Money Smart Week South Africa to officially launch in October 2018

Do you dread looking at your bank statement after all your monthly debits? Are you a millennial that started working and can’t make major transactions because you don’t have a credit rating score? Are you struggling to manage your credit card debts? Do you live from paycheque-to-paycheque? Or are sick of not being able to save up for your dream holiday?

Being money smart means thinking about the future and planning accordingly, but how many of us can really say we do that?

Financial literacy is a major social issue in our country and when things happen that affect all of us (VAT increasing, petrol prices also on the rise) managing finances can be a struggle. People want to make good financial decisions that set them up for success both today and in the future and the Money Smart Week South Africa (MSW SA) is here for that purpose!

National Treasury, the Consumer Financial Education Committee and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), formerly the Financial Services Board, are set to launch a Money Smart Week campaign in October 2018.

Money Smart Week campaign aims to give individuals the ability to make informed financial choices regarding issues such as saving, investing, and borrowing, as well as addressing a variety of other financial related topics that people encounter in their every-day lives.

“A great thing about this event is that the financial education will be accessible and readily available FREE of charge, to everyone from all walks of life – scholars, graduates, seniors, employed and unemployed, etc., as well as public and private sectors,” says Neo Matsei, a member of the CN&CO team that worked on the original proposal for MSW South Africa. “It is an opportunity we all need to take advantage of to help us make informed financial decisions.”

The campaign will comprise of different activities and events that are intended at promoting financial literacy and education on the best financial practices. It will take place over the course of a week with focus on the Mamelodi, Alexandra, Tembisa and Soweto areas.

Having partners such as Satrix, EasyEquities and OUTvest, who are dedicated to financial inclusion and literacy, means we are exposed to financial education daily. The initiative by the FSCA represents a combination of both government and the private sector working together to make a difference in the economy.

“Making financial literacy available to people is huge step in improving our country. Being able to understand the impacts of your financial decisions goes a long way to helping you secure your financial future,” say Rob Christian, another member of the CN&CO project team that worked on the concept. “If financial literacy can improve on a wide scale through the MSW, it can only benefit the country going forward.”

We are proud to have worked with the FSCA to contribute to the planning of the initial project. We are also excited to see the event progress to the next level. This will of course not be possible unless everyone gets involved so watch this space to see how you can participate once the official launch of the project happens.

With much anticipation for this great initiative, the following press release regarding the MSW SA was distributed:

MINISTER OF FINANCE ANNOUNCED AS PATRON OF MONEY SMART WEEK SOUTH AFRICA CAMPAIGN

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