Stokvel

keep saving!

This week (4 to 8 July) is ‘Savings Awareness Week’ here in S.A. It seems that many or most people like to spend what comes in every month, and a lot of those like to spend more than comes in every month!! So, it appears that we have a huge number of people who are hopelessly in debt, whether on their credit cards, or accounts at shops, or borrowing in some form or another from whomever they can find to borrow from. The problem is that the ‘loanee’ then has to find some way to pay back not only the amount that was borrowed, but huge add-on amounts of interest. The result?? A downward spiral that leads to more of the same as Peter tries to pay back Paul and Paul hires a heavy to help Peter pay!!


We were lying in bed this morning drinking our coffee and debating about getting up - after all, why hurry when

• it's still dark at 7.30 these mornings, and
• we are pensioners who have the whole day to do what used to take us 4 hours -

and we were listening to the radio as usual. A lot of debate has been going on about the best way to save etc, and many people have phoned in to share their thoughts. This morning a lady phoned in and told us all about the Stokvel way to save. This is really amazing and it took me back a good number of years to my teaching days when 6 of us did exactly that, but we didn’t have a name for it!!
You cannot translate this word, you just have to use it!! (Actually the literal translation is ‘stickskin’, honestly.)

It works like this:

You find 11 other people who work with you, or who you have known for a long time, because this basically works on trust! (Remember that?) So, 12 people form the Stokvel. This is what happens next.

1. Each month, for a year, an agreed amount from everyone’s salary is handed over to the nominated Chairperson of the Stokvel, who either opens a savings account, or puts it in a tin under the mattress. The end result is about the same, without bank fees to worry about. The threat of fire is pretty worrying though! At the end of the year, usually just before Christmas, the money is then divided between the 12, remember the chairperson has also been paying in.................hopefully!!

OR

2. Each month 1 person receives the money, they then pay off an account or buy something that is needed. It’s a kind of forced saving.

The amount that they pay in obviously varies from Stokvel to Stokvel, but the idea is sound and as long as the chairperson doesn’t run off with the money, or suddenly buys a new car, it is a wonderful way to save. They were talking this morning about R1000 a month and I thought ‘Wow, when I did it way back in the 80’s, we put R20 a month and thought we were rich!’ And twice a year a ‘windfall’ of R100 came my way, R120 when I added my payment.

And, it must work, as there are over 800 000 Stokvels country wide!! Makes you think doesn’t it?

Happy saving.