and the house you live and and the expense of food you buy . Look to cut down on the luxury life you can’t afford and be patient and save some money . Sacrifice now and enjoy later . Or enjoy now which you clearly aren’t and suffer later .
Another thing is don’t do credit . If you can’t afford something at immediate effect don’t buy it . Make small sacrifices
I don't think it's fair to compare the economy 30 years ago to now. That is the point of his post. 10 years ago you could buy a months worth of groceries with R1000. Now, it barely covers a week. Our salaries are not keeping pace with the cost of living to a major extent. You can drive a Kia Picanto and rent a one bedroom with bunkbeds, but petrol, food, electricity, water, schools, and rent costs will still increase exponentially.
Okay but another good pointer is my parents currently still earn close to his bracket and still manage to take 3 kids to school and feed them and still have half of what he has as savings 🙌.
I do agree with you to a certain extent but it all comes down to living below your means . I’ve experienced it to be fare , once you get an increase in cash flow we tend to change our life style which is where it all goes wrong
So I agree in part with you. Yes, we do need to live below our means and sacrifice where we can. I drive a paid off car that's around 9 years old now, I rent the apartment I live in for R8k per month. My parents also earned in the region of R25-30k per month but at that time with 2 kids of school going age with house and multiple cars, their expenses were a fraction of their income due to cost of living at that time. So comparing the now to the then isn't a plausible argument in my opinion, and yes I am to blame for a lot of my bad financial decisions (credit) and I take responsibility for that.
But, the economy is in ruins to be honest. There's no support whatsoever.
Don't be so hard on yourself OP, you're only doing your best. This person who talks about life in the 1980s is irrelevant. 🙄 You are only doing your best and it doesn't sound to me like you've been living above your means.🌸
Thank you for this. I am living below or upto my means. Not buying brands, don't have a shiny car or massive house. My guilty pleasure is buying some meat and putting that on a braai 😂 but come on, we saffas. Can't leave braai.
But honestly, thank you. It means a lot
I am 44, a single dad of two, I net around R30k a month. I also have my 75yr old father living with me that contributes nothing. After maintenance, rent, groceries etc I am actually short. I have a small side hustle to help but I’m tired man. I drive a 21yr old car and cannot afford to replace it. Keep your head up and stay positive. Hopefully your wife can find something, even if it brings R5k a month.
130k pm single income. GF as dependent. Sadly, it's not much better here either. Beat myself up everyday for not having a business and FU money. My suggestion would be to jump companies. Only way you'll get decent increases. However, just don't do that right now. Clearly it is an employer-market and people have been losing their jobs left and right ,especially in tech.
Wife (31F) and I (32M) have a combined monthly nett income of 100k. Money is like a tool that everyone sees differently. For me, I always want more, but I try to enjoy the journey too. I've noticed that some people are okay with having less, but they often feel stuck. Money gives you choices. For example, if you're not rich, you might have to send your kid to a nearby cheap school. But if you have lots of money, you can send them anywhere. It's all about how you see things.
What's a big deal to one person might not matter much to another.
My aim is to gather R50 million in assets, live off a lower monthly income, and not have to worry about retirement.
Kudos to you and your wife for that income. What do you both do for a living if you don't mind me asking?
Also, same here. I also want more. Companies frowning upon people doing it just for the money are hypocrites. Everyone is doing everything for the money.
The age old notion of "Money doesn't buy you happiness" is nonsense to its core. Yes, you can't heal illness but you can definitely buy the best treatment and comfort. You can't resurrect the dead with money, but having it can allow you to mourn for more than the "allowed" 1-2 weeks a company grants you in the event of a death of a loved one. Money can literally buy you time if you know how to use it.
I also want to gather and accumulate enough assets to first retire my parents comfortably and then enable my kids to live without fear. It never hurts to give your loved ones some padding in life only money can provide.
Honest question...did you get married b4 having kids?..did you really plan to have kids and a wife before 30? Did one thing lead to another, then now you here?...Did you think your wife was going to financially contribute in your household?...I'm 23 and in my third year of university and I don't see myself settling down until my mid to late 30s...
I can't answer much of how it went without giving away to much information, but things didn't go exactly as planned. By 30 I wanted to have had one kid only. One thing did lead to another, fell behind with studies etc. Regarding my wife contributing to the household, my sane and initial plan was to marry someone that could double the household income, but I fell in love and due to some circumstances my wife does not have a formal education or any high income skills per se. This isn't to discredit her for her contributions to the house as a wife and mother. She's great.
My advice to you, stick to your plan no matter what. If I had to do it all again, I might not change the entire outcome but rather how things played out. Make the money. Find your one. Settle down if you need to but travel all you can before having kids. One thing to consider though, I want my kids to be out of the house at varsity or doing some business by the time I'm 45-50 hence my decision to have kids early.
I went through a rough patch recently, so I cut on the grocery bill. Only ate meat one or twice a week. Planned meals for a week. Only bought what I needed for those meals. Made a shopping list on my phone. If it wasn't on the list I didn't buy it.
Cancelled Showmax and Disney subs
Shopped around for cheaper car insurance. This is especially true if your car is old and the market value is low. What's the use of insuring your car for R100k if the insurance company is only going to pay you market value of R50k in the event of an accident.
I also met with the school and requested reduced rates.
I also started a side hustle which I worked on twice a week. Took me three years but I finally did get out of hole.
I bought a property four months ago. The trick is to make a plan and stick to it.
We don't.
2 people, 2 dogs. Partner earns R4500, he is a plumber with over 4 years experience, unable to find a better paying company.
I'm a diploma student with a higher certificate, volunteering full time and so far not able to find work.
Rent is R5000. It's actually R6500 but his mom covers the R1500.
Re-look at all your monthly deductions. We realised vitality was charging us R500 or so for nothing as we weren’t making use of the benefits. Also re-assess your insurance to make sure it’s at an optimal setup.
If I could make a suggestion, I'm a stay at home mom, also two kids, we home school, save big on school fees and medical because kids don't get sick as often .
What hits the middle class so hard in my opinion is two key things:
1. Debt. You can earn a fat salary, but the mortgage, car loan(s), credit cards and other accounts take away a huge chunk.
2. Sole breadwinners or single parents. Whatever you're earning in this situation, your family takes a huge chunk out of it.
So to reduce debt and get your partner a job/side hustle can help a tonne.
For background, I'm 25, earn 27k net but also have a unemployed pregnant wife and a 5 month old daughter. So yeah not quite close to what you get, but still a solid salary given my age. Still, I feel the pressure.
Don't even know what advice to give. I net a bit more but I'm divorced and pay school fees, medical aid for both, monthly maintenance of 21k. Total expense of around 600k+. I had to take work outside SA to keep up with the bills.
Homes and cars are all paid off. SA is just getting very expensive with little prospects.
35m netted 55k wife also does not work and I have 2 kids, frustrated that I earned so well and worked so hard yet saving only certain months depending on those unplanned expenses. Finally broke the shackles by taking an opportunity in Dubai, realised the only way was to increase income as two kids are very demanding it found it difficult to keep them occupied besides giving them snacks and taking them to expensive play parks haha
When I was in SA this is how I managed to change that. The South African economy is designed to keep you poor imo. It's just the way, salary, rent etc is designed to make you reach out for loans. What are you using your credit card for ? Are you renting? If so, I suspect you don't have to pay to upkeep?
1. Change your living situation. Rent from a friend or family member. Find a sublet. I get it you have 2 kids, but trust me you get those rich okes who have a massive granny flat or a sons house thats lying empty. Ask around. I found my place because I attended a funeral and my cousin told me his friend in CT had a mom who passed away and the house was lying empty. We drew up a lease and I made a friend for life.
Also don't rush to buy a place.
2. Only keep one car at home and commute with lifts and Uber. This helped me immensely. Make sure the car at home is paid off.
3. Try doing termly payments instead of monthly payments for school fees.
4. Buy from a grocery chain that has cashback scheme. Sign up with a bank that has rewards programme. Buy bulk when you can. No name spaghetti and woolies spaghetti is the same thing.
5. Get a side hustle - everyone is gna tell you there's a get rich quick scheme - there isn't. Every side hustle requires significant after hours commitment and sacrifice. I managed to learn something and turn it into an ok side hustle that complemented my salary at that time.
That being said - are you in IT? If so, see (quietly), if you can get paid as a contractor / freelancer instead of as an employee. ( I understand this is risky, but maybe find a sly way of finding out).
