As many consumers may have noticed, July is National Savings Month. It is, therefore, the best time to start afresh and rethink savings strategies. Matthys Potgieter, spokesperson, and expert at DebtSafe, believes in the GROW coaching model to achieve his life goals and his savings goals. The GROW model enables everyday South Africans to plan their particular savings journey, like becoming super-savers, and to keep the end result in mind, such as a well-earned retirement for example.
GOAL
The first important aspect of the GROW model is to know what you want to achieve with your savings. What are your savings goals? Potgieter advises to keep it simple and to rather start with one or two goals every month, six months or a year. Savings goals can specifically aim at short (birthdays), medium (a car) and long-term (your retirement) goals.
REALITY
Your current savings’ reality reveals where you are at with your savings goals. Have you perhaps been trying to reach savings goals without fully considering your starting point and current saving ability? “Be realistic,” says Potgieter. “It is best to start off with a small amount like R100 and then adjust the amount according to your earnings.
OPTIONS
There are various savings options out there for short, medium and long-term savings. Potgieter says it is best to ‘shop around’ and do some pre-planning or research before you make any hasty choices regarding the best option for a savings fund (for short term goals), emergency fund (a medium savings goal) or when saving for your retirement (like annuity options etc.).
WAY FORWARD
You cannot save without implementing proper action steps on how to achieve various savings goals. Potgieter says action steps can refer to things like making use of grocery deals when buying food (allowing you to save a few rand extra) or putting your savings’ amounts away as soon as you receive your salary. This specific action step can ensure that you save before you can even think of spending.
It is time to re-GROW your savings by doing some proper financial strategising. And what better way than using the GROW coaching model recommended by experts.