PODCAST | 48% of South Africans report being unable to save

In this edition of the Business Day Spotlight, we talk about the potential for financial literacy to increase consumer savings.

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Farzana Botha, a product specialist at Sanlam Savings.

Over the years, SA has developed a reputation as a country of spenders not savers.

According to the Human Sciences Research Council’s 2017 report, 48% of South Africans don’t manage to save at all, with 42% reporting no long-term savings of any kind.

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Botha says the spending culture in SA has been driven, in part, by consumers caring more about the instant gratification that comes with buying certain goods and services, especially for status. This is compounded by the high rate of unemployment and a high cost of living for many ordinary people.

She says greater financial literacy would go a long way to help people understand the benefits of saving.

Topics of discussion include: how the financial literacy gap among South Africans can be addressed; the data and statistics around consumer savings in SA; ways in which the financial literacy deficit has an impact on people’s mental wellbeing; how people can upskill themselves in financial education; and what SA’s financial industry can do or has been doing to close the knowledge gap.

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• Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE production.