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.

Article written by Brent Lindeque (Good Things Guy)

In South Africa, Experian, a global financial data company, has joined forces with the National Small Business Chamber to launch the “How To Be Financially Fit” campaign.

Good Things Guy and #SAINC have partnered to bring you another exciting season of good business stories.

That’s right! It’s season four of the incredible series and we’re still telling good business stories… together.

#SAINC is about changing conversations – from the dinner table to the shebeen, from dusty street corners to gym cafeterias. It’s about shaking off the doom and gloom and sharing the real news that doesn’t reach the headlines.

Small businesses play a vital role in the South African economy, but many rely on borrowing to fuel their growth. For these small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the current high interest rates are creating challenges and anxiety as debt becomes more expensive to service.