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First off, I have to confess that I have never really given thought to the idea of building a nest egg for whatever reason. After all, my debt is entirely manageable and I contribute extra to both my employers’ pension fund and my bond. And yes, that’s cringeworthy in itself. Why? Because I am a government employee, and even at best, that pension fund won’t be worth much. (That’s one of the reasons why I plan to resign – so that I can move the money!)
My mom has been nagging on me for literally years now to set some extra money aside for rainy days and maybe a new car or even a decent vacation! I’ve always had some kind of reason not to do that. One of my favorites was “I’ll do it when I am debt-free!”
The problem is that “debt-free” takes a helluva long time. And I don’t have the patience to wait!
So…
I took a long, hard look at my budget and the ways in which I spend (read blow) money and realized that I have more discretionary income than I thought. I will be able to invest a decent minimum amount without having to live on toast and beans and coffee for the rest of my life. That definitely changed my attitude. Not that I don’t like beans, or toast, or coffee, but I appreciate a varied diet and being able to drive where I want to be.
This morning, I registered for a unit trust account at the minimum contribution level of R500,00. Not much, but considering that it’s throwaway money, it can only grow from there. That concludes a goal that I have set for my 45th year as well. What I like about this account, is that I can add other throwaway amounts to it as well, be it profits from my Amway product sales, birthday money, money from recyclables, or simply money that I have found somewhere in my budget. As long as the extra money exceeds the amount of R500,00 I can deposit it into that savings account and watch it accrue value. To me, that is good.
