January Riches stokvel banishing first month money blues for good

January is notorious for being financially challenging and worrisome. A festive season filled with spending, coupled with poor financial planning create the perfect recipe for disaster at the start of the new year.

While saving may seem like an easy thing to do, it is not always the case and an accountability structure can help to keep you on track. Through the January Riches stokvel, members hold each other accountable on their journey of saving in order to begin the year on a good financial note.

It was January 2014 when Ntokozo Maphumulo, founder of January Riches, decided to start the stokvel as a vehicle to help her save. She wanted to ensure that she was never broke and stressed in January ever again.

“I was very upset with myself when I was broke in January 2014. I’d been getting a salary for 12 months and I did finance at school; why on earth was I broke?”

Maphumulo then realised that financial discipline was not all she needed; she had to get an accountability structure too.

“I then decided to invite a few of my friends for us to save together. And when I asked them how they’re doing with their savings, they were also struggling with saving on their own. So we started a group, we opened an account and started saving”.

What started out as a small group of friends has now grown into a 58-member stokvel that enables people to save and be in good financial standing every January.

Each member deposits an amount of their choice into the January Riches bank account from January to December. Maphumulo said members contribute as much as R1 500 a month on average and throughout the year, no withdrawals may take place.

“Even if you’re a member and maybe you can’t save anymore, or you decide to leave the group, unfortunately you’re going to have to wait for January for you to get hold of that money,” states Maphumulo.

In the first week of January, after exactly 12 months, members receive their payouts with interest and are able to use the money to start the year financially strong and achieve the goals they have set. Throughout the years, members have achieved many of their financial goals such as starting emergency funds, being debt-free, paying tuition fees and even building houses.

We’re accountable and hold each other accountable on our savings. The level of transparency that’s in the group is amazing. Every month our bank statement gets shared. Every month our spreadsheet is shared. Everyone has a chance to confirm if all is in order but the transparency for me is everything,

“Being a member of the stokvel has changed how I view money. It’s not just about saving. It just changed my whole outlook and the relationship I have with money is different,” says Muimeleli Maringa, a member since January 2017.

In the past five years, Maringa has used her January pay-outs to realise her dreams, while also improving the lives of those close to her heart.

“Recently, I shared a picture where I was able to save up and build a house at home for my family. It [the stokvel money] has taken my siblings through varsity,” she says.

Admitting that she was never really one for stokvels, Maringa says she was attracted by the approach which January Riches takes towards saving. She also fell in love with the idea of only receiving her money at a time when she needed it the most.

“We’re accountable and hold each other accountable on our savings. The level of transparency that’s in the group is amazing. Every month our bank statement gets shared. Every month our spreadsheet is shared. Everyone has a chance to confirm if all is in order but the transparency for me is everything,” she says.

Ultimately, the cherry on top for Maringa is that she gets to be part of an accountability circle where she can save hassle free and only with the click of a few buttons.

“I also like the fact that our group is run digitally. To think that I’ve been in the group for five years and I’ve never met most of them!”

Notable Facts

Taking stok! – January Riches Stokvel

Established: January 2014

Members: 58

Worth: A little under R2m

Successes:

• The touching testimonies of many members who have managed to achieve their goals as a result of the stokvel. These goals include building houses, being debt-free and paying off tuition fees for siblings.
• Being invited onto panel discussions about different stokvels, the issues that affect them as well as growth opportunities and potential innovations.

Challenges:

• The savings account was registered in the name of the founder during the first few years of the stokvel’s existence. With large sums of money being deposited by members, this put the founder at potential risk with the tax man.
• To this day, the stokvel struggles to find a financial institution that offers solutions which are fully digital and tailor-made to fit the unique model used by January Riches.

Red flags (advice from January Riches on what to look out for when joining any stokvel):

• Beware of the faceless and nameless people. Before joining any stokvel, do your research and find out who is running it. After all, this is money we’re talking about.
• Unavailable information is a big no! When you are part of a stokvel, you should be able to ask about your money at any given time. Information (whether in the form of bank statements or spreadsheets) should be made available to you. It is your right to know what is going on with your money.