Stop Paying Yourself Last

Ruvan J Grobler • February 23, 2026

For many professionals, personal savings are what’s left over — if anything is left at all.

 

The data is clear: South Africa’s domestic savings rate remains worryingly low. Even among high-income earners, inconsistent or delayed investing is common. Income alone does not create wealth. Behaviour does. The real risk isn’t lifestyle inflation — it’s time.

 

Missed early contributions cannot be fully recovered later, no matter how high your income becomes. Compounding rewards consistency, not intention. Paying yourself first isn’t about sacrifice; it’s about ensuring today’s success translates into future independence.

 

If Your Business Needs a Budget, So Do You

 

No business operates successfully without a budget. Yet many professionals try to run their personal finances without one. Paying everyone else first — the bank, SARS, suppliers, schools, lifestyle — is what happens when there is no clear structure.

 

Fortunately, a simple framework solves this: the 50/30/20 principle.

 

  • 50% – Essential Expenses

 

Bond or rent, food, medical aid, school fees, fuel, insurance and other “must-have” costs.

 

  • 30% – Investments (Your Future Self)

 

Long-term wealth building. Retirement funding. Investments that compound over decades.

This allocation happens before discretionary spending. This is how you pay yourself first.

 

  • 20% – Lifestyle & Discretionary Spending

 

Travel, entertainment, upgrades, dining out and lifestyle enhancements.

 

This framework also brings clarity to big financial decisions. If a new home or vehicle pushes your essential expenses above 50%, it is not affordable — regardless of what the bank approves. Affordability is not what you qualify for. Affordability is what fits sustainably inside your structure.

 

The Cost of Waiting: A Simple Illustration

 

Let’s consider two investors with similar careers and earning potential.

 

  • Investor A starts investing R15,000 per month at age 30 and contributes for 10 years — stopping at age 40 — but leaves the money invested.
  • Investor B delays saving while focusing on practice expenses and family commitments. At age 40, they begin investing R15,000 per month and continue until age 65 — 25 years of contributions.


Assuming the same long-term return, Investor A can still retire with more capital than Investor B despite investing for less than half the time.

 

Why? Because Investor A gave their money an extra decade to compound. Those early contributions don’t just grow — they grow on top of growth, year after year. By the time Doctor B begins, Doctor A’s capital has already built momentum. Compounding is exponential, not linear. The first ten years are often the most powerful.

 

Time is the most valuable asset in wealth creation. And unlike income, it cannot be increased later. High income creates opportunity, but discipline creates freedom. If your budget reflects your priorities, your future becomes predictable.

 

Ruvan J Grobler RFP™ (PGDip Financial Planning)

