Page 27 - TODAY magazine Issue 1 2021

YOUR DREAMS // FINANCIAL FREEDOM
*KIRSTEN FRIEDRICKS
‘IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO START CHANGING YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES.’
‘Four years after I’d finished university, I had accumulated a considerable amount of consumer debt. I had also started a business with no capital and took out an overdraft to support it.
‘I went back to working full-time but had to face retrenchment in 2019. It made me realise that I had to take an aggressive approach to paying off my debt and building up an emergency fund. When I had to deal with the uncertainty of how to pay my monthly expenses, sheer determination set in, and I felt compelled to act – for myself and my family.
‘I began to read up as much as I could and started following people who write about personal finance on Twitter. As a result, I got many followers who encouraged me to keep pushing towards my goal
of financial freedom. I also follow Dave Ramsey and Rachel Cruz on YouTube. They are US-based financial advisers, but their content is universal and their message that you should stop trying to impress other people with money you don’t have really resonates with me.
‘It might seem strange, but one of my biggest challenges was closing credit accounts. Anyone can get a credit card, but when it’s paid in full and you want to close the account, banks don’t make it easy. The little victories will help you to stay on track, though, and earning extra money with a side hustle to help pay off even your smallest debt means that you are constantly reducing what you owe. That’s really satisfying.
‘I am happy that I am currently free of consumer
debt. I no longer have a credit card, overdraft or outstanding traffic fines, which is liberating. My focus now is to pay off my student and vehicle loans, and
to live within my budget. I use Old Mutual’s 22seven budgeting app to keep track of my daily expenditure and have set out all my savings and investment goals on a spreadsheet so that I have an overall picture of how my portfolio is performing.
‘Believe me, it’s never too late to change your circumstances. Once you have an emergency fund in place and you’ve dealt with your debt, life really begins, and you can focus on saving for your retirement.’
MOSHALA MATABANE
‘I AM NOT DEBT-FREE,
BUT I AM FINANCIALLY AND MENTALLY HEALTHIER.’
‘I started working straight out of university in 2009,
but by 2015, in the space of five years, I was in so much debt that I had to ask my family for money to get through the month. In 2017, I was receiving treatment for clinical depression and anxiety. I had a revolving credit loan, overdraft, credit card, personal loans, store cards, two bonds and two car loans. Looking back, I can attribute this to three things: easy access to credit, a lack of personal-finance education and not having financial goals.
‘I worried about money all the time because at the end of every month, my bank account showed a deficit. I started to develop a real interest in improving my financial knowledge, which I believed would help me to set achievable goals. Between 2016 and 2017,
I read books, listened to podcasts and gained the kind of knowledge I was never taught at school: how to draw up a basic budget, the difference between good debt and bad debt, and how to set financial goals that cultivate discipline and motivate good spending habits.
‘I then began to pay off my accounts, one at a time. My biggest challenge was not to buy luxuries like new clothes or shoes, and to prioritise my mental wellbeing. It was a very dark time, but I was motivated and when I paid off my credit card and called the bank to close the account, it was a psychological triumph.
‘I am not 100% free of debt yet – I have a bond
on an investment property – but I am financially and mentally healthier, and I have sound financial goals and mental health goals that I work towards every day. I have learnt endurance and discipline, and the joy of a simple life. I couldn’t be prouder of the person I am today.’
*Not her real name
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