Bears Repeating

The biggest pushbacks I get on the framework I use for developing financial freedom are:

1) Most people in South Africa can’t even find enough money for a living wage 

(half of all South African wage earners earn less than R3,300 and support 3.5 people), and 

2) “I can’t reduce my expenses”

The first point is heartbreaking and a mountain to climb. The second point is often true however big that income is, and despite the first point. “The lifestyle to which someone has become accustomed” is a phrase that disconnects completely from how that lifestyle is paid for. Even when there are masses of people living on less than you, our spending is often determined by the people who live in the bubble we live in. Bubbles have price tags, which either require someone else to foot the bill, or have real consequences for the available earning choices you have. 

The reality is that there is no one set of steps people need to take. There are trade-offs. There are hard choices. There is honesty required. Financial security and investment is a group sport. If those around you are spending freely, it is going to be difficult to build buffers and capital unless you are earning significantly more than them. 

That hard pill to swallow bears repeating. Half of all South African wage earners support about 3.5 people on less than roughly GBP165 or USD230 a month. 

Less than ZAR940 (GBP50 or USD65) per person per month.

Bears Repeating