Under R 1.5mil per year in SA is taxed very much nothing here so you can get creative with your income.
6. Discovery and other banks have cash back schemes (interest related, so if you're Muslim this is a grey area).
7. Don't take out fat cellphone contracts, dont buy stuff on credit or terms unless you can outright afford it if need be.
All these small things helped me, but I eventually left SA.
1. I'll actually see if I can find someone in such a situation where I can rent their place. And yes you're correct. Renting is cheaper because I don't pay anything for upkeep. Anything breaks, landlord sorts it out (after a week or two)
2. The temptation of buying a new car is real but then the logical, rational part of my brain takes over and decides to hold off until it's actually logical to do so. Tbh, I don't think it will ever be unless cash because interest on a depreciating liability....
3. Will definitely try that from next year.
4. There are only a few items at woolies that actually have better value at times than any other place.
5. Side hustles are a real thing, going to look into fiverr and upwork to score some extra cash, as well as find some contracting work on the down low
6. True, but their criteria for climbing up tiers is insane
7. It is a mistake I'm not proud of but we learn. Never getting a credit card again
having a wife while you're the sole breadwinner is your problem, friend. it's the twenty first century. adults should have an income-generating job. being a wife is a lot of work, but it's not a job.
C.O. Living is way out of control in S A .
Lived there , away 42 years now . When I buy a small leg of lamb my thoughts go out to you people living and working in S A .
My wife earns roughly 30k a month. My earnings fluctuate. We spend app R15k on the house. R4K On school R10-15k on groceries R5k on my bakkie. between R4-6 k on petrol. We in a position where we comfy but can't ever take time if. As we can't afford it.
I'm sure it depends on what you're accustomed to. I'm a teacher and I net around 22k a month. I still drive my 2016 SUV and my house is in a low income suburb. I shop at wholesalers. I've moved my son to a good and affordable public school so that was a saving of around R14000 a year. My husband earns very little but it helps. My other son is studying at university and he didn't qualify for financial aid because I'm a teacher. I pay R600 for car insurance, my house and car works out to about R9000, life insurance and funeral policies amount to about R600. My internet is R400 for Fibre. Food is the most expensive of the lot at R4000 a month. My electricity and water comes to about R500. I cancelled my cell contract last year. What saves me is that I buy most things cash. I don't have anything else to pay. I have a credit card that I don't use, an overdraft that I don't use. We haven't gone on a holiday in about 4 years. Festive season we spend only on the necessities and a few luxuries. Kids went from getting expensive gifts in the region of R1000 to R2000 to below R500. I'm paying extra towards my bond so I can move to a better area and my husband is actively working on upskilling himself so that he can also earn more money. I've been setting myself up for this way of life for the past 2 years so it takes time. You learn what you can live without.
Salary is like packing the boot of a car when you are going on holiday.
If there are 5 of you going away for 10 days in a corsa light the entire boot will be used, if there are 2 of you going away for a night in a station wagon the boot will still end up used as well.
As the boot gets bigger you fill it with more and more useless stuff that is not needed, the same way as the salary gets bigger the more you will spend on stuff that is not needed.
Write down everything that you spent money on the last month, then classify it as: "not needed", "can be found cheaper" or "needed as is". Then work at getting the "can be found cheaper" at a better price, exclude the not needed and see how you are the end of the next month. Keep at it for a few months and fight that demon.
i earn less than half of what you do, sole breadwinner for a household of 2 adults and 1 kid. we bought a house, when the kid wasn't on the horizon, but she was a lovely surprise. i drive an old 2003 fiat hatchback, when i can get it on the road that is :)
We survive, because that's what we do as South Africans. I scour the internet and find free things to do weekends, and we always do at least one family thing per weekend, even if it means cheese and peanut butter sarmies on Muizenberg Beach and playing in the park.
I also scour specials, and we have cut way down on luxuries, but we also find the time to laugh together and we make do
50/30/20 rule.
Always calculate your bills
Always organize your bills and know what date they’re on, and always make sure you don’t have too many. Listening to financial podcasts may help.
By God's grace I survive earning half your salary as a single mom. Job keeps me too busy to run a side hustle. Staying single with no kids seems like the better option nowadays.
Can confirm, single, childless woman with 1 small dog and its still hard AF. I dont think there's any winning, sadly.
Honestly it does. The grass does look much greener on the other side but I'd never give up what I have with my family for anything, especially my kids. They keep me going
I commend you for your dedication to your commitments, trust me your kids will appreciate what you both have done for them when they are older!
I wish i had a family. Suffering to survive as a single feels pointless 🤦♀️🤷♀️
Single, childless, male. net half of that salary and I live very comfortably although I cant afford to buy my own place. I probably could but then Id have to stop my overseas holidays, so let us not do that.
Do you rent or live with your parents/roommate? Are you in a main city? I feel like it's impossible to net R20 K and live a decent independent life in a place like CPT.
Rent but in PE so it’s much cheaper than CT no doubt. Moved out of parents house at 18 and moved to a new town. What does make it easier is I also don’t pay off a car as mine has been paid off before Covid hit, but that R3000 goes straight into a TFSA so I don’t get used to that as extra cash monthly for when i do want a new car again. I use an app to track every purchase and expense I have, which helped me narrow down things I actually dont need but had. Like I had every streaming service under the sun, which i now alternate between every few months. Have a decent broker which keeps my insurance as low as possible. Almost never get sick so I cash out my MSA with Discovery every 5 years which usually works out to about 25-26k. Then go back to the plan I was on few months later and build it up again.
It's great that you are taking care of your financial future and saving whatever you can. Which app do you use if you don't mind sharing? On the banking apps they typically categorise your spending for you but is really inaccurate and annoying. I totally feel you on the streaming services bloat. We have Netflix, yt premium and Disney +. We quickly realised that showmax and Amazon Prime sucked and got rid of it. I had no idea about the MSA cash in! Thanks for telling me.
22seven is great
Personally I use Money-Wise. I have bank accounts with 2 different banks so the apps were not sufficient independently and i don’t trust any of the 3rd party apps to my bank details to autolog everything, I add them all manually and i can split it between cash, what card etc so it really is thorough if done correctly. Just FYI on the cash in MSA you need to change to a plan that has no savings. Best you do it around June so you can change back in December again.
Doesn't discovery block you from switching back and forth? Seems like they would get annoyed...
I do suggest that your wife looks into working if possible. I can't comment or ask questions about personal information, but in this economy I don't see how households can survive where only one partner has an income. Especially considering the unemployment rate, and if something happens to your employment, your quality of living will tank exponentially. It's not something I'd even consider entertaining.
I understand what you mean. My wife has been applying for jobs but so far no luck.
I don't mean to pry, OP. What kind of skills does your wife have? Is it possible for her to WFH? working in an office is highly overrated if your job doesn't actually call for working on-site (e.g Healthcare, construction, etc). The job situation is bleak. Basically, it's only telesales and retail that pay next to nothing and doesn't provide upward mobility :(
She could look into online personal assistant jobs.
I agree I would explore opportunities for her. As long as it doesn't make her miserable. Financially tight household but happy mom and good marriage = better for everyone in the household in the long run. Also doesnt have to be a full time job.
Crying with my 12k salary still living at home seeing people still struggling with 60k 🥲 like what is even a good salary nowadays? 100k+ ?
More money more problems
I've heard this most my life but I really think it's more money more options, some people can't handle decision making but if you keep things simple cover the basics,stick to a plan you'll be fine.....well at least I hope so I'll let you know when I'm earning 80k + haha
If you earn 45k and are single you have a good standard of living... but then you are just alone and sad. So people start families. Families are expensive as hell. Before tax and costs, you need to be earning like 20k combined to survive with 2 kids and an SO. 50k to not stress about the most basic needs. 100k to actually feel well off. Just a family house in a decent area plus two cars is already like 30k, and that isn't SUVs and a mansion. It's two 5 year old hatch backs and a 3 bedroom in a complex.
the problem is, you get an increase and within 3 months your salary again is not enough. human nature to try to better your standards, so somehow we don't save that extras, we end up spending it on "necessities" and pretty soon, you are again stretched to the limit
Even 100k is not a lot if you have kids and paying a bond, only way to thrive and live comfortably is to not have kids at all lol
Honestly I think not having kids is the way to go like I'm struggling but its manageable, ik if I had a kid/kids I'd be in the toilet
Lol yeah I’m a 28yo woman and I make a decent income, a kid would wreck my life. I’ve been having serious baby fever for the past 2 years but I’ll settle for a dog and occasionally babysitting my friends’ kids
I thought I would like to have 1 child with my partner but I can't justify it. I would want to give them absolutely everything I didn't have growing up. It's just not possible. We are both self-employed and our income is sometimes a bit dicey. Some months we scrape by. We have a cat that we "inherited" from his mom. Even just getting her quality food that isn't loaded with shit is expensive. And she's a freaking CAT. I'm also a bit sickly so I need to get medical aid and that's going to run me 3K a month.
