# 2019 Resolutions

With the festive season behind us and with many people having had some time to relax and ponder live, you too probably have a few resolutions for 2019!

 If your resolutions are anything like mine, I would guess the following feature somewhere in the list:

• Losing some weight
• Eating healthier
• More family time
• Saving a bit more
• Some specific objectives i.e. saving for that overseas holidays, buying a new car or another similar “lifestyle” dream or ambition

 For most of us, these resolutions remain only that, resolutions! And after we start off as the “January Joggers” and get caught up in the hustle and bustle of city life, and parenting, our resolutions fizzle away until we crack open the champagne for 2020.

Now let’s get a bit more practical on something that you can change and start doing, immediately, making a dent in your ambition to save a bit more! Often this seems quite far-fetched and we don’t get to doing this because the right way to go about this would be to start with a detailed budget and then identify those items that are discretionary or lifestyle orientated. But getting the time to do that budget just never seems to happen!

So to bypass the whole budgeting process, let’s look at some practical examples that may appeal to you and your family, thus a more practical guide to what the benefit could be of making some short term sacrifices and investing in a balanced portfolio for the long term. The idea is to highlight some general “discretionary” expenditure that apply to most families to give an indication of some expenses that can result in meaningful savings, if you make that new year’s resolution count!

Let’s look at a few examples of making some “sacrifices” and making those savings work over a 20 year period:

Coffee,  Save 2 cups a day and save - R 1 717 000                                                            Smoking, Stop smoking and save - R 1 374 000                                                                   Smoking, Cut back by 25% and save - R 343 000                                                                Driving (Petrol), Drive with a friend  and save-  R 1 145 000                                        Eating-Out, eat one meal lees per month and save  R 458 000    

Before those New Year’s resolutions slowly start fizzling away, identify one or two short term savings that can make a meaningful difference in making some of your resolutions a reality and go online or talk to a qualified financial advisor to help you make it a reality.

*Savings invested in a balanced portfolio, increasing at inflation (assumed at 5% per annum). Source : Old Mutual Unit Trusts Savings Calculator

* Assumptions

• Coffe @ R 25 per cup
• Smoking @ R 50 per pack
• Drving @ saving R 1 000 per month