Too many people are too focused on money and not their greatest wealth – their education. Money without financial intelligence is money soon gone. It’s not how much money you make, it’s how much you keep.
Robert Kyosaki (author, Rich Dad Poor Dad)

There are few topics that appear as often in conversation and that evoke stronger emotional responses as money! Yet strangely enough, one often hears people say, “Never discuss religion, politics, sex or money!” As with the other three, money is often a highly charged, emotive topic. People all over the world constantly dream about increasing their money income so that they can enjoy the benefits that it might bring. Think of the many students who devote endless hours studying to find better paying jobs, or the masses that religiously spend of their hard earned cash buying lotto tickets or who attempt their luck at the casinos or gambling dens in their hope of hitting the jackpot. Money without doubt has universal appeal!

Pause for a moment and reflect on what emotions having money or no money evoke in YOU. Are they emotions of happiness or sadness? What do they inspire you to do?

In most cases, having money brings joy and the lack thereof brings despair. This is due to the power and benefits associated with money. Money has the ability to influence one’s life and for many, it may even be able to ‘buy’ happiness. However, ultimately, money in itself is useless; it’s how we perceive it and what we do with it that unlocks its value!

Surprisingly, despite the value that people attach to money, so little effort is spared in learning how to acquire and manage it. Many people I know complain about their lack or limited access to money, but do absolutely nothing about it. Wealth creation or money management doesn’t form part of our formal schooling curriculum. Many parents also do not involve their children in discussion around household budgets nor do they attempt to instill good financial habits. Hence despite our fear of the lack of money, when we have it, we fail to manage it and thus it runs like sand through our fingers!

Governments often bemoan the poor savings culture of their citizens, parents bemoan the wasteful habits of their children and people are sliding deeper into debt. Thus as a nation, we have a long way to go to developing a responsible financial management culture.

‘Dr Kimmie, I don’t have enough money to pay my fees, buy books, for food, ….!’ This is one of the many plaintive complaints that resound in my mind when I reflect on my almost three decades of having been involved with young learners in secondary and tertiary education. Throughout this period, the lack or shortage of money has been and remains an enduring challenge for most, especially those from financially impoverished homes.

If you, dear reader, were or are a student dependent on a bursary grant and with limited independent income, you will know and understand the feeling of hopelessness and vulnerability that courses through one’s being when the lack of money threatens to derail one’s career dreams. So, what can we do? We need to invest in money management skills!

Appreciating the value of money and learning how to manage it like any other resource – time, energy, or health – makes us realize that it can be increased and its value enhanced. However, achieving this depends on certain fundamental practices which include adopting the correct mental approach, changing deeply ingrained habits and acquiring new tools! Yes that’s right, extracting greater value from money and making it grow doesn’t come easy; one needs to work for it and at it! But once the correct approach is in place, a path to sustainable wealth creation is guaranteed.

It is not my aim through this book to instill a materialistic ethic that solely focuses on the acquisition of money. This book embraces a concern I’ve had for many years which is, how to develop practical and implementable financial skills that empower young minds to manage money more responsibly. This is not a ‘get rich quick’ scheme and I am not a financial guru. However I’m aware of the fact that the game of life is not easy, nor is it fair! You learn the rules as you go along; and sometimes you lose; sometimes you win. However, understanding and applying the rules gives one a better chance to achieve success!

The saying, ‘Money makes the world go round’, is something I acknowledge and having had to fend for myself financially for the better part of my student and adult life, I’ve learnt to respect the power of money. Due to personal needs too, I’ve also acquired some financial skills through having a healthy interest in investments and all matters financial.

In observing my peers and my students over the years, I’ve also come to realise that spending is determined by habits. These in turn are influenced by our mental paradigms (habit shaping thought patterns) as well as deeply rooted belief systems. Although habits are often so deeply embedded in our subconscious that we’re not even aware of them, they do not have to become handicaps though. The beauty of being human is that we have the capacity to learn and to transform ourselves. So the primary focus of this book is to challenge these paradigms and hopefully transform them into thought patterns that can facilitate the process towards financial wellness. It is these insights that I wish to share.

This book is intended as a simple, easy and logical guide to some basic guiding principles that all students can and should implement in their lives, so that they may sleep easier at night.

For maximum gain from this book, don’t only read it, but actively engage with its contents, reflect on it, challenge it and most of all let it be a catalyst to develop further insights into wealth creation. At the end of each chapter is a ‘reflection space’. Jot down any ideas that might crystalize in your mind that can be of benefit to you. It is hoped that this book will lay the foundation to a more financially successful and sustainable future.