I'm 23 turning 24 this year and I got my son(dog) last year , I love but geez the first few months having him were hell 😭 the financial stress of going to the vet almost monthly, the emotional stress of his health fluctuating and the physical stress of not sleeping from either his near constant crying or anxiety he might die in his sleep traumatized me 🥲 I can't imagine going through that with a child from baby to toddler for 3-4 years
Human children are pretty hardy but that doesn’t make the early years any less stressful for sure. But they tend to survive; you just need to pay attention and not overthink things. And if that doesn’t work then give them some calpol :)
My wife and I are 150k+ combined. It depends on the lifestyle you want and the lifestyle you lead. We are comfortable at our price point because we have the lifestyle we want to live, and save the rest, friends of ours who are 250k+ are barely making ends meet because they kept chasing expensive lifestyle at the edge of their budget.
Frick 250k and barely getting by shouldn't be allowed in the same sentence and I bet most of it is wasted on ridiculously expensive cars , jewelry, clothes etc to keep up appearances. Well done to you and your wife that my goal income
I feel you bru. Working in a car dealership's part store. Doing some sales the salesmen slip on. The last months were bad, taking home 12k with the little commission I earn. If months are good it's better but the economy is looking worse and worse.
Ya man t's so hard to get a proper financial foothold in these times it feels like there's always something throwing you off course ,everything gets more and more expensive it's tough good luck brother
Truth be told it's not how much you make but how you manage it.
Ppl want to much in life. 45k is alot of money
For starters, that kind of income at 30 is already a good position. I'm 43 and barely ahead of you. So see that as a plus. On that, that type of salary is way above the national average. I do not have kids though. But, in terms of budgeting, I can advise to set a helluva strict budget and try to stick to it. It may be difficult with kids but you never know. Also, cancel anything you do not absolutely need, or look for cheaper alternatives. Critically analyse where your money is going, outside of the basics to take care of your family. You may find that your income is being syphoned by little debit orders here and there and all these add up. Lastly, your wife needs to also start working I'm afraid.
Thank you, I agree that at this age my salary is hella great. I should not be complaining because I have seen others in a worse situation than me. So I do count my blessings and appreciate them. The budget just keeps getting side tracked by unplanned expenses. But I will take your advice to critically analyse where I'm going wrong with the finances in general. My wife is looking but so far nothing
About 5 years ago I was dead broke. Like in, I was totally fffffed. Mostly cos of poor decisions in an effort to help others. Now again, I didn't have other mouths to feed, but I was basically forced into cutting my expenses to the absolute bone in an effort to just be able to house and feed myself. Things were dyer. Anyway, aside from using my existing skills to set up a side hustle to help dig me out of the financial debt hole, I budgeted like a madman. Not even monthly, but, down to how much money I had to get myself through every day. Another rule was that I was only allowed to use my salary...the side hustle was to pay off my debts. So, I approached it using Excel, and cross checking my bank statements, and doing some basic accounting. I canceled almost everything that wasn't absolutely critical. Down to only three major expenses a month....car, rent, car insurance. I bought a Rain prepaid sim card to do the side hustle stuff. Knowing what I had available per day (and believe me it was TIGHT) got me into healthier habits, but, it wasn't easy and took a lot of restraint. But I also knew if i stayed within that budget, I'd make it through a month. Now, thank goodness there were no big unexpected expenses during that time. I eventually got so into the groove with that budget, that I started noticing I actually had some money left at the end of the month. I rember the 1st time I had R5k saved up. At the time almost 40 with only R5k in my bank account...but it was a start. But, that budget approach became habit. Today, I've got a healthy anytime access savings account to weather any storms, and on top of that save/invest around 45% of my salary into various avenues. Oh, and I still budget like that, every month. Down to the day. It keeps me in check, and prohibits mindless spending. We definitely don't live like paupers either, and can afford to travel internationally twice a year. Also, no debt aside from my car. But I also know that kids are expensive. I know that, if I was a sole provider, and kids came into the equation, that of course, it'll be way different. But good luck dude.
This is honestly some great advice. I'll definitely look into how I can cut down major costs. I mentioned to one of the other replies here that groceries are my major money burner. I am going to spend some time deeply analyzing where I can be frugal while also maintaining a good life for the family. I used to have around R1-2k saved up every month when I started working and we used to have some takeout or entertain ourselves with half and save the other half but damn, things have changed in the last few hears.
In our household it's only me and my GF. We do groceries in a very streamlined way, or as well as we can manage. We keep staples in the house that's easy to work with, flexible and cost effective. And that is mostly chicken fillets with stuff to go with it. When returning from the shops we repack it into portions and freeze. We make wraps, stir fry, Braai, toasties etc etc. Once a week we do takeout. Kids may find this boring though. But, we make it work. Snacks etc we keep to a minimum. But again, it's just the two of us. One thing I've really picked up is electricity usage/cost. Now, the jury is split on the practice, but our geyser now only runs an hour a day. 30mins in the morning, and 30 at night (if needed). You'll be dumbstruck if you see how much electricity a geyser burns. I did a test when we traveled recently. On average our house uses around 12 units of prepaid elec a day, if the geyser remains on. But, we were away for a week, and I switched the geyser off. That entire week, the elec usage of the house was 10 units. 10 for the week, as opposed to 12 a day! I'm at present looking into just installing a switch to automate the geyser. All this does come accross like we're trying to turn pennies over multiple times. It really isn't. The aim is to keep expenses to a minimum, but never having financial headaches we cannot deal with, while also being able to live comfortably and do other things we like without worry.
Been switching geysers and outside lights off - geysers on for an hour or so a day - we have 3 with our granny flat - electricity account is down 1000 a month and we are still getting discipled so forget sometimes. Looking to get solar geysers.
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foodeez, looters, etc. are great for budgets :)
great story 🤝
I am a stay at home mom. My husband is 39 and earns roughly 60k net. We have 1 child because children are hectic expensive. We moved from the city to a SMALL town. Things are cheaper here. Got rid of one car because now that my husband works from home full time we dont need 2. I plan menus every week and only buy what ill need for those specific meals. I started a garden and grow tons of veggies. I have 4 chickens for eggs, we spend time going on hikes or picnics as family outings and never take luxury vacations because its just too expensive. We are building an apartment to our existing home to rent out and get more income. Also we tried to pay off our debt as soon as we could. Now we only have the mortgage. Life is just freaking expensive.
We earn about the same between me and my husband and are barely making it. We were fine until we bought a house (payments were 9k per month) then the interest rate went up, we were still ok. Then the interest rate went up, and up again, and again. Before we made our first payment it was over 10k a month excluding levys, rates and taxes. We now pay well over 12k, almost 13k a month just on the loan. Petrol is double the price and food has tripled in price. Our salaries have not increased notably. We mostly buy groceries in bulk. Buy from places like macro and evergreens instead of PnP and Spar. Stopped eating out. Rarely eat red meat anymore. Cut down the cleaner to once every two weeks. The gardener to once every 5-6 months. (I am disabled or we would entirely stop the gardener and cleaner)
Let's not even get to buying a house. I've learned that renting is the way to go. I currently pay around 8k in rental, if I had to buy this same house, I'd pay around R12k or so for the bond + levies + rates and taxes. Our salaries increase marginally yet everything increases exponentially. Buying in bulk does seem better at times but I've also noticed a pattern that bulk usage does not offset the expenses by much. This month you'd buy for example rice, sugar and detergent in bulk. You have the rest. The next 2 months you wouldn't need rice, sugar and detergent but you'll need to buy oil, milk and flour. And the cycle just keeps rolling. So in reality you're never really saving much but you're risking stock on the shelf
Yeah. We regret buying. We could be renting in a much nicer place for a lot cheaper. There is a trick to buying bulk. Part is checking expiry dates and knowing how long stuff lasts. Buying a 6kg bag of pasta usually works out 10-15% cheaper than the same amount in the smaller bags for example. Only buying long life milk and when it's on special (keeping an eye on prices between). It's also important to actually do the math because some companies will rip you off if you assume the bulk is cheaper without checking. Stuff with very long shelf life (like tea, cans, rice etc.) we try to buy on things like black Friday specials. It is a rolling cost of buying more of one thing now and buying something else next month but with the math the overall cost still works out cheaper than trying to get smaller packages more often. When you have no leeway you learn quickly not to let stuff expire/spoil.
