Author: admin

This is the question I had to answer when I decided to get out of debt.
What could I give up in order to free up some cash to pay off my debts?
I looked at where I was spending my money, and what I saw was that the biggest amount was going towards rent.
The two bedroom townhouse was taking the largest chunk of my earnings, I had to ask myself if I could reduce this amount.
The answer was simple, yes I could! so I moved into a bachelor pad in town where I also did not have to take a taxi to work.
With this one decision I killed two birds with one stone, no more transport costs and less rent to pay.
I now had extra money available to pay off my debts.
You see, I had a goal, and the goal was to pay off my debt, so if it meant lowering my living standard, then I was willing to do that.
I did not worry about what my friends were going to say, I looked at the end result.
Focusing on my goal made everything else matter very little.

Most people think they know what goes into their accounts on payday. Well they do but maybe not really.
Knowing your expenses will tell you the real value of what goes into your account.
You should definitely know what goes out of that account between paydays.
You see even the smallest amount has to be accounted for.
The problem is we don’t think before we buy, we are on auto pilot when it comes to buying stuff.
I bet if you think every time before you make a purchase you would not spend that much buying stuff you don’t need.
Those small steps will get on your way to financial freedom and being debt free.
So before you berserk at the mall on pay day, just think about all that money leaving your account.
Do you go for the most expensive food, clothes ?
It’s amazing how much you could save just buy making smart choices on those two categories.

So you have just been hired in your first job. If you want to build wealth you will do well to avoid buying that car if it is not necessary.
If you need a car to commute to work, buy a car that does not cost too much. Yes you will look cool in that flashy sports car, but is it a necessity?
Would you rather look cool or have money in the bank?
One of the things to do is to look for a property you can purchase that is within your means.
You don’t have to stay in the property, you can let out. If you still stay with your parents even better!
When buying that property to live in it, it also shouldn’t be something that you cannot afford.
What I mean is don’t stretch yourself, just like in the car example are you buying a house for you or do you want to have the fanciest house to impress your peers?
Don’t let society pressure you into buying a 4 bedroom house if you do not need it.
Buying a cheaper house will allow you to make extra payments to payoff the bond quicker as well!

These people cannot be millionaires! They don’t look like
millionaires, they don’t dress like millionaires, they don’t eat
like millionaires, they don’t act like millionaires-they don’t
even have millionaire names. Where are the millionaires who
look like millionaires? (From the book The Millionaire Next Door)
The not so wealthy person who said this was a vice president of a trust department.
His view of millionaires is shared by most people who are not wealthy. They
think millionaires own expensive clothes, watches, and other status
artifacts. In reality this is not the case.
As a matter of fact, our trust officer friend spends significantly more
for his suits than the typical millionaire.
Our friend also
drives a current-model imported luxury car. Most millionaires are not
driving this year’s model. Only a minority drive a foreign motor vehicle.
An even smaller minority drive foreign luxury cars. Our trust officer leases,
while only a minority of millionaires ever lease their motor vehicles.
But ask the typical adult this question: How should a millionaire look like?

You cannot help but admire Mr Charl Senekal.
You are probably wondering who he is, he owns the largest sugar cane farm in South Africa.
This biggest of farms is in Mkuze in Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal.
What is really inspiring about Charl Senekal is how he started.
He was an ordinary guy working a 9 to 5; then he decided to go for his dream.
They lived on his wife’s salary for 14 years!
This means he saved his entire salary which enabled him to buy his first farm – 45 acres of sugar cane- in cash!
If you have a goal and are willing to sacrifice, the sky is truly the limit.

The secret to getting rich is as powerful as it is unexciting: live below your means.
That’s it. The bigger the difference between what you earn and what you spend, the sooner you’ll find yourself with enough money to do what you want with your life.
Now, I realize that “live below your means” may sound obvious or trite. That doesn’t make it easy. It’s actually much harder than it sounds. Many of the people you see with big houses and fancy cars are up to their eyeballs in debt, which means they’re violating this basic principle. They aren’t rich at all. They’re in debt.
The challenge is recognizing that you can’t amass real wealth if you try to keep up with such people. Real wealth comes from spending less than you earn, again and again, month after month, year after year. It’s a slow and steady process. It isn’t particularly exciting. But it is the surest way to reach your biggest financial goals.

Happy debt free 2018 !!

We all cannot be entrepreneurs or businessmen or business women.
Most of us rely on a salary to live, so with that in mind; how do we make sure that our we enjoy our time on in this world on our salary.
The sad thing is most employed people(people who earn a salary) are deep in debt. How do they get into this debt trap?
It’s simple really, living beyond our means is a sure way of ensuring you get into the dark hole of debt.
Getting control of your finances means you become realistic about what you can and cannot afford.
That is why some people end up with impaired credit records.
Contentment with what you do have, and actually appreciating it; is a habit we should all adopt.

You might be drowning in debt, feeling like you want to die; take heart you can get out of debt.
I was in the same position at one point, you wouldn’t believe it if you were to see me today.
Getting out of debt may require lifestyle changes.
It requires commitment, patience, goal setting.
Believe me it can be done.
I am now in a position where I am looking at investing in real estate, something I had never imagined I would be able to do.
Those I want to die thoughts, change them to I am on my way to a debt free life.
Once you change your mindset and take action you are truly on your way to a debt free life.
I already invest in some companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, imagine from having 5 debt judgments to investing in the stock exchange!

In 2013 while searching for financial freedom I came across these guys on the internet, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus.
They are behind the website www.theminimalists.com, and that’s when my own journey began.
Now Joshua’s story is amazing; he had a well paying job, the big house, but was in debt. So, he simplified his life by getting rid of all the clutter and debt.
These guys inspire me in my own journey to be debt free and to live life to the fullest.
I am almost there, and you bet I’m enjoying the ride.

To fix my credit record I got a copy of my credit report from the credit bureau.
All credit bureaus(Transunion);(Experian), can give you a copy your credit report once a year.This gave a clear picture of how many accounts I had and what I owed.
It showed me which ones were in arrears, which ones were judgments and which ones were defaults etc.
This gave me a clear indication of what I needed to do to fix my finances.
When you have your credit report you can verify that all the information is correct as well.
If anything is not correct you can advise the credit bureau and they will correct the information.
I realised that making payments on time on my accounts is very important.
I also realised that I did not need all those accounts.
One or two accounts are enough to build a credit history.
You do not have to over commit yourself opening unnecessary accounts.
We often buy things we don’t really need, just because we have credit available.
You see it’s easy to spend on credit than spending your cash.
I also decided to simplify my lifestyle, basically I try to live below my means as far as possible.
Now, before I enter into any credit agreement I ask myself do I really need it.