{"id":3034,"date":"2025-12-12T14:46:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T14:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=3034"},"modified":"2025-12-12T14:46:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T14:46:02","slug":"stretch-your-bonus-expert-tips-to-beat-lifestyle-and-budget-creep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=3034","title":{"rendered":"Stretch your bonus: Expert tips to beat lifestyle and budget creep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"textFreeArticle\">\n<p><strong><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/iframe.iono.fm\/e\/1628289?layout=modern\" width=\"100%\" height=\"170\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>J<\/strong><strong>EREMY MAGGS:<\/strong> It\u2019s bonus season, but many South Africans say their 13th cheque just isn\u2019t stretching the way it used to. What am I talking about? Well, rising living costs, tax bracket creep and year-end expenses all eating into take-home pay, and that is leaving households feeling squeezed in spite of those lucky enough to get a salary increase.<\/p>\n<p>Consult by Momentum\u2019s chief financial officer, Boipelo Ndimande, says the bonus isn\u2019t the problem \u2013 it\u2019s all about the budget. Boipelo, a very warm welcome to you. You go on to say that budgets are broken. Isn\u2019t that just another way of saying that we are so overwhelmed by costs that we are almost out of control as South Africans these days?<\/p>\n<p>Listen\/Read: Report reveals how SA consumers are changing their shopping habits<\/p>\n<p><strong>BOIPELO NDIMANDE: <\/strong>Hi Jeremy, thank you for having me. You\u2019re correct. What I\u2019m saying when I say budgets are broken is that we are overwhelmed by costs, and we\u2019re not looking into each and every line item, that we don\u2019t feel where our money is going. We don\u2019t feel where our money is being spent and how we are spending it.<\/p>\n<p>For instance, if we look at small things like lifestyle creep, we take on subscriptions, we upgrade our lifestyle. But we don\u2019t realise that it\u2019s those small things that eat into each and every cent, but given also that we haven\u2019t received that additional income in our pockets.<\/p>\n<p>Read: PnP Survey: 70% of shoppers to hunt for essentials this Black Friday<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>So how do you deal with lifestyle creep then?<\/p>\n<p><strong>BOIPELO NDIMANDE: <\/strong>I would say, Jeremy, you would need to do a budget. You need to sit down and look at what comes in versus what goes out. There are a lot of places where we can make savings, and we are not looking at that. So we need to sit maybe with a financial advisor and look at each and every line item, consider whether it\u2019s necessary in your spend, and if it\u2019s not, then maybe you shouldn\u2019t be spending on it.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Just look at each and every line item in your budget and interrogate it and be deliberate about it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>What do you say to households, though, who feel the advice to re-look at the budget just ignores the reality, Boipelo, that there\u2019s literally nothing left to cut?<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>BOIPELO NDIMANDE: <\/strong>Oh my goodness, Jeremy, that is a very good question. There are some lifestyle changes that you can make in your budget and cut something from there. If you do feel that you are really under pressure, then you can speak to a financial advisor.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe contact your credit provider and see how you can work around your debt, and also how you can work around what is in your income and use it to the best of your ability.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<br \/>FNB opens lending taps in growth push at home<br \/>Households increasingly opting to have just one vehicle<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>You also recommend, if one is lucky enough to get a bonus, you recommend splitting it when it lands in your bank account. What does that mean and how does that work when December debit orders sometimes exceed disposable income?<\/p>\n<p><strong>BOIPELO NDIMANDE: <\/strong>That is correct. I would say you would need to split your budget. You would need to think about what is essential, what you need to be spending on. Maybe it\u2019s the back-to-school items that you need to be spending on. Then think about your debt and also think about how you can decrease your debt. Because when you decrease your debt, you give yourself that relief monthly.<\/p>\n<p>But I\u2019m also saying to you, Jeremy, that we\u2019ve worked so hard for our bonuses, so it doesn\u2019t mean you don\u2019t get to enjoy it. After you\u2019ve done all the responsible stuff, then it\u2019s time to have some guilt-free spending. But you would need to be very wise on how you split that bonus.<\/p>\n<p>Read: Keeping your festive spending under control<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>It\u2019s also a difficult one. It\u2019s all very well to tell consumers to plan better, to talk to their financial advisor, but if you look at year-end increases, Boipelo, like medical aid, insurance, school fees, all of these are non-negotiable and rising above inflation. Again, it\u2019s a real conundrum.<\/p>\n<p><strong>BOIPELO NDIMANDE: <\/strong>It is a real conundrum. What I like to do is when I do my budget in the beginning of the year, I take those increases into account. So by the time you do get your bonus, and you do get your annual increase, you\u2019ve already taken it into account.<\/p>\n<p>So you see what you\u2019re most likely going to end up with before you get that increase. So just start taking these kinds of costs into account because they are non-negotiable, so you have to take them into account.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>Do you think \u2013 and you said, and it\u2019s good advice, to talk to your financial advisor because at least on paper they should know a lot more than we do. But sometimes they maybe offer generic solutions instead of confronting the deeper affordability crisis of an individual.<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>What sort of conversation do you need to have with that financial advisor as we draw towards the end of this year?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>BOIPELO NDIMANDE: <\/strong>At Consult, we believe in advice with context. We get to understand you as an individual and understand where you\u2019re trying to go in your life and what is at your disposal.<\/p>\n<p>Then we start giving advice based on that. We give advice based on the individual and not generic advice. We need to understand everything that relates to you. So you need to have open and honest conversations with your financial advisor.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<br \/>How do I find a reputable financial advisor?<br \/>High-income earners don\u2019t seek financial advice, despite mounting debt<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>If a bonus these days is worth less than, say, 2018\/2019, is there anything that needs to change, do you think, at policy level before budgeting advice can genuinely make a difference?<\/p>\n<p><strong>BOIPELO NDIMANDE: <\/strong>I would say there is a lot that needs to change, Jeremy. That\u2019s a really good question. I would say there is a lot that needs to change.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>We really need to look at the policies, the inflation, and also just how we remunerate employees.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Listen\/Read: Inflation: Why Stats SA\u2019s figures don\u2019t match your reality<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>Moving forward then, the best advice is to look at the conversation with the financial advisor and take into account all those extraneous items like tax bracket creep and information that is already in the domain, which perhaps you\u2019ve ignored. It\u2019s going to be a very difficult conversation, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p><strong>BOIPELO NDIMANDE: <\/strong>It is going to be a very difficult conversation. Like I said, it really needs to be an honest conversation. You need to be honest with yourself and honest with your financial advisor. If you make those cuts, you make those changes, it really opens up a lot more opportunities for you and relief for you monthly.<\/p>\n<p><strong>JEREMY MAGGS: <\/strong>Well, some good advice there. Boipelo Ndimande, thank you very much indeed, Consult by Momentum\u2019s chief financial officer. I do appreciate your time. Thank you.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Moneyweb\u2019s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\">\n            !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n            {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n                n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n                if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n                n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n                t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n                s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n                'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n            fbq('init', '779812924991616');\n            fbq('track', 'PageView');\n        <\/script>#Stretch #bonus #Expert #tips #beat #lifestyle #budget #creep<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can also listen to this po&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[1430,1204,3125,3126,240,3124,3123,10],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3034"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}