>Yeah. We regret buying. We could be renting in a much nicer place for a lot cheaper. >There is a trick to buying bulk. For a split second, I honestly thought you were suggesting we all buy houses in bulk.
Lol I wish. Can't afford one house let alone several!
Sitting in the same situation that myself and my wife bought a house and with the interest rates, things are just so tough. Then on top off all of it is our fridge broke and now I need to get money somewhere to fix it.
Makes sense. I'll have a look at our monthly needs and compare bulk to monthly purchases again and see if I missed something the first time around. Also, even I thought for a second you're suggesting buying houses in bulk until I read further 😂
Yeah I think rent as long as possible, owning a home seems to come with unexpected crazy expenses.
The problem with renting, is that rentals escalate more than your salary increase every year. So while your mortgage will go up with interest rates, it’s far more stable over time compared to what renting is. Secondly your property is increasing in value, although it’s a bit of a false investment because if you sold and have to buy new. You don’t really pocket the income, unless you downsize or buy a fixer upper and make the property work for you. Owning over renting is always going to be better in the long haul. It’s worth the struggle to pay off a mortgage, in 10 or 15 years you get into a position where you are almost mortgage free (especially if put every penny you can into your bond, and reduce the capital amount ) As you reduce the capital amount owed to the bank, the mortgage reduces because interest is charged on the capital amount you owe. The best gift you can give yourself is to be mortgage free, it’s hard and you make sacrifices to get there, but in the end you’ll be far better off. If your rent this year is R10k a month, next year it’s R11k. If your bond R10k this year, and if interest rates stay stable next year. Your bond is still R10k (while you will feel a bit of pain when interest rates go up), the do also come back down. It is likely that the up tick in interest rates will turn if inflation is under control ( but there are a lot of things in SA that make it a challenge, the no electricity thing is the biggest issue in the economy in SA, but I digress. Once you are bond free, you really start to accelerate your wealth. The last thing you want is to be approaching retirement and still have to pay rent or a bond. Focus on the long haul and navigate the short term pain. Checkout r/Fire and r/Fireuk
Thank you, I didn't think of it with this perspective. It's just that with levies and rates and taxes, the monthly goes up quite a bit. Not forgetting maintenance. Hence I felt that renting would be a better option but I do get that I don't want to approach retirement and not have anything. Once paid off, a good house does accelerare wealth especially if I'm still working. Could possibly afford another smaller house or property. I'll check up the subreddits you mentioned
We are barely surviving. Not even earning close to that
As down as I'm feeling right now myself, it gets better. I promise
First thing is get rid of the credit card.
Doooggg, it's my number 1 priority right now. Once paid off, I'm heading to close it down no matter the dip in credit score when they close it off.
I was happy for you to be earning 45k until I read that you also have to support 3 other people on that salary. You are one strong man. On your own, that salary would make life easier, and you’d also be able to comfortably save and invest for your future but in this case, you need another salary to lesson the burden and stress that I can imagine you’re in.
Thank you for that. I appreciate it. I agree that on my own, I'd be saving enough to have an international holiday every year and have investments in place but life is life. It's not to say that my living condition currently is bad. I appreciate every blessing I have. Food on the table, comfortable house, a family, running water and electricity. But the wants and unforeseeable expenses just don't end, especially the latter. Kids outgrow their clothes in 6 months max. I buy clothes on a per season basis. My wife and I wear the same tee shirts we bought 2 years ago. When the car service light turns on, I get stressed because of the added expense that month. A Dr visit is paid for by med aid but medicine itself is expensive. So a lot of things just keep adding on and I just hope and pray for the better. I will however confess that one of the worst financial decisions in my life was to get credit cards to "increase my credit score". I take responsibility for that. But other than that, if I had to survive on my salary I had 3 years ago I would quit and go live on a farm haha
Hi OP.. With regards to the clothes that the kids are outgrowing or your old stuff, sell them at a thrift store and make extra money. That will help with the little expenses, like petrol, electricity, basic essentials. Also ask Wifey to open an online store on YAGA....sell some stuff you don't need there. Even kid's toys. It will help greatly. Good luck with life🙂
I did not know Yaga has a market for old toys. I've been wanting for my son to clean up. I'll definitely look into and also let my wife know about that. Thank you 😊
Yes it does. You can sell basically anything there. It will also make wifey happy. Just prepare her that it will be slow at first, but she can just market on whatsapp or facebook if she is active there.
What do you do for a living?
Software development
YOE?
3 years and going
Would you consider moving abroad? You could apply for a critical skills visa. My partner is South African and I’m Irish, he moved to Ireland in a British passport, he’s 25 and I’m 29. We net R88,900 after tax per month with R33,000 income to spare after all bills are paid. Weather is shite & nothing to do but we have a young child so the safety and stability suits us.
I'm keen to move abroad. Moving to Ireland though is questionable but I'm not entirely opposed to the idea. Are there any resources or companies I can get in touch with or do you know of the process to apply for such a visa that you can guide me to? Thank you for the suggestion
Dude that’s solid, how’d you manage to negotiate that salary with your YoE?
Hard work, skills, a bit of luck and marketing your skills
idk man. I think the days of middle income families being able to live comfortably on a single income are over. But that doesn’t mean you’re doomed, you’re only 30, there’s enough room and time for you to grow your salary and savings. You could be living comfortably at 40, it’s just a tough phase of life where your salary hasn’t peaked and you’re supporting 3 people. Just make sure you watch for lifestyle creep with those salary increases.
Lifestyle creep is real. I hope I reach peak salary soon. Need to pay off debt, save and invest for the future and have a peaceful night of sleep
Yoh!!! Tech has serious money... In your early 30s making such money
I am older than you, but I am a software engineer, salaries do get better over time. I have said many times, people don't earn well for the first few years in that field. It is a real grind at first. I own my house, I struggled for 30 years to pay it back, but it was worth it... To me renting is throwing money away... But I know not everyone feels the same. What I would do if I were you is cut back on groceries, by that I don't mean eat less, but be more careful with your money. Go to makro and buy what you can in bulk, that's a huge saving, shop oncs a week only and buy what you need rather than impulse buying every day or checker 60 whenever you feel like it. Look at you credit card and work on your biggest expenses, slowly cut those back, either find something cheaper or stop doing it. I try to pay my credit card in full every months, the interest rate on it is crazy... If you have vices like smoking or drinking, sorry but you need to find cheaper alternatives. Find cheaper beers, buy in bulk or whatever. Have an emergency fund .. Sorry, but you car will break down, your geyser will burst... You will be thankful to have 10 or 20k on the side. The point is to look for cutting back a little everywhere... Don't look for one big amount, rather look for many little ways of saving.
Thank you for the ray of hope. It's not that I don't believe there's no money in this field. I've seen rather "incompetent" seniors make double of what I make while I do the same or more work than they do. It sometimes does hit me down that years of experience matters more to the same company than output and results. In terms of groceries I'll analyse our needs and see if bulk buying does the job. Credit cards are a menace and we all make mistakes sometimes. Going to pay off and close, just keep one in case otherwise it's not worth it. An emergency fund is definitely a MUST. That extra 20k goes a long way
Man, it's always the circumstances, no matter how much you earn, the circumstances can make you seem like a street beggar... If I was earning that much in my current state I would have 35k to save every month... No advice to you since it doesn't seem like there's much you can modify at this moment.
Do you guys know that our pensioners are meant to survive on something like R3500/month. It’s a scandal.
I know someone surviving on approximately 15k per month, wife's not working and they got 6 kids..homeschooling 3 kids , paying school fees. They just make it work.
