We are in lockdown and hopefully there will be no need for an extension or other lockdowns in the future. We still have loadshedding and now Moody’s has also downgraded our debt to JUNK status. The road ahead id going to be rough, especially if you have lots of debt as retrenchments are inevitable

I invited my Facebook friends to share with us what they are doing to reduce their expenses and below are the best comments I received. Hopefully you will find a lot in the list that you too can do to reduce your monthly expenses. A big THANK YOU to Andile and Adrienne for sharing. Once you have reduced your monthly expenses, I want you to give me at least R500 of your money so I can open a Money Market or Tax Free Investment Account for you. This will hopefully help you in the future

Andile Fortunate Ngcobo

1. When i have extra cash i put it on debt that i have
2. Kids and hubby carry prepared meals
3. I write a grocery list when going for shopping to avoid buying unnecessary stuff
4. Downgraded my DSTV package
5. Paid off all clothing accounts and closed them
6. I bake and tutor part – time for extra cash
7. I compare prices of different stores before going for shopping
8. I do shopping when there is a sale
9. I do lay-bye on furniture

If you live around Empangeni, support Andile and order cakes from Andile @ 071 951 1414 or buhlebuyeza04@gmail.com

Adrienne Bogatie

1. Plan your meals and shop accordingly
2. Online grocery shopping when possible
3. Try and carpool instead of driving yourself
4. Use loyalty cards where possible to earn money when you spend.
5. Use WUHU deals app (Unilever) for discounts, SnapNSave for cashback earnings, Smart Shopper (PnP) and XtraSavings (CHeckers) for discounts in store
6. I almost never go into a store anymore! I have an old video called Couponing for South Africa (I need to make a new one soon), which talks about most of this. I have my menus and meals planned for the entire month for my family of
7. So I know what I need at the beginning of the month, I then order from PnP and Makro for delivery and then I order any fresh ingredients that I will need for that week’s meals through the Sixty60 app, which is the new Checkers delivery app (No delivery fee in a certain radius). This saves me money as I don’t buy on impulse, also I don’t worry about plastic bags.