Nothile Finance

  What does it mean to be debt free? A debt-free individual does not have any outstanding debts.   What causes people to be in debt? Living beyond your needs Spending more than you earn will sooner rather than later cause you to be in debt. You will end up not affording your lifestyle and resorting to taking out loans and racking up your credit card.  Medical emergencies Life is unpredictable. Sometimes it will throw you a medical curveball that will lead you into debt.  Losing your job Unexpectedly losing your job can lead you to debt. Suddenly losing income will mean needing money to cover your needs and expenses. Debt is a solution for most people in such a case.  However, you can avoid that by building an emergency fund. An emergency fund is money you put aside for such cases.  Divorce   Even an uncontested divorce can lead to legal fees and other expenses. And since no one plans to be divorced, such expenses find people unprepared and they resort to debt to cover the costs.  Divor

 08 side hustles you can do in South Africa in 2022 to earn extra income With the standard of living continuously increasing in South Africa and the unemployment rate skyrocketing, it is not shocking that most of us are looking for alternative ways to earn income.  1. Freelancing There is a huge market for freelancers on the web. Ranging from freelance writers, web developers, social media managers, virtual assistants, etc. You can use your skills and knowledge to earn income online without being permanently employed as a norm. Platforms such as Fiverr, Upwork, and freelance.com offers you a chance to meet international customers. These platforms are easy to use and free too, so you do not need start-up capital.    2. Uber or Bolt Driver Do you have a car and a few minutes (or hours) a day or on weekends to spare? You can create another stream of income by becoming a driver for Bolt and Uber. You can create your own schedule and choose how long you will be driving. 

Over the past few years, I have read a few personal finance books and gathered a few principles that all these books had in common. These valuable personal finance lessons will lead to financial freedom. 10 valuable personal finance lessons  1. Be Motivated and Consistent Understanding why you need to attain financial freedom is the first thing to becoming financially free. You must have financial goals and work towards achieving them.  Steady does it with finances. Being consistent and focusing on your goals will get you there faster than any saving challenge.  2. Track your spending Tracking your spending will offer you insights into where your money goes. It will also give you a clear indication of where you are money-wise.  Knowing how much you spend on certain items will help you in planning for your money.  3. Choose the proper bank account for you You have to know the service fees and interest earned offered by your bank for each bank account and choose the one that works for y

 Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman are THE personal finance gurus. Over the years they have gained popularity through success stories of people who followed their methods and achieved financial freedom.  In this article, we will discuss Dave Ramsey's 7 baby steps to financial freedom and Suze Orman's 9 Steps to financial freedom. We will compare and contrast the two guidelines.  Dave Ramsey's 7 Baby Steps 1.  Save $1000 on your starter emergency fund The starter emergency fund is designed to give you a cushion of comfort as you tackle your finances. It eases you into the world of saving and financial discipline. 2.  Pay off all debt using the debt snowball In this step, you must focus on paying off your consumer debt. This includes your car, student loans, credit card, etc. Your mortgage should not be included at this stage.  3.  Save 3-6 months of expenses in a fully funded emergency fund Now that you have paid off your debt and have leftover money, it is time to build a sustai

  Living on a low income as a family is difficult in this economy. Covering day-to-day expenses can be difficult when the inflation grows faster than income earned. There are, however, ways you can manage your money effectively. Assess your Financial situation Before you can even start saving and effectively managing your money, you need to assess your financial situation and be honest with yourself. How much you make and how you spend it plays a huge role in obtaining financial freedom. Learn your own spending patterns and dig deeper to what leads to them. How does your past, present, and future influence your savings and expenditure. Your state of mind will definitely affect your use of money. Suze Orman discuss this very same principle in her 9 steps to financial freedom. Learn more about the impact of mental health into finance.  How to budget on a low income Limited income makes it harder to budget . When you earn a little, oftentimes it will seem like you have more expenses than

 There are many misconceptions about frugality. Often people equate frugality to being cheap. Or a huge life sacrifice that sucks the joy of life out of you. Frugality does not mean cheap. It is not forgoing quality and letting go of all your favourite food. It is rather an intentional way of spending money. It is accounting for all your cents and prioritizing your costs. For example, you can spend less money on food and start saving for a holiday. It is for this reason that frugality differs from one person to the next. There are different approaches to a frugal lifestyle depending on why you chose the lifestyle.   How to start living frugally ? The key to a long-term frugal lifestyle is to not overdo it. do not go overboard with frugality and drown yourself in unrealistic expectations. Starting slow is the key. Making small changes in your everyday life. Finding what works for you and keeping an open mind. You will eventually have to give up a lot of things, but it is important to fo

If you are considering a frugal lifestyle and are getting frustrated because all the information on the internet about frugality is not applicable to South Africans. Everything seems to apply to Americans or Europeans, from the coupons to credit points. All the advice are just for the 1st world people. Then worry not. I’ve got you. I have compiled a list of frugal habits that a South African, with an average income, can adopt today. Firstly, what is frugality? Frugal is being careful and economical with money. It is essential to think through your expenditure. It is being intentional with how you spend your money and weighing your options/expenses to the value of items. It is a critical part of your spending. I know you are probably thinking “Girl, I do that already! I don’t have money to waste”. The truth is you probably do.  Unintentionally. Some expenses can be avoided, and frugality encourages a mindset that allows one to do so. Most of the things that you spend your money on, you