Like many South Africans, most consumers probably woke up this morning worried about their finances. Considering everything happening in the economy today, know that you are not alone! We have all most likely fallen behind on a payment/s, perhaps concerned about fulfilling basic needs like being able to afford transport or buy food.
Worry no more, we as Standard Bank care about our consumers and want to journey with them through the difficult times and share in their dreams. To enforce on the promise of getting our clients to their next, we have listed the below 7 self-help tips about what customers can do or should be doing with their monthly income and perhaps the extra money they may have:
- Is it a want or a need? – Whatever, it is you plan to do, this needs to be established first.
- Understand your debt – What accounts you hold, what the interest rate is, what your usual instalments are and how much you owe if you were to settle it.
- Settle your accounts as quickly as possible – Once you’ve gone understanding your debt, you will very quickly outline which accounts you owe the most money to. These are the accounts that you will want to close ASAP. The idea is to settle the debt that you owe big monthly repayments to 1st.
- More bang for your buck – Following the above steps will allow you do more meaningful things with your money and create memories, like traveling, renovation, saving money that can be used for emergencies, paying school fees upfront, paying cash for some items etc.
- Budgeting – This is critical to your financial well being.
- Manage your debt efficiently – The very minute you start becoming dependant on your credit card, over draft or other facilities know that your debt repayments are growing, and this will cause stress if not managed.
- Not everything requires money – While the kids are on holiday you may want to keep the kids entertained by playing board games, increase and promote reading by joining the library, encourage them playing outside, build puzzles, bring a child to work if you can, a simple picnic, baking or even cooking. All of these stimulates the mind, improves skills while you keep them entertained.
We remain committed to being part of your journey by availing various facilities such as loans, a credit card, vehicle finance and a home loan. We believe in offering customers alternative solutions where applicable.
You are important and valued, so please take care of your finances and your overall well-being!!!
Should you wish to caht to any of our Financial Experts, Kindly contact them on our Facebook Messaging platform today: https://www.facebook.com/StandardBankInstantMessaging/
