Rachel Kolisi on coaching her kids for their financial future

Having 4 children must be expensive, how do you stretch your rands?

2 words: bulk shopping. You’d be surprised at how much you can save by visiting a wholesale store such as Makro and buying in bulk. It not only saves you time (think, less visits to the store), but each time you use a particular item you save money because you paid less for it. It does take a bit of preplanning though.

How do you manage the older children’s spending?

It sounds strict, but I make the earning and spending pocket money as realistic as possible. Firstly, we work on a policy of no work, no pay. If the chores aren’t done, they don’t get pocket money. 

Secondly, I tax them. I don’t want them to get a fright one day when they begin their first job! I’ve been smart with the tax though and it has a purpose, I’m saving it for them in an account for when they want to buy their first car.  

Thirdly, I also expect them to buy a few basic items themselves, such as toiletries. They can’t spend all their pocket money on entertainment and socialising.

How do you ensure you’re leading by example?

I really focus on teaching them the difference between flashy money and true wealth. Today many people think wealth is to be at a particular party and opening a particular brand of champagne. That isn’t wealth. Wealth is money in the bank and working hard to build up different sources of income for yourself.  

Siya and I avoid flashy, extravagant spending and only buy something if we have the cash and budget for it. We teach our children that cash in the bank is king. We also include our children in our financial planning.

Can you tell us a bit about your family’s financial planning?

At the beginning of each year we sit down as a family to plan our goals and the things we’d like to achieve. We then convert these into pictures, which we put up around the house. In this way we always have a visual reminder of what we are working towards.

Lastly, what’s the worst financial decision your family has ever made? 

Our worst financial decision was definitely buying a brand new car a week before our wedding. It was fun to spoil ourselves at the time, but we took a big financial hit later. We didn’t realise then that we'd only get a fraction of the price back when selling it later. Ouch! Luckily we learn from our experiences.