Good financial planning is forever

February is many things to many people. For some it's about love and novelty presents, for others it's the opening of parliament and budget speech, and for others it's just another hot summer month.
Speaking of the budget speech; it's happening this afternoon, and although the experts are not predicting anything earth-shattering, now is a great time to take a page from Mr Gordhan's book:

• Plan a budget
• Face your challenges
• Manage you debt

The first step in managing your money is to take a good hard look at your daily, monthly and yearly expenses. This includes everything from your daily coffee on the way to work to your car's yearly service. You can then enter this information in our handy budget calculator as this will help you see and understand where your money is going and where you need to trim down.

Managing your debt is the next major step: Pay off your debt as quickly as you can by starting with the accounts that draws the most interest, like your credit card and clothing accounts. If you realise that you can't get on top of your debt on your own, get help from a debt management consultant or consolidate your debt into one account as this will allow you to pay only one amount each month.

Getting back to Valentine's Day: How much did you spend on chocolates, roses and dinner this year? Vote in our poll and let us know. And remember: Chocolates melt and roses wilt, but good financial planning is forever.