National Savings Month, which takes place in July every year, is an initiative created by The Savings Institute of South Africa (SASI). This calendar event focuses on financial literacy for all and aims to challenge consumers and business owners to work towards living within their means, while also reminding them of the many benefits of saving.
Most South Africans don’t have a safety net to protect themselves during periods of recession, climbing inflation, interest rate hikes, unexpected expenses, and the overall increase in day-to-day expenses. This is due to the fact that the country has one of the lowest savings rates in the world. Coupled with this, statistics show that 90% of South Africans do not have enough savings to retire, that the average South African spends 80% of their salary in just five days, and that 67% of their monthly income is used to pay off debt.