2020- the year that changed everything!

2020 started off as a normal year and then Covid 19 arrived. The lockdown period caused hardship for many people as millions lost their jobs worldwide as well as in South Africa.

People had to adapt very quickly to start communicating electronically instead of face to face. Families were separated and had to deal with death in the family and not being able to attend funerals in person. This placed people under enormous strain financially as well emotionally.

This is where the value of Financial Planning really came to the fore. Where people had good financial advice, there would have been a valid Will in place as well as Life and Funeral Cover to deal with the financial burden.

For employees that lost their jobs, the advice to have an emergency fund in place would have been vital so that they could cope with expenses while adjusting to the new situation of not earning regular income.

Over time, we have delivered a number of presentations to our clients on varied topics. The question always raised was, how can we save when we have so much debt and our expenses are so high?

My answer to all the people was and will always be the same. You need to earn an extra income! In other countries people work two or three jobs to earn extra money, you cannot rely on only one income as your employer cannot afford to adjust everyone’s income to suit their ever-increasing needs.

I have never met a person that has no talent. Everyone can do something extra to earn additional income, and now, more than ever, those talents need to be developed and used to generate income.

All those unwanted items in storage, your garage or your home can be converted to cash by selling on Gumtree. If you are good at making things like furniture, trays, or dog beds etc you can also list that on Gumtree. During lockdown people started doing repairs and renovating their homes, this resulted in the discovery and honing of new skills. These skills can now be turned into money.

Bid or Buy is another good ecommerce platform to sell your craft items or items you can buy elsewhere to resell. You can help friends buy selling their goods online and charging a fee for doing that.

If it is your talent that you want to sell, you can create a blog or a website and make recordings (a vlog or a webinar) that can be forwarded to people for a fee or posted on YouTube- when you have enough followers you may be able to attract companies to advertise on your blog which will raise more capital.

If you are a maths Wizkid, you can offer extra lessons at a fee. You can teach people to garden and develop their own vegetable patch; you can paint people’s homes. You can bake cakes and cook ready meals to sell.

As you can see from the above, there are a million things you can do if you are motivated or desperate enough. 

Debt management was another concern so the advice to people is, pay off your debts, we know it is not easy and will take will power, but once you set your mind to it and arrange a repayment plan with your creditors, it is achievable. Being debt free is a great relief to all and after that you can really work on your investment and retirement plan.

I trust that this article has been of assistance in opening your eyes to a new world where you can earn extra income and take pride in your handiwork.

As always, remember to consult your Financial Adviser to assist you with your life and financial plan.