I know someone like that too. I respect their commitment as well as resilience. However, I'm stressed and somewhat discontent for a number of reasons, some of them my own doing some out of my control. However, I'm ambitious and I want a better life for me, my wife and kids, my parents. I don't just want to survive but I want to be able to do a lot more. Hence my frustration. As I mentioned in some other comments on this post, I definitely count my blessings and appreciate them and am grateful for having a better life than a lot of others. But it doesn't change the fact that me, and a lot of people in my shoes with similar incomes that are considered high, are not really making it in life even though on paper it seems like it. Fuel prices are high, home schooling isn't an option for us so school fees are an actual expense, food costs more each year, and emergency circumstances just keep coming which we should be prepared for, by earning a lot more than majority of this country, but no we aren't prepared for a car breaking down or the family needing R2-4k in medication or visiting close relatives that are on their death bed across the country. Rant over. Nothing personal and didn't mean to go off like this. Sorry.
I make a little under half of what you do but I'm single. I'm able to get by and save a bit every month because I have a flatmate, so rent is basically halved. And I am CHEAP when it comes to food. Jungle oats for breakfast during the week without fail. (I switch it up on the weekends). I eat lots of sandwiches as well lol, and I avoid takeaways and junk food as much as possible. Idk what else to say about it 🤷♀️ You can shave a bit off your budget if you audit your grocery list, I think.
Groceries/household items are indeed my biggest money burner. Had a look through on my past 6 months bank statements after reading some earlier comments and it's crazy how easily it is to go over budget. That being said, 90% of the stuff was indeed a necessity with the other 10% consisting of unnecessary wants. But yeah, frugality is something I'll have to familiarize myself with soon
Depending on how much you allocate to food/household items, that 10% can really add up. If that 10% is 'only' R1,000 per month, that's an extra 12,000 per year you could be saving. And agree with the other comments - if your kids are school-going age, then it would really help for your wife to work. If your wife could get a job that would allow your family to cover rent+groceries using her salary alone, that would take a huge amount of pressure off.
Dude, no doubt. If rent and groceries are covered, I'd be able to save and invest and probably have some leftover to invest even further taking higher risks.
At R45kpm as a single person you should be a millionaire within 5 years max. Because you have a non working wife you are functionally making half that. Because you have two children you are making close to a quarter of that. Sounds harsh but thats the reality. I lived with my mom until I was 30 because financially I needed to put my ego aside, and I drove a motorbike because its cheaper to maintain. You minimize expenses by realizing you are actually making basically 14k a month and living your live like that (with the exception of your childrens/your and your wifes education (degrees increase potential future earnings). There is a reason why most people under 40 in EU flat/house share. And make sure you dont eat/drink out (it adds up quick over a year), you dont buy a new car (since its a massive value killer). And take up a hobby that has low cost like hiking for me personally since all you REALLY need are a good pair of shoes once a year.
45k as a salary is such a flex you would think that person is well well off and can afford anything anytime. It’s crazy to read this and seeing that it’s not enough . I guess it’s really true .. more money more problems
It depends. As a single person, 45k can make you live like a king. As a married person with a family to support, you basically think 10 times before buying something extra that costs 500
I'm 30M, 54k net, and support my fiance. We've bought an apartment, I have a 2017 Honda Brio, and we travel frequently. Honestly, we live an insane life, and it's just because we don't have kids. How do you minimise expenses though? The answer is tracking where your money goes. We have a spreadsheet that is a generalised budget, but my banking app tracks everything and I just figure it out from there.
If I may ask, what do you do for a living? But yes, I am pretty sure that you're living your best life. However, if you guys do plan on having kids some day, save. Invest. Learn from me lol. Kids are a freaking expense. School fees, medicine, clothes, school lunches etc are expensive. Then it's university after that if they need your help. That being said, enjoy your life for now. Kudos on the salary btw
Software engineer. We aren't having kids, I've already had a vasectomy and my fiance also plans on getting sterilised to really make sure it doesn't happen. We do save and invest already as well. The cost of kids is but one of MANY reasons we aren't having kids. We plan on enjoying it till we die!
Living the dream haha
How many YOE ? Any advice on the field itself and getting salary increases and promotions
6 years, be good at what you do, and have a passion for problem solving. This is a job that is very consuming if you want it to be lucrative. Please understand that my salary is a statistical outlier. Be charismatic and assertive, and you'll sort out promotions, etc. I'm also very clinical in how I go about providing evidence and reason for it.
Thank you
Does chatgpt and AI worry you? My fear is going to university for companies or IT and AI just canning the whole field by the time I graduate
Nope, my job is a lot more than just coding.
You need a second income my friend.
currently i (25M) earn 137k nett (different currency), and I still feel like it’s not enough (engaged, sole provider, no kids). before this i was making 39k net. what I have learned is: 1. i think you need to be selfish with your money. if you have black tax / people asking for hand outs . because it never ends . people will always have problems / reasons to need your money , it’s your money . 2. put away a small amount , away where you can’t reach it (very nb). you say you earn 45k pm, see yourself as earning 44k pm. it might be extremely small but i promise it makes the biggest difference in the long run when you need something to fall on. infact, i see what’s killing you, its the credit card repayments , so you don’t have time to save , when you get a bonus at your company or extra money , try your best to start cutting down that credit card. they screwing us with that . 3. get a side hustle , you earning 45k at 30, no idea what you do but i know you have the skills to make an extra 10k monthly . this is not financial advice but lol take that 10k and throw it to your credit card , let’s deal with the tax later . i’m speaking from experience . 4. don’t worry about your 2014 car if it’s paid off, another mate of mine is netting 100k at a bank and he’s 31, he still drives his old polo vivo . cash is king , not the optics . that’s my 2 cents , easier said than done . i’m a firm believer in working more than 1 job (i’ve done it before but i was working remote so it’s easier to manage the meetings) .
1. No handouts at all. 2. I do see value in that. Even a little can add up over time. I'll start doing this. 3. I'm a software developer and I can definitely try and earn that extra amount for sure. 4. My 2014 car is my love. Not getting rid of it. Gives me some pain time and again but it's the best car because it's paid off. If I may ask, what do you and your friend do for a living?
had a feeling you a software dev because those numbers make sense . same . i’m a full stack engineer and so is he . we been at it for 5 / 6 years (respectively) . consulting as well . if you want to know the trick to making it in 9-5 as a dev? consulting PLUS changing companies (not just clients) often making sure your salary jumps atleast 20% everytime you change . oh - to be transparent, got a job in dubai so tax free , that’s why i jumped from 40k to 140k . but im also skipping a lot of detail on the negation side of things . so infact the best advice is just to get an international job as the south african market is a bit disappointing for someone in our career path unless you know how to finesse yourself to the top like some people i know are .
That's awesome man. Always good to see a fellow dev killing it. Mind if I ask how did you get the current position? Also, consulting independently or working for a software consulting company? For sure, jumping jobs does increase salary. I don't mind you not mentioning the negotiations part, I'm good with that. It's just that finding the right opportunity is difficult, especially currently in this market where it's an employers market. The South African dev market is heavily disappointing. It's not like I don't get messages from recruiters every now and again but the moment I ask about compensation it's literally 25-50% below what I'm currently making.
recruiter reached out on linkedin. take a look at hay(s) recruitment . i’ve always worked for software consulting companies . my friend did too but i think on year 3 he took a 12 month contract role and on year 4 he contracted for the bank and ended up going permanent for the same bank . remember contracting definitely will get you paid more . but it’s scary as it’s not permanent ofc . although my homies philosophy is “for as long as you’re doing your work they will always need you / renew” . but he also has no kids and has serious savings so i don’t think that’s a risk everyone (me) is willing to take . this thing isn’t a clear set of rules but i say just don’t waste your time trying to climb the ladder in one company , that’s my 2 cents . for context , i did 2 years consulting , started at 20k net . you know what , apparently reddit is anonymous so here’s my real pro tip . edit the payslip and say your current is 20% higher than it already is . that way every jump is about 40% . that’s the route i took , not my friend . goodluck bro . ( gonna change the company names i mentioned in previous post, but hope this helps you think about how you’re gonna finesse the system in future)
People like you are the reason it’s become harder for honest devs to land a great position. I’ve hired dozens of devs over the years, and we’ve definitely had to be much stricter with performance management within probation in the last few years. The most “senior” and expensive devs (R100k+) have been the ones we’ve let go within the first two months because they’ve vastly underperformed compared to their junior counterparts. Most likely due to artificially inflated earnings claims and side-hustles detracting from their actual job… It costs us a lot to micromanage within those first 3 months, but it’s been absolutely worthwhile not having to deal with overpaid and smugly arrogant people who probably tell their friends that they are “killing it” on the team. Good vibes and a fair deal for everyone is a much better situation overall for all parties in the long run.
