Publications
WISANI: NEGOTIATING BREATHING SPACE
Wisani is in his early 30s and works for local government. Like many households, their income was affected by the COVID lockdown when his partner lost her job. Wisani had recently committed to new car finance.
In order to make ends meet, he took out a personal loan in January. With two young children to support the household is under financial pressure. He is determined not to let his insurance policies lapse, especially funeral cover for his mother as he has been paying in for years.
Like so many households in this situation, Wisani needs a plan that includes negotiating some breathing space with his creditors.
MY BIG DREAM: To finish the house of my unemployed mother that I started back in 2020 but has been unable to complete due to finances.
MY WORST FINANCIAL MISTAKE: To take out credit I did not need.
HIS ADVISER
Nishen Moodley has been a Financial Adviser for 20 years of which he past 16 have been with Absa. He is a certified financial planner and assists clients across all four financial pillars: debt, risk, investment, and banking reviews.
“Our strategy is to negotiate favourable terms with his creditors and then to systematically reduce his debt in order of severity. During this process we will regularly monitor his day-to-day and monthly expenses to determine how best to create disposable income from his salary with the goal of settling his debt as soon as possible. He is eager to change his financial circumstances and I have no doubt that his goal will be achieved.”
ZINZY: BECOMING MONEY SMART
University lecturer Zinzy is academically smart but acknowledges that when it comes to her finances, she has made some “ignorant financial decisions”. Managing money is not something you learn at school or university, and without that knowledge, even well-educated people can find themselves in difficulty.
Zinzy’s debts are putting her under financial pressure. Her debts include a large tax bill owed to SARS which they are deducting from her salary and a piece of land she cannot afford to build on. “I have a son who I would like to develop better money skills than me. I hope to be debt free or at least have a healthy handle on my debt with savings for emergencies.”
MY BIG DREAM: I dream to own a home, for myself and my son. I dream to be as financially smart as I am academically. I would love to not live paycheque to paycheque!
MY WORST FINANCIAL MISTAKE:
HER ADVISER
Phumzile Dube has been in the financial industry for 10 years and seven years with Absa. She loves assisting clients with building sustainable financial futures and wealth through holistic financial planning.
SANDRA: HAVING A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH MONEY
Sandra is a 30-year-old physiotherapist, with a young daughter and a fiancé. Her partner works abroad and leaves the family finances to her. “I have been struggling to manage my finances for the past four years now. It has come to the point where I have to be honest with myself that I simply don’t know how to manage money properly.” Her fiancé is yet to build a credit record, so all the family debt is in her name. “He sends me money, but I end up using it for other things. I just want to pay off all of these things so that I can have less expenses.”
MY BIG DREAM: My big dream is to one-day be a property investor, working for myself making a comfortable living at the same time creating jobs and opportunities for others.
MY WORST FINANCIAL MISTAKE: My biggest financial mistake was cancelling my retirement annuity and investment account. At the time I didn’t have any other financial commitments. If I had carried on with them, I would at least have some money to fall back on for emergencies.
HER ADVISER
Kavilan Sigrapragasan has been in the industry for 18 years and providing advice to clients for over eight years.
SANET: GETTING FINANCIALLY SORTED AS AN ANNIVERSARY GIFT
Sanet and Marius joined the Money Makeover Challenge as their 10-year anniversary gift to themselves. “The world is a real rollercoaster. We have to provide not only for ourselves, but we also have parents to provide for and look after.”
The couple bought a food truck franchise as a side income. The business is not making money and putting them further into debt each month. Their investment in a rental apartment is also adding to their financial pressures. The rental income is not covering the monthly levies which is leaving the couple out of pocket each month. The couple also have a personal loan taken to support Sanet during her maternity leave.
OUR BIG DREAM: To give our child a better life than what we had. We both had to work weekends when we were in school to put food on the table. We want to make the food truck successful.
OUR WORST FINANCIAL MISTAKE: At this stage, we don’t know if buying the food truck franchise was a good or bad discussion as we feel like we are just going backwards. We did not do our homework on the high levies when we bought the investment flat.
