Mzansi’s money-savvy “stockpiling queen” Ncumisa Ndelu started her Facebook group ‘1 Family 1 Stockpile’ to empower women with the information they needed to make educated financial decisions in 2016, and now it has almost half a million members.
The group is brimming with tips and tricks on cutting costs, debt advice, budgeting and general financial guidance for a healthier relationship with money.
“In the beginning, it was just to share tips on how to shop in a cost-effective manner, but it has since evolved to include other aspects based on the needs of members,” said the founder.
Ndelu is a certified journalist and frugal living expert from uMlazi, Durban. She described her upbringing as colourful and joyous, and being an only child, her closeness with her late mother prepared her to be a fighter for women.
As a professional “penny pincher”, she reaches out to people and speaks to them in a language they understand, sharing knowledge and suggestions on how to make their life comfortable with the little they have.
According to Ndelu, the Facebook group is only made up of women since when children are hungry, they rarely call for dad and, in most situations, the father is not even around to be summoned.
There are many examples of ‘1 Family 1 Stockpile’ changing someone’s life. “They vary from individuals successfully rebuilding their credit to the point where they can purchase homes and cars, to women surviving the lockdown and others surviving job losses with their stockpiles, to marriages being saved as a result of modified spending.”
Ndelu also recounted how a group member's daughter completed her Master’s degree utilising the information and tips from the group.
Recently, the group has spread to neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe and even went international with New Zealand.
“In the last year or so, we have seen a significant growth in the number of young women in institutions of higher learning, and this excites me to no end because they are learning from our mistakes, and they’re not likes to repeat them,” explained the expert.
In her opinion, the rising cost of living and people's reckless spending contribute to debt and financial uncertainty.
She said some individuals have weird impulsive spending habits, an unhealthy appetite for credit and loans and pure carelessness when it comes to money.
“Some South Africans just do not make enough money and must stretch the rand to exist. When you combine job losses during and after Covid-19 with the cost of living during the last 2-3 years, you get a muddled concoction. Therefore, we all need to be extra cautious with our money and think twice before spending,” she advised.
One of the primary financial challenges the country deals with is debt, revealed Ndelu. She cautioned people to keep in mind that borrowing money is a short-term solution that leaves a very long-term problem and leads to other bigger and more complicated problems.
People should arm themselves with information before making any financial decision. “The information is available on all kinds of platforms. You don’t even need to leave your home to access it!”
Her expertise ranges from those who have just started earning money for themselves to seniors. She said those who receive their first salary should not buy into the hype of shopping till they drop over frivolous things.
She said: “My mom was a school teacher, so she was not immune to staff room pressure, and she wanted those expensive, shiny pots, so I bought her a set with my first salary. After that, it’s a blur.
“But I can tell you it was accounts upon accounts, but thankfully, I outgrew that phase the day my mom told me that if affording credit is the only thing I have, then she had sent me to school for nothing because it means I am poor.”
When it comes to saving money on groceries, she said that you must not buy when an item is already finished because you have no room to shop around and spend what you’re comfortable with, but you pay what the retailers want you to pay.
Buy more when the price is low, meaning stockpile items with a long shelf life and gradually reduce your monthly grocery bill.
“The only person you need to keep up with is yourself. Secondly, your money does not fight when it’s sitting in your account. Finally, social media can be a monster, or it can be a tool. It all depends on you,” she said.
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