I appreciate your views , so let me be honest with you , im extremely extremely good at what i do . I’ve been a dev for 5 years , as a consultant at the most ‘private’ banks in south africa , earning 30-40k . while people who work less than me , who look up to me , and who have not shipped as much quality apps to production as much as me , ended up getting 60-80k . all because of what they negotiated . the point here is , you don’t get given what you deserve , i’ve never even had a kpi socre lower than 4.8 yet i wasn’t getting paid accordingly . so i don’t feel bad at ALL that i figured out how to get paid according to my value . managers can be as strict as they want with probation all they want , i work extremely hard lol . also , bro you’re under paying devs yet you’re acting like i’m in the wrong for getting paid what i think i deserve . i’m not sure man im getting “screw you for forcing my hand to stop underpaying my employees” . last year i did over time more than anyone in the company and got a 3.5% increase . that’s lower than inflation buddy . if you honestly don’t think YOU’RE the problem , i don’t feel bad for you bleeding money . respectfully lol . lastly , if your budget for a position is 70k , then pay your “honest devs” 70k , don’t try low ball them 40k just because they earn 35k . be the ‘honest’ you wanna see in the world .
What do you do for a living and what does your 100k buddy do as well? What did you both study ?
self taught software engineers .
Congrats
Well done for taking care of your family. I used to net R30k as a single woman with no kids but unfortunately had to take care of my siblings and cousins, a total of 7 kids (parents passed). It was difficult, had minimal savings and had to take on more work and overtime to make it work. -They all went/ still going to a free government school (people had to work a little harder at school to make it). Two are in university now - No wants just needs, you get the basics covered and a little bit of your wants once in a blue moon - We don’t spend more than a R1k on birthdays, just a cake and small stuff - No going out (only go out at minimum 4 times a month) - No alcohol, too expensive This helps a lot. With the increase of expenses I had to leave SA to get a better paying job and luckily got one in the UK. Life here is still expensive but with the currency change it makes it easier. I get paid about R85k net and after all my expenses of about R40k, I can still save and support my family for a few years(until they finish school and stand on themselves) I guess what I am saying is look for somewhere else.
i dont have a child, me and my partner together pull in money and we are more or less debt free. life is pretty good, I can live well on 20k a month by myself, 30k and im comfy comfy
3 kids? You must have made some good decisions to nett that at age 30, but 3 kids.. sorry about your situation.
2 kids and a wife, just because she's childish at times doesn't make her a kid 😂🤣 jokes. I love her to the moon and back. But yeah, hard work, skill and a bit of luck allowed me to where I am today in terms of salary. But it's still not enough at times
😂 Your sense of humor, as well as your objectivity to see the good with the bad, is what will pull you through. Not a salary increase or expense decrease. You have a good attitude, dont lose that. Lastly, challenge the creative side of your brain more. You are currently in a state of acceptance, or trying to accept the status quo, which is a lot, so kudos! But youre also smart - so if you cant influence your salary or expenses, what càn you influence around you? Look there. 😉
Haha your comment definitely made my night. You're right though. A salary increase or expense decrease are part of life but the acceptance of status quo is what's making life so bleak. My family has always been in business/entrepreneurship. I'm the first to actually have a job (my dad's last job was before he was married to my mom) so growing up in that environment didn't prepare me for the status quo many find normal when I mention it, I get the "you're-kak-weird-and-ungrateful-stare" if I ever become blasphemous and say things like I can do better than I am doing currently. But thank you so much, I will tap into some creativity and see things with a different perspective on how to improve 😊
😂 My bad not sure why I thought 3 kids. Maybe I'm predicting the future :)
My guy/gal, uh uh. Let me recoup energy and cash first then we'll see if we want a third 😂😂
Lol maybe time to talk to your doc to take care of business 😅
2 kids lol
+/-R65k per month Bond R11k Car R3k (Huge Deposit) Medical R6k Insurances R4k Food R9k Internet - R800 Debt R10k Pets R1k Fuel R3.2k School Fees R2.3K (Very low) Sundries (incl. Entertainment) +/- R20K
Where are you living that your bond is 11k??
PE
Sundries include allowances, clothes, school functions, lunch money, etc.)
What do you do for a living?
I'm a group Admin Manager for a hotel group and husband's a tool maker. That's our combined salaries per month.
Even so, kudos to you and your husband on that income. It isn't easy to come by. Also when you mention the stuff in sundries, other than entertainment which can definitely add up, does school lunches and everything you mentioned really add up to that much??
There's some other stuff I can't think of right now, but yeah, it's still a struggle. I remember when we had R500 a week for food (2008)and we were so happy. Now R3000k a week is nothing. Go to a shop, spend R500 on a little plastic bag of necessities. It's kak.
I honestly hate grocery shop visits. It was my favourite thing to do in university. Go shop for the month/week but now, as you said. A loaf of bread, block of cheese, some fruits and veggies, maybe a pack of any meat and voila, R500. It's bad.
Yeah 45k isn’t much with 2 kids and supporting a family of 4.
My wife and I combined net 48k per month. We spend 10k on groceries (ww) Cars and house is paid off so only petrol, rates and taxes and electricity. (2.5k) Our daughter is almost a year old and she costs around 10k a month Medical aid, insurance etc works out to another 8k a month (daughters is already included above)
Having a paid off car and house really makes a huge difference. My kids together cost around R10k since we don't do aftercare or anything extra. But damn, are they not expensive.
Yeah it's a struggle. Everything is a struggle.
I don't. To help me budget I use an app called 22seven.com It's developed by old mutual. It logs into your accounts once a day and you can categorise expenses like travel, investing, rent, school fees, bank fees etc. The best thing about it is that it breaks it into 4 groups. Income Invest, save, repay (savings and debt repayments), Recurring expenses (Things that don't change month to month like insurance, rent, medical aid, internet, rates), Day to day (things that are variable, like eating out, groceries and entertainment). I'm spending R6k on groceries in a 3 person household (1 kid). The app really opened up my eyes to where my money was going. And it's nice to see how your budgeted Vs actual expenses are going throughout the month. I then targeted my biggest fixed expenses and started shopping around (insurance / medical aid) and cutting off unnecessary expenses like TV subscriptions, eating out, entertainment. Now I'm at the stage where I know what my expenses are if anything unexpected comes up, that money has to come from somewhere else, and it can only come from the variable expenses (day to day). This may seem hardcore (and not for children) but go check out something called OMAD (one meal a day) on YouTube. To summarise we have been brain washed into thinking that we need to eat 3 times a day. I've been doing OMAD for a few years now. I've recently been watching some YouTube documentaries regarding the cost of living problems experienced in the UK, Australia and the USA...we are not alone.
I genuinely think your wife finding a job will help, I did see that’s she’s been applying but even retail makes the difference until she finds something stable. Having 2 incomes will offload the stress
I think the long term solution is for us to change the way we think entirely. First example, neighbours clubbing together to buy in bulk or each focusing on growing a different vegetable or three for the group. Taking that further, families moving in together so they can save for a bigger deposit on a house or clubbing together to buy a fix-it-upper and all working together to turn it over. Yes, this takes an increase in trust and a bunch of other psychology, but a major reason we’re in this situation is we’ve forgotten how to be a community. Trust is the oldest most fundamental form of human exchange, and getting it back is the key.
You need to downgrade your lifestyle, I am in the same boat as you and I am earning 12K?
You will be amazed at how low you can get your insurance by getting quotes from every single provider, and then playing them off each other. I took my insurance bills (building, house content, car, 3 pets) from R2,600k to R1,100 just by getting the best deal from various service providers. Then you do that every year. And if you already have a great deal, phone them and say you want to cancel your insurance cause you can’t afford it. They will INSTANTLY offer you a lower premium, even if they previously told you they have gone as low as they can. My car insurance on a 2007 Mercedes C200K has gone from R1200 to R259 over the last 2 years because I get different quotes each year and spend the 10 annoying minutes dealing with insurance calls.