HER ADVISERS
Njabulo Moyo has working experience in the financial services sector for over 17 years. “One of their key concerns is debt. The priority is to ensure that we map out a realistic and a sustainable financial plan based on their current situation.”
Absa business advisers Pieter Myburgh and Tshidi Seko, will investigate the viability of their franchise business.
Myburgh said:
Follow six ordinary South Africans as they take up the City Press/Absa Money Makeover Challenge and undergo a money makeover boot camp. The next six months will test their resolve and make them face tough decisions on every aspect of their finances.
Each candidate has been allocated their own Absa financial adviser who will assist them in organising their finances and reaching their personal financial goals.
The candidates will be required to complete certain financial tasks and to stick to the budgets set out for them to win incentive prizes or be selected as the final winner.
We will be sharing their stories with you and hopefully inspire you to start your own journey.
MOTSEI: TAKING A MICRO BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL
Motsei is the owner of VIP Flushable Mobile Toilets which provides clean and hygienic toilets for events and building sites in Kroonstad. With experience as an entrepreneur in the food industry, Motsei is looking to expand her micro-business. “The business is doing well, but I believe we can grow it further and turn it into a great business empire, create more job opportunities and become a ‘go-to ablution facility’ in the future.”
Motsei lost her husband in a car accident and feels the responsibility of providing financial security to her family. She has two adult daughters, one of whom is still studying. She is the guardian to her nephew who has a hearing and speech disability.
MY BIG DREAM: To grow our business and go watch a Formula One race live to watch Louis Hamilton making history.
MY WORST FINANCIAL MISTAKE: After losing my job, I used the money to start a restaurant at a shopping complex. The rent was astronomical, and I lost a lot of money in that venture.
HER ADVISER:
Quentin Gibbens has 15 years’ experience as a financial adviser and specialises in business solutions for business bank clients. “Motsei’s business is a family business, so she needs to protect their current wealth before she can consider expansion. We need to ensure business continuity in her absence (death/retirement/disability), as well as creating a legal structure to maintain the lifestyle of her disabled nephew. Her dream of attending a Formula 1 race will be one of her savings goals. The other goal will be to save for retirement and appreciate the tax deductions that comes with such a product.”
FOLLOW THE STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA: #MoneyMakeover: https://media24.shorthandstories.com/moneymakeover/
Facebook: @CPMoneyMakeover
Twitter: @CPMoneyMakeover
Instagram: @city_press
MPHO: MANAGING MULTIPLE BUSINESSES
Mpho is father to a two-year old daughter. He is a township entrepreneur with several businesses in Phelindaba. Mpho wants to learn how to generate and grow the money he makes from the small businesses which bring him both joy and despair.
Mpho runs a small township fast-food restaurant called Babacazoo Walk and a small t-shirt printing business called Black Market Junction. He supplements his income as a part-time soccer coach and personal fitness trainer having previously worked as the SuperSport United FC Supporters Coordinator. Mpho’s challenge is in managing these multiple businesses and deciding which ones need more attention.
“My main financial pressure is to buy enough stock to at least run my restaurant for a week or two and to renovate so I can start doing sit down meals and hosting events. In the printing business I would like to buy bigger and better printing machinery, stock, and to venture into other forms of printing.”
MY BIG DREAM: My dream is to own a chain of restaurants to the standard of Spurs Steak Ranch, Roadhouse or Baobab.
MY WORST FINANCIAL MISTAKE: I buy things I think will enable me to make money, but I end up not making it. I like helping people, so some of my money is among the people in my community that borrowed money and now it’s difficult to recover back.
HIS ADVISER:
Gladnes Masia has nine years experience as a financial adviser and her main goal for Mpho is to be able to grow his restaurant business. “Even though he has another two businesses, his main concentration will be his food business,” says Masia who has Mpho working on a full analysis of his financials which includes three months of bank statements, income and expenses of all three businesses as well as his liabilities.
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