Never let a Crisis go to Waste

By Ruvan J Grobler • March 31, 2026
In a quiet corner of a garden, a tiny egg rested beneath a leaf, unnoticed by the world. In time, it hatched into a caterpillar—small, vulnerable, and endlessly hungry. Day after day, it consumed everything in its path, growing rapidly but remaining earthbound, exposed to every passing threat. Then, without warning, it stopped. It found a still place, attached itself to a branch, and formed a chrysalis. From the outside, it looked lifeless—fragile, even pointless. To an observer, it might have seemed like the end of its journey. But inside, everything was changing. The caterpillar was breaking down completely, dissolving into something unrecognizable before slowly rebuilding itself into something entirely new. Time passed. When the chrysalis finally opened, the creature that emerged was no longer confined to the ground. Its wings were soft at first, uncertain. It struggled, pushing fluid through them, strengthening them with effort. Only after this resistance could it take flight. And when it did, it soared—no longer bound by the limitations of its former life but shaped by every stage that came before. It’s been six years since humanity’s last global threat, the Covid pandemic. A lot has changed, but we as people have not. Just as the butterfly in the story above goes through its cycle the global economy does too. But the butterfly does not know its going through this cycle, its merely following its path. We are very aware of the cycle as it has an effect on our every day lives especially on our finances. But just as the butterfly follows its path, we do too. Focus on what you can control. We often stress the issues out of our own control and isn’t exclusive to finances. Not a single person reading this article has any control of the global economy and the current conflict in the Middle East. None of us also knew exactly when it would happen and when it is going to end. Don’t get me wrong, I too struggle to manage my thoughts and emotions when we go through the tough parts. Shifting the focus towards finances; except for being in control of how you earn an income, the only other factor you can control is your spending. Stick to your budget! Never stop investing! Stay disciplined! Crisis Asset Allocation I get many questions on what we are doing to manage risk and potential losses. This is where financial planning becomes extremely important. Every single investment in your portfolio is linked to a need or a goal, not just any goal but a time-based goal. This specific time horizon has influenced the type of assets bought in order to reach these goals. The longer away the goal, the more risk is taken and vice versa. Investments where liquidity is needed will be affected much less than a long-term share portfolio. More liquidity, less risk. Meaning that if you need cashflow you should not be worried as the asset exposure will be less affected. Retirement products will have exposure to many different assets where there are conservative assets to provide protection in the short-term. The growth asset exposure that may be volatile now is the part that gives you the long-term inflation beating returns. During this part of the cycle certain assets have become less desirable and opportunities have popped up elsewhere. All portfolios are monitored to make sure that the original mandate is followed, and the investment goal is reached at the end of the applicable term. All asset managers have started to make asset allocation changes to match the changing of the cycle and the Bovest investment committee has also done so. Is it time to sell and move to cash? In short, no. We don’t know when markets will turn and no one else either. Historically in these crises it takes on average around two weeks to reach the bottom of the market and then more than a month to recover. This does create many buying opportunities for asset managers but also for you as investor. Warren Buffet always says, "Be fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful" . This is the time to buy assets on “sale”, don’t sell them. Getting out of the market is the biggest risk, this is where investors lose money. Stick to the plan and stay patient, you will be rewarded. Ruvan J Grobler RFP™ (PGDip Financial Planning)

Jou Aftrede en die Oorlog in die Midde-Ooste

By Dr. Riaan Botha • March 31, 2026
Die oorlog in die Midde-Ooste is ’n nuuswaardige gebeurtenis en die TV-dekking daarvan ontstel die meeste kykers. Dit is die rede waarom afgetredenes wonder hoe hierdie vernietigende optrede van vegtende weermagte moontlik hul finansiële beplanning vir hul aftrede gaan raak. Ons leef in ’n wêreld wat elke paar jaar geruk word deur onvoorsiene krisisse. Dink maar aan die internasionale finansiële krisis in 2008, en wie kan die pandemie van 2020 vergeet? Die finansiële markte is toe, net soos tans die geval is, negatief geraak deur vernietigende gebeure. Is die finansiële gevolge van die huidige oorlog anders as tydens vorige krisisse? Finansiële beplanning vir aftrede is langtermynbeplanning, terwyl ’n krisis ’n korttermyngebeurtenis is. Langtermynbeplanning is veral noodsaaklik tydens korttermynperiodes wanneer finansiële markte wisselvallig vertoon. Geskiedenis het bewys dat die strategie om in en uit die markte te koop en te verkoop minder portefeuljegroei veroorsaak as om voortdurend in die markte belê te bly. Die beleggingstrategie van “timing the market” moet eerder vervang word met “time in the market”. Sodoende word groeigeleenthede in die markte benut en word kostes van transaksies vermy. In ’n beleggingsomgewing waarin onsekerheid heers, is die diversifikasie van ’n beleggingsportefeulje een van die mees effektiewe benaderings tot risikobestuur. Beleggings in verskillende bateklasse en oor verskillende geografiese gebiede heen dien as ’n kussing teen krisisse soos die oorlog in die Midde-Ooste. Langtermyn finansiële beplanning, waartydens daar gereelde portefeuljehersiening plaasvind, asook die hersiening van persoonlike finansiële doelwitte, verseker ’n meer stabiele uitkoms vir die afgetredene.  Hierdie oorlog is nie anders as vorige krisisse nie. Indien daar egter onsekerheid by kliënte van Bovest bestaan oor of hul huidige aftreeportefeulje reg saamgestel is vir die oorlogskrisis en die moontlike finansiële gevolge daarvan, moet hulle asseblief hul adviseur skakel.