Category: SFP

Everyone is talking about inflation. From the petrol pumps to our grocery bills, we’re feeling the pinch of the increased cost of living. But, there’s another inflation that we don’t often like to talk about too much: lifestyle inflation. Also known as lifestyle creep, it’s something that happens when we start to spend more because we’re earning more. Most of us have experienced this; many might be stuck in a constant lifestyle creep. The challenge is […]

So often when it comes to money, mum’s the word! But, it doesn’t have to be that way. In our two previous blogs, we’ve spoken about how hard it can be to address money conversations in a constructive and healthy way. Whether it’s due to cultural boundaries or gender stereotypes, there are many reasons why we struggle to talk about money. Mother figures are the matriarchs that build and sustain much of the foundations of our […]

In our previous blog we spoke about the importance of communication in our financial planning. We live in a culture that places much financial strain on the father figure to support the family unit, and often money stress can cause them to hide the burden from their partner and family. In South Africa we have a huge debt problem and, according to National Debt Advisors over 60% of their client base are males between the ages […]

At SFP, we’ve found that the biggest money struggles in families often start with the hurdle of talking openly about money. Communication sits at the heart of all strong, robust and long-lasting relationships, but it’s easily one of the hardest things to do effectively. George Bernard Shaw once said, “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” We talk at each other, not to each other. We think our message […]

If everyone is different, then how can we approach financial planning in a way that suits billions of different choices? Well, that’s as easy as 1,2,3… 4,5!  There are five questions that we ask, all the time, and we always get different answers. And that’s not just with different clients; that’s even with existing clients. Every time we meet and talk about life and money with our clients, we discover that things have changed, and we […]

One of the fundamentals of setting up a tighter budget often oscillates around the conversation of separating wants from needs. When money is tight, we tend to think that we can start to eliminate the luxuries, or the ‘wants’, from our spending and focus on the necessities, or the ‘needs’. However, according to Sarah Newcomb, PhD, this may not be the most helpful way to approach this task of pulling in the purse strings. She believes […]

For the last decade or so, many coaches and financial planners have encouraged clients to connect their financial planning with their personal life goals. This has been a helpful journey to plan better, engage more with a budget and stick to the plan. But in recent months, with life continually being so unpredictable and so many people struggling to meet the goals they set years ago, it’s possible to wonder if there is still value in […]

It is normal to feel anxious, confused or stressed during times of insecurity and crisis. In fact, we might not entirely accept the fullness of a situation if we don’t feel emotionally engaged with it. These emotions do not make us weak; rather, they give us the chance to overcome our insecurity with the benefit of broader insight. Our strength will be determined by our actions, not our emotions, in the aftermath of a crisis. It’s […]

“In life, as in chess, forethought wins.” – Charles Buxton There are 32 pieces on a chessboard, and the primary goal of chess is to capture your opponent’s king. Simple, right? But if you’ve seen Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit, you’ll know it’s not. And, if you play it yourself, you quickly discover that understanding the game’s outcome isn’t the best way to make the next move. You could also apply this to your finances. Although you […]

When it comes to succeeding in life, it’s easy for us to get stuck focusing on our own performance and feeling like we’re in a solo race. At SFP – we’ve found that those who join a winning team experience considerably more success than those who try to go it alone. Take dog sled racing, for example; at an awards banquet for a dog sled race, the highest standing ovation goes not to the actual winner […]