Nandi dreamt of making beautiful fabric pencil cases that she could sell to friends and family. She’d always been creative and has a gift for style and wanted to turn her passion into a money making business. She had her sewing skills, but needed a lump sum of money to buy supplies.

Nandi had to learn how to budget and save the money she was earning with babysitting and helping at the local corner shop. It was tough, but it paid off, and today her pencil cases are very popular!

Nandi used a 4-Step Saving Plan to get there:

1. Choose a savings goal
Nandi worked out the exact amount of money she needed to start her business. She knew she wanted to start off with 20 pencil cases to test her initial business plan. She listed the cost of the material she would need and any zips or accessories. She also added the cost of sewing equipment like needles and thread. Adding up all these items gave her a total amount that was her savings goal.

2. Make a savings plan
To make a savings plan, Nandi had to work out her monthly costs. She added together what she expected to earn from her babysitting and cornershop jobs. She then subtracted money her mother would want for the household. She thought of any essentials she would need and also subtracted the cost of these away. The number left was the amount she could have spare to save every month.

3. Know the difference between needs and wants
To make sure she stuck to her savings plan, Nandi had to be certain about stuff she needed and stuff she wanted. A new dress was not needed, but deodorant and toothpaste was. Nandia realised that there are some things that are essential and would help with her health or education. These were things she needed and knew she needed to prioritise these over other extra items like snacks or hair accessories.

4. Control spending
Nandi thought about other ways that she could control her spending to that she could stick to her savings plan and reach her savings goal. She planned ahead what activities she could afford to do and what activities would be too expensive. She began to be creative and organise free things to do with her friends like organising a debate club at school.

Learning to save your money to make a dream happen can be tough but definitely worth it!