Khuzeka is the new financial reality series to watch on Moja Love

No matter how big or small the amount, managing finances can be challenging. If you aren’t able to manage money carefully, you may find it difficult to create a financially secure future.

We make things worse by spending money carelessly, instead of making sound financial decisions that will secure our financial futures, says John Manyike, head of financial education at Old Mutual.

He says that people who misuse money often become victims of the “need to spend” aimlessly, instead of using the money to better their lives and financial positions.

Manyike highlights this trend in Khuzeka, the new financial reality show on DStv Moja Love (channel 157) that deals with how ordinary South Africans dig deep financial holes for themselves and their families due to a lack of basic financial management skills.

Watch the preview below:

“Sadly, many people are given a chance to improve their financial position and build new lives, but make poor decisions and become stuck in the same position.” 

In the show, he interviews a woman living in a township with her boyfriend and children. While waiting for the payout from her deceased mother’s pension, the couple began taking out loans and spent R48,000 in three weeks, leaving their children’s Sassa cards with amashonisa.

“They broke the first rule of managing money — never spend what you don’t have,” says Manyike. “What was tougher for this couple was that they had nothing to show for the spent money. Like water falling on dry ground, the money was gone without leaving a trace. The boyfriend, who had a gambling problem, was risking not only his future, but, his girlfriend’s and their children’s, too.”  Like water falling on dry ground, the money was gone without leaving a trace. 

They had planned to use the pension money to extend their house, but amashonisa would want their share, too.

“So, someone who was unemployed and had no income was going to build a bigger home. The money would be gone and the family would still be battling to survive, [but] in a bigger house,” says Manyike.

Old Mutual allowed the building to go ahead, but recommended that outside rooms be built instead of a larger house. Renting out the rooms and keeping one for a spaza shop would result in creating two businesses that would generate income.

“Poverty is sometimes not about the absence of money; it’s about consuming money rather than investing it wisely. It’s a lesson we all need to learn,” says Manyike.

Real-life stories like this happen in thousands of homes across our country every day. To see the mistakes that people make, so you can avoid them, tune into Moja Love, DStv channel 157, every Sunday at 7.30pm.

This article was paid for by Old Mutual.