Savings

0%-40% of net depending on how things go...usually 20%ish.

I don't pay a massive amount of attention to it atm tbh. Its really more of a rainy day fund than long term savings.

Glad I do save though...recently got news of an unexpected (necessary) expensive that is gonna wipe out a sizable chunk of that. Not sure what I would have done without savings.
 
buy YNAB

Absolutely the best program I've used to budget and plan with.
 
AlmightyBender said:
Auto-Assign: yes it does this in two ways:
1) Once certain transactions reach critical mass they seem to be universally relabeled and auto-assigned e.g. go eat at Spur and it will be called "Spur" and assigned the restuarant label
2) You can set up your own rules based on a specific amount, or specific day, or specific text in the transaction details

Split Transactions: absolutely
Click to expand...

Sounds cool. I am using another program, just downloaded it the other day. It imports your bank statements and automatically allocates your spending and income according to rules I have set.

Can you maybe go into more detail as to how you go about it and also wrt allocating savings etc? As in a summary of the full process?
 
Stefanmuller said:
Sounds cool. I am using another program, just downloaded it the other day. It imports your bank statements and automatically allocates your spending and income according to rules I have set.

Can you maybe go into more detail as to how you go about it and also wrt allocating savings etc? As in a summary of the full process?
Click to expand...

What is the programs name?
 
Cant recall now it is on my laptop but will check. It is standalone an not online. Might be Money Smart. I tried two or three.
 
DrewChan said:
Whats percentage of your salary do you put away per month for a rainy day?
Additionally is there a "minimum" you believe should be saved per month?
Click to expand...

At the moment I save 25% of the money I get every month and already got 5k after saving for like 10 months
 
Installed a great little android App today called ExpenZA. Basically it imports all your banking sms notices from your message inbox and allocates it to expense categories you have set up.

It works great. All my bank accounts and credit cards have sms notification so all my transactions are included. It also shows your income. It works with all major banks. My accounts are with absa but I also have a Discovey CC and a Standard Bank Card. It correctly imported all of them.

Once you start the app it will scan your messages and import all banking smses. It will also group it to bank accounts and obviously in date order. All you have to do is allocate the description/beneficiary to an expense category and it will remember it and apply it to all similar transactions. You can then set a budget for each category and it keeps track of how much you have spent so far in the month compared to the budget. The home screen shows total budget for the month, total income, total expenses and net deficit/surplus. Pretty neat.

The only problem is still with cash withdrawals as it is spent on different things. Luckily mine is mostly for petrol and the domestic. As soon as you draw money you can allocate it though as the expense alert comes in. Or you can just delete it and enter two manual expenses for example domestic and petrol.
 
Retirement schemes are a con so rather invest in a worthwhile interest generating fund.The idea is not to retire.Find something to do till you until you well into your 70's and even 80's.

Adds value to your life.
 
Lovely thread this..

Currently saving only 5% odd :( as I'm buying items for my new place and that's quite a taxing expense.
In the past year, sorted all my debt and currently trying to work with Vodacom to migrate to a lower package because I spend too much on my cellphone.
 
Stefanmuller said:
Installed a great little android App today called ExpenZA. Basically it imports all your banking sms notices from your message inbox and allocates it to expense categories you have set up.

It works great. All my bank accountsl and credit cards have sms notification so all my transactions are included. It also shows your income. It works with all major banks. My accounts are with absa but I also have a Discovey CC and a Standard Bank Card. It correctly imported all of them.

Once you start the app it will scan your messages and import all banking smses. It will also group it to bank accounts and obviously in date order. All you have to do is allocate the description/beneficiary to an expense category and it will remember it and apply it to all similar transactions. You can then set a budget for each category and it keeps track of how much you have spent so far in the month compared to the budget. The home screen shows total budget for the month, total income, total expenses and net deficit/surplus. Pretty neat.

The only problem is still with cash withdrawals as it is spent on different things. Luckily mine is mostly for petrol and the domestic. As soon as you draw money you can allocate it though as the expense alert comes in. Or you can just delete it and enter two manual expenses for example domestic and petrol.
Click to expand...

How does it work for purchases under R100? Cause you normally dont get an sms of its below that amount
 
I'm trying to pay off my debt to enable me to save... It has proven to be easier said than done with only one 4% increase over the last 3 years. My salary is worth less. :(

But I will get there .. Freaking eventually.
 
at this moment 20% -25% , every 2nd months i get extra so then its 25% , also have pension fund which is about 7%.

I don't have any major debt atm or stuff to pay, so saving as much as i can atm.
 
AcidRaZor said:
How does it work for purchases under R100? Cause you normally dont get an sms of its below that amount
Click to expand...

My bank sends me sms's for everything, except bank charges. You can change the settings on your ABSA online banking.

The app is pretty cool. As soon as you have swiped, the sms comes through and the app will alert you that a new expense has come through, and will highlight it. Just now I swiped at Checkers and it was automatically allocated to groceries. If you bought for example only toiletries at checkers and you want it to go to toiletries rather you just click on it and allocate to toiletries.

You can always just enter a manual expense too.
 
MexicanStandoff said:
Retirement schemes are a con so rather invest in a worthwhile interest generating fund.The idea is not to retire.Find something to do till you until you well into your 70's and even 80's.

Adds value to your life.
Click to expand...

:wtf: Agree with you on retirement, but I think you need to upgrade your tin foil hat to a +4 tin foil hat regarding that retirement scheme conspiracy
 
supersunbird said:
Can you please explain in more detail so I know how I am being conned?
Click to expand...
I presume that he is referring to the high commission and admin costs that most funds charge.

Allan Gray's charges are very low when compared to most and generally give a better return.
 
Billy said:
I presume that he is referring to the high commission and admin costs that most funds charge.

Allan Gray's charges are very low when compared to most and generally give a better return.
Click to expand...

Considering they charge nothing but the fund level fee for retirement annuities, they are by far the best. Plus no surrender penalties and complete flexibility with contributions.
 
I aim for 50% gross. I get it most months, apart from the few where things go a little pear shaped. Like this last month where the postal strike got my google cheques lost...

How do I live on that 50% that's left? Simple, I don't use credit, and I don't buy stuff I don't need. There's a great read called the millionaire next door. It's not so much a how-to book, but a how have they done it book about the self made millionaires in the states.
 
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