SAVING money is not rocket science. All you need is the will, a compelling reason, consciousness of how you use money and to act in a way that supports your goals after you analyse your situation.

There are volumes of books on the subject of saving, investing and how to be rich. Just a week ago I met a young woman who had R20000 and had no idea how to invest it. She told me a friend told her to buy investment software that would allow her to personally do stock market trading and make a lot of money quickly.

No matter how much I tried to talk her into consulting with an investment specialist or financial planner, she would not hear a thing because her mind was already set on this.

This is exactly where the problem starts. Those who have a bit of money want to be millionaires overnight and those who have little to save, stop trying to save because they believe it will not make any difference.

For many people, saving is only a dream as they simply do not earn enough to just make ends meet.

It's comforting to know that they contribute to stokvels - which is a form of saving. So congratulate yourself if you are part of a stokvel.

Many people are struggling under the yoke of heavy debt, so much so that there is no hope of ever being able to save.

Others don't believe in saving because, to them, it does not make sense. The argument often presented is: "What if I die tomorrow and leave all my money? Who is going to get it? Why should I support other people?"

Whichever category you fall into, saving is something you can never give up on. Saving is about self-love and respect. People who respect themselves have a few distinct behaviours.

They set goals for everything they want to achieve - both in the short and long term. They draw up a realistic budget and never pretend to have more money than they actually have. They save money, no matter how small an amount. They take time to check and track their spending so as not to overspend. Most importantly, they are faithful in paying off their debt. You may be reading this article and thinking, "How on earth am I going to even begin to start saving with my income being swallowed up by my monthly obligations?"

Sometimes we use our monthly obligations as an excuse. Adjust your expenditure to find money to save.

Do you really need to smoke so many cigarettes a month? A reduction of as little as two cigarettes a day can add up to two boxes a month. Better still, stop smoking completely and save that money.

How many times do you feel entitled to treat yourself? Do you really need to?

Stop buying and wasting airtime. Stop gambling (horses, lotto, and sweepstakes).

Cancel additional TV channel viewing subscriptions. Why can't you just watch the public channels and pay R250 a year instead of anything between R1800 and R7200 a year just for watching TV? Stop eating junk food and start investing in good food and drastically reduce your medical bills. Saving is, after all, not rocket science.

lWrite to Thedream@winniekunene.co.za