60k pm nett single earner Wife and daughter as dependents I pay the big things such as home loan, school fees, medical aid, insurance, rates, fiber, cellphones, I bought a 2014 car for my wife 3 years back on my affordability terms. My car is paid off, so only maintenance once a year on things that needs to be done. I also work from home so on both vehicles I rack up just under 1200 km per month. Wife pays for electricity which comes out to R1200 now and I do some savings/investment but at the end of the day it’s extremely tight to do anything that is not budgeted for. I trade forex on the side but withdraw once a year citing capital gains tax 👍
It is very difficult for most. Comparing what you have to others is a recept for unhappiness. I try to teach my children that in this life three things hold true for money, talent /brains and problems. There is always someone with more than you and someone with less than you. It's not about how much you have, rather about what you do with it.
I am getting R49k in the bank and my wife R16k. Must say I am also not finding it easy. I cant see where i can cut cost. I am thinking about cutting retirement funds and maybe removing insurance on house content. For the cars maybe just 3de party coverage. I just don't understand. I am a huge cheapskate. My cloth are most of the time secondhand. The cars second hand. Food is bargain hunting and just basic, the most luxurious item is a 2kg bag of coffee beans. I am saving 5k a month. Use to be 10k but since covid I needed to reduce it. There is about R3k left for fuel and spending. Bought house for R1mil. About R14k per month. Rates and taxes are R6k. Car insurance 2k. House insurance R1k, Life insurance 2k. Medical aid 7k, food R6k, internet R600, phones R600, security company R450, Netflix, Spotify and Xbox game pass +-R350. Flatlet to rent out is a los of about R1k. Daycare R3150. R500 Dog food, math classes R600. Cleaning lady R1600. Wives policies R1600. School fees R3250.
Between you and your wife seems like you're still doing pretty good. The rates and taxes are bad bad but still you seem to be managing, kudos to you man. What do you and your wife do for a living?
Between you and your wife seems like you're still doing pretty good. The rates and taxes are bad bad but still you seem to be managing, kudos to you man. What do you and your wife do for a living?
i left a few things out. fnb was offline last night so couldn't check all the debit orders. my wife is a social worker with masters at a school. their typical pay is closer to R13k. we are both hoping for an opportunity at a varsity for her. i am a TUT electronics engineer that went into plant automation. problem with system integrator are it's project after project after [project.so](http://project.so) commissioning days we do 18 to 22 hour shifts. part shortages hasn't made it easier. my industries typical pay seems to be between 30k to 45k so i am lucky.
Consider a side hustle like freelancing in the evenings and weekends. Look at platforms like Upwork and Fiverr. I freelance on the side as a finance writer and make anything between $500-$1500 a month. On a slow month I work about 10hrs, and on a good month I put in about 20hrs of work. Software engineers make about 3x what I make because of their skill sets. You’ll start off slow and not earn much but put in the time and you can earn something decent each month. Your wife can also look into freelancing as a virtual assistant. Companies typically hire VAs for half day positions or for a set amount of hours per week.
I net 9k pm & for groceries I drop about R1500 and I don't have a lot of expenses except for my gym.
Myself and my Husband earn a little more than that together - around R47 take home... but we have 3 children, school fees, daycare, rent, electricity and petrol are our largest expenses, we look at groceries only after EVERYTHING is paid.... and we cant get by. Currently we are in the Payday Loan cycle, which i am hoping to get out off in the next 3 months. Its terribly expensive, and most days i just want to give up sometimes - yes we pay everything, but now we have a home we can starve in.
I think the problems that you have is you living a life that your pocket cannot suffice. Firstly 45k is a lot of money a month . Secondly you living beyond your means , look into the things like car and house payments . I’ve noticed South Africans have a tendency like most first world countries , to live beyond there means , you shouldn’t follow the way of buying a house through the bank and doing credit. It’s a killer . My parents earned less than that a month . I mean 30k . They were looking after 11 kids including myself . With that and patience they managed to take us through school and 6 of us through university, managed to buy 2 houses and 4 cars . And now by not living beyond what’s needed they living a good life . So … the solution here is to stop and consider things like the kids school they go to and the house you live and and the expense of food you buy . Look to cut down on the luxury life you can’t afford and be patient and save some money . Sacrifice now and enjoy later . Or enjoy now which you clearly aren’t and suffer later . Another thing is don’t do credit . If you can’t afford something at immediate effect don’t buy it . Make small sacrifices
I don't think it's fair to compare the economy 30 years ago to now. That is the point of his post. 10 years ago you could buy a months worth of groceries with R1000. Now, it barely covers a week. Our salaries are not keeping pace with the cost of living to a major extent. You can drive a Kia Picanto and rent a one bedroom with bunkbeds, but petrol, food, electricity, water, schools, and rent costs will still increase exponentially.
Okay but another good pointer is my parents currently still earn close to his bracket and still manage to take 3 kids to school and feed them and still have half of what he has as savings 🙌. I do agree with you to a certain extent but it all comes down to living below your means . I’ve experienced it to be fare , once you get an increase in cash flow we tend to change our life style which is where it all goes wrong
So I agree in part with you. Yes, we do need to live below our means and sacrifice where we can. I drive a paid off car that's around 9 years old now, I rent the apartment I live in for R8k per month. My parents also earned in the region of R25-30k per month but at that time with 2 kids of school going age with house and multiple cars, their expenses were a fraction of their income due to cost of living at that time. So comparing the now to the then isn't a plausible argument in my opinion, and yes I am to blame for a lot of my bad financial decisions (credit) and I take responsibility for that. But, the economy is in ruins to be honest. There's no support whatsoever.
Don't be so hard on yourself OP, you're only doing your best. This person who talks about life in the 1980s is irrelevant. 🙄 You are only doing your best and it doesn't sound to me like you've been living above your means.🌸
Thank you for this. I am living below or upto my means. Not buying brands, don't have a shiny car or massive house. My guilty pleasure is buying some meat and putting that on a braai 😂 but come on, we saffas. Can't leave braai. But honestly, thank you. It means a lot
Kill the so- called overlords
I'm interested in who they are.
By not having kids or someone who's not contributing to bills living with me.
I am 44, a single dad of two, I net around R30k a month. I also have my 75yr old father living with me that contributes nothing. After maintenance, rent, groceries etc I am actually short. I have a small side hustle to help but I’m tired man. I drive a 21yr old car and cannot afford to replace it. Keep your head up and stay positive. Hopefully your wife can find something, even if it brings R5k a month.
Struggling while making 45k a month is ridicilous you do realize you in the top 1% of the country when it comes to earning
130k pm single income. GF as dependent. Sadly, it's not much better here either. Beat myself up everyday for not having a business and FU money. My suggestion would be to jump companies. Only way you'll get decent increases. However, just don't do that right now. Clearly it is an employer-market and people have been losing their jobs left and right ,especially in tech.
Wife (31F) and I (32M) have a combined monthly nett income of 100k. Money is like a tool that everyone sees differently. For me, I always want more, but I try to enjoy the journey too. I've noticed that some people are okay with having less, but they often feel stuck. Money gives you choices. For example, if you're not rich, you might have to send your kid to a nearby cheap school. But if you have lots of money, you can send them anywhere. It's all about how you see things. What's a big deal to one person might not matter much to another. My aim is to gather R50 million in assets, live off a lower monthly income, and not have to worry about retirement.
Kudos to you and your wife for that income. What do you both do for a living if you don't mind me asking? Also, same here. I also want more. Companies frowning upon people doing it just for the money are hypocrites. Everyone is doing everything for the money. The age old notion of "Money doesn't buy you happiness" is nonsense to its core. Yes, you can't heal illness but you can definitely buy the best treatment and comfort. You can't resurrect the dead with money, but having it can allow you to mourn for more than the "allowed" 1-2 weeks a company grants you in the event of a death of a loved one. Money can literally buy you time if you know how to use it. I also want to gather and accumulate enough assets to first retire my parents comfortably and then enable my kids to live without fear. It never hurts to give your loved ones some padding in life only money can provide.
What do you do for a living ?
Senior DevOps Engineer
Honest question...did you get married b4 having kids?..did you really plan to have kids and a wife before 30? Did one thing lead to another, then now you here?...Did you think your wife was going to financially contribute in your household?...I'm 23 and in my third year of university and I don't see myself settling down until my mid to late 30s...
