By Katlego Sekhu
Things haven’t been looking good in South Africa from an economic standpoint in recent months and they seem to be going from bad to worse.
From extended periods without electricity, high petrol and food prices, the list is endless…
This begged the question on The Best T in the City with Tbose this week – “Should things remain the way they are would you survive the next 6 months?”
Clinical Psychologist Thabang Tlaka says we’ve seen in history that things sometimes don’t go well or as planned.
“If you are open to that idea, you are better positioned to then adjust when you need to make adjustments like right now.
“It is not to say you have failed but the situation just requires one to shift and make adjustments in order to survive. Be an optimist and understand that the current situation is affecting everyone,” he advises.
Economist Ndumiso Radebe shares 3 tips on how to survive the current economic climate.
He says “there are a number of things that we can learn given the costs of things.”
1. Managing our lifestyle inflation.
He explains right now as consumers we need to distinguish what want from what we really need.
It is from that one element that “I think some reductions can be made and leveraged to create more disposable income,” he says.
2. How we structure our investment portfolio
Different people have different asset classes in their portfolios. There are people in real estate and others who are investing in the equity market, and crypto while others have cash saved.
Ndumiso says there are opportunities for investment in what we call a bear market. He explains:
“A bear market is an instance whereby there’s a consistent decline in the prices of assets in the investment space which then presents an opportunity to buy either equity or certain investment classes at a cheaper rate.
“When you look at the markets from a medium to a long-term perspective you’ll find that you can buy certain assets at a cheaper rate and after we have gone through this period or cycle you can then realise the positive gain from those assets.”
3. Consider side hustles
Ndumiso says side hustles are something people should consider.
“There’s been a particular constraint in the South African market where there is one specific manufacturer of solar panels.
“What are the opportunities that are there in the space? Those are some of the things we can leverage in this particular environment,” he advises.
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