Stokvels are a way of bringing people together and building something worth cherishing.
Whether it is a property, books, groceries, cash or savings stokvel, you have to find a group of people you can trust.
Over the Christmas holidays I noticed a lot of people who were posting about how they did not join stokvels because they did not trust that they would get their groceries or money at the end of the year.
Having saved up throughout the year, one should always get something out.
This week, Sowetan’s Stokvel Wednesdays looks at other ways you can use to save money to ensure that you have enough to put food on the table and buy other luxuries at the end of the year.
We explore how you can save money by yourself or with friends or relatives, purchase stamps or gift cards you can use whenever you want – but we do encourage you to save up and put in money into these all year and not to use them unless you're in a desperate situation.
You can call these friend and/or family stokvels.
Gift Cards: Many supermarkets now offer this service. You choose how much and when you want to top it up. The maximum amount you can deposit differs from one store to the other. With some stores like Makro, you can deposit thousands of rand while Shoprite allows a maximum load of R10,000.
There are no fees that come with gift cards and depending on your needs, you can for instance split the maximum amount with other people and top it up throughout the year or for whenever you want.
Make sure you check the expiry date on the cards and use your money before the expiry date as some stores’ terms and conditions do not allow for it to be extended.
Savings Stamps: Stokvel Wednesdays spoke to Shoprite about their savings stamps.
“Many customers are familiar with and use Shoprite’s Savings Stamps. The physical stamps will continue to be available in stores and now they are also available virtually via the Money Market Account. By saving throughout the year, customers can plan for future purchases such as birthdays, holidays and of course the back-to-school period,” said Shoprite.
“Customers can buy physical savings stamps at in-store Money Market counters, stick these into a booklet and redeem at the till point of any Shoprite, Checkers or Usave supermarkets across South Africa when ready.
“Savings stamps are sold in units of just R10 or R20, so customers can buy as many or as little as they can afford every month to save up for special purchases, including birthdays, festive season or back-to-school shopping.”
You can use them whenever you want. There is also no limit to the amount of stamps you can purchase, making it another great option to get your small friends and/or family stokvel to buy them and keep them safe until you need to use them.
mashabas@sowetan.co.za
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