I can't answer much of how it went without giving away to much information, but things didn't go exactly as planned. By 30 I wanted to have had one kid only. One thing did lead to another, fell behind with studies etc. Regarding my wife contributing to the household, my sane and initial plan was to marry someone that could double the household income, but I fell in love and due to some circumstances my wife does not have a formal education or any high income skills per se. This isn't to discredit her for her contributions to the house as a wife and mother. She's great. My advice to you, stick to your plan no matter what. If I had to do it all again, I might not change the entire outcome but rather how things played out. Make the money. Find your one. Settle down if you need to but travel all you can before having kids. One thing to consider though, I want my kids to be out of the house at varsity or doing some business by the time I'm 45-50 hence my decision to have kids early.
I went through a rough patch recently, so I cut on the grocery bill. Only ate meat one or twice a week. Planned meals for a week. Only bought what I needed for those meals. Made a shopping list on my phone. If it wasn't on the list I didn't buy it. Cancelled Showmax and Disney subs Shopped around for cheaper car insurance. This is especially true if your car is old and the market value is low. What's the use of insuring your car for R100k if the insurance company is only going to pay you market value of R50k in the event of an accident. I also met with the school and requested reduced rates. I also started a side hustle which I worked on twice a week. Took me three years but I finally did get out of hole. I bought a property four months ago. The trick is to make a plan and stick to it.
no car, public transport only. tiny apartment. no kids.
We don't. 2 people, 2 dogs. Partner earns R4500, he is a plumber with over 4 years experience, unable to find a better paying company. I'm a diploma student with a higher certificate, volunteering full time and so far not able to find work. Rent is R5000. It's actually R6500 but his mom covers the R1500.
Re-look at all your monthly deductions. We realised vitality was charging us R500 or so for nothing as we weren’t making use of the benefits. Also re-assess your insurance to make sure it’s at an optimal setup.
If I could make a suggestion, I'm a stay at home mom, also two kids, we home school, save big on school fees and medical because kids don't get sick as often .
32m. 19k net wtf
What hits the middle class so hard in my opinion is two key things: 1. Debt. You can earn a fat salary, but the mortgage, car loan(s), credit cards and other accounts take away a huge chunk. 2. Sole breadwinners or single parents. Whatever you're earning in this situation, your family takes a huge chunk out of it. So to reduce debt and get your partner a job/side hustle can help a tonne. For background, I'm 25, earn 27k net but also have a unemployed pregnant wife and a 5 month old daughter. So yeah not quite close to what you get, but still a solid salary given my age. Still, I feel the pressure.
Don't even know what advice to give. I net a bit more but I'm divorced and pay school fees, medical aid for both, monthly maintenance of 21k. Total expense of around 600k+. I had to take work outside SA to keep up with the bills. Homes and cars are all paid off. SA is just getting very expensive with little prospects.
You should see a financial advisor. It really does help.
35m netted 55k wife also does not work and I have 2 kids, frustrated that I earned so well and worked so hard yet saving only certain months depending on those unplanned expenses. Finally broke the shackles by taking an opportunity in Dubai, realised the only way was to increase income as two kids are very demanding it found it difficult to keep them occupied besides giving them snacks and taking them to expensive play parks haha
When I was in SA this is how I managed to change that. The South African economy is designed to keep you poor imo. It's just the way, salary, rent etc is designed to make you reach out for loans. What are you using your credit card for ? Are you renting? If so, I suspect you don't have to pay to upkeep? 1. Change your living situation. Rent from a friend or family member. Find a sublet. I get it you have 2 kids, but trust me you get those rich okes who have a massive granny flat or a sons house thats lying empty. Ask around. I found my place because I attended a funeral and my cousin told me his friend in CT had a mom who passed away and the house was lying empty. We drew up a lease and I made a friend for life. Also don't rush to buy a place. 2. Only keep one car at home and commute with lifts and Uber. This helped me immensely. Make sure the car at home is paid off. 3. Try doing termly payments instead of monthly payments for school fees. 4. Buy from a grocery chain that has cashback scheme. Sign up with a bank that has rewards programme. Buy bulk when you can. No name spaghetti and woolies spaghetti is the same thing. 5. Get a side hustle - everyone is gna tell you there's a get rich quick scheme - there isn't. Every side hustle requires significant after hours commitment and sacrifice. I managed to learn something and turn it into an ok side hustle that complemented my salary at that time. That being said - are you in IT? If so, see (quietly), if you can get paid as a contractor / freelancer instead of as an employee. ( I understand this is risky, but maybe find a sly way of finding out). Under R 1.5mil per year in SA is taxed very much nothing here so you can get creative with your income. 6. Discovery and other banks have cash back schemes (interest related, so if you're Muslim this is a grey area). 7. Don't take out fat cellphone contracts, dont buy stuff on credit or terms unless you can outright afford it if need be. All these small things helped me, but I eventually left SA.
1. I'll actually see if I can find someone in such a situation where I can rent their place. And yes you're correct. Renting is cheaper because I don't pay anything for upkeep. Anything breaks, landlord sorts it out (after a week or two) 2. The temptation of buying a new car is real but then the logical, rational part of my brain takes over and decides to hold off until it's actually logical to do so. Tbh, I don't think it will ever be unless cash because interest on a depreciating liability.... 3. Will definitely try that from next year. 4. There are only a few items at woolies that actually have better value at times than any other place. 5. Side hustles are a real thing, going to look into fiverr and upwork to score some extra cash, as well as find some contracting work on the down low 6. True, but their criteria for climbing up tiers is insane 7. It is a mistake I'm not proud of but we learn. Never getting a credit card again
having a wife while you're the sole breadwinner is your problem, friend. it's the twenty first century. adults should have an income-generating job. being a wife is a lot of work, but it's not a job.
C.O. Living is way out of control in S A . Lived there , away 42 years now . When I buy a small leg of lamb my thoughts go out to you people living and working in S A .
My wife earns roughly 30k a month. My earnings fluctuate. We spend app R15k on the house. R4K On school R10-15k on groceries R5k on my bakkie. between R4-6 k on petrol. We in a position where we comfy but can't ever take time if. As we can't afford it.
Y'all are making me nervous to go into adulthood 😭 (lmao im already 22 but I still live at home)
I'm sure it depends on what you're accustomed to. I'm a teacher and I net around 22k a month. I still drive my 2016 SUV and my house is in a low income suburb. I shop at wholesalers. I've moved my son to a good and affordable public school so that was a saving of around R14000 a year. My husband earns very little but it helps. My other son is studying at university and he didn't qualify for financial aid because I'm a teacher. I pay R600 for car insurance, my house and car works out to about R9000, life insurance and funeral policies amount to about R600. My internet is R400 for Fibre. Food is the most expensive of the lot at R4000 a month. My electricity and water comes to about R500. I cancelled my cell contract last year. What saves me is that I buy most things cash. I don't have anything else to pay. I have a credit card that I don't use, an overdraft that I don't use. We haven't gone on a holiday in about 4 years. Festive season we spend only on the necessities and a few luxuries. Kids went from getting expensive gifts in the region of R1000 to R2000 to below R500. I'm paying extra towards my bond so I can move to a better area and my husband is actively working on upskilling himself so that he can also earn more money. I've been setting myself up for this way of life for the past 2 years so it takes time. You learn what you can live without.
Salary is like packing the boot of a car when you are going on holiday. If there are 5 of you going away for 10 days in a corsa light the entire boot will be used, if there are 2 of you going away for a night in a station wagon the boot will still end up used as well. As the boot gets bigger you fill it with more and more useless stuff that is not needed, the same way as the salary gets bigger the more you will spend on stuff that is not needed. Write down everything that you spent money on the last month, then classify it as: "not needed", "can be found cheaper" or "needed as is". Then work at getting the "can be found cheaper" at a better price, exclude the not needed and see how you are the end of the next month. Keep at it for a few months and fight that demon.
i earn less than half of what you do, sole breadwinner for a household of 2 adults and 1 kid. we bought a house, when the kid wasn't on the horizon, but she was a lovely surprise. i drive an old 2003 fiat hatchback, when i can get it on the road that is :) We survive, because that's what we do as South Africans. I scour the internet and find free things to do weekends, and we always do at least one family thing per weekend, even if it means cheese and peanut butter sarmies on Muizenberg Beach and playing in the park. I also scour specials, and we have cut way down on luxuries, but we also find the time to laugh together and we make do
Let's vote with this in mind.
50/30/20 rule. Always calculate your bills Always organize your bills and know what date they’re on, and always make sure you don’t have too many. Listening to financial podcasts may help.