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Cape Town - Born between 1982 and 2002, so-called "Afrilennials" are quickly becoming the largest segment of South Africa’s working population, according to Izak Smit, Group CEO of PPS.
While similar to Millennials in many ways, Afrilennials have unique characteristics that set them apart from their international counterparts, in his view.
Afrilennials have far greater family responsibilities and there are more people who depend on them at home. For this reason, they seek rapid career growth and development, rarely staying in one job for long periods of time.
This increases their chances of becoming unemployed should they be unable to find the right job.
Regularly changing careers could also have a severe impact on the growth of an Afrilennial’s retirement funds. This makes a personal retirement fund crucial as it will allow that fund to steadily grow over many years.
Smit offers the following tips:
Start as early as possible
The trick is to start as early as possible, in order to let the power of compound interest do its work.
Set yourself investment goals
Understanding what your savings goals are and setting milestones for yourself will help to keep you focused.
Make sure your investment plan works for you
It’s important to thoroughly research the investment options available to you.
Fees, flexibility, risk and diversification are all important factors to consider when choosing investment products.
Automate your monthly savings
The old saying “you can’t spend what you don’t have” rings true.
Automating your savings through monthly debit orders will not only ensure you save each month, but it will also provide much needed stability in your finances.
Use an online financial planning tool
The tech-savvy nature of the majority of Afrilennials means they are in a unique position to embrace the increasingly beneficial and user-friendly range of online tools being created for savings purposes.
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