Question:
I urgently need to save up approximately R620 000 if I want to continue my studies next year. I am targeting R1-million to ensure that there is no shortfall, but it will be closer to the R620 000 mark.

I have a steady job and earn about R370 000 per year with no prospects of a promotion at this stage. I have about R5000 in shares and around R100 000 of debt, including my car.

What can I do, short of winning the Lotto or doing duty on the streets of Hillbrow, to build up such a large amount of money in less than a year? Is it possible? Please help, I am desperate!

Answer:
Just the simple calculation of dividing R620 000 by 12 will give you an amount of R51 000. This is what you would need to save each month in order to meet your target.

Even if you earned a 15 percent interest on your savings you would fall short.

I am assuming that this money is to last you a few years and that you do not intend on working. Alternatively, you may be planning to study overseas.

Your monthly earnings are R30 000 so it is — and I say this with certainty — impossible to achieve this goal on your current salary. The only way to achieve it is to earn more money or to borrow.

If you did manage to get a loan and, say, financed it over five years your repayments would be around R15 000 per month. If you decide to leave your employment to study full time (which is what I gather you want to do) then that’s a tall order given your current liabilities.

You did not say what you want to study, but I’m assuming it’s some kind of business degree. The good news is many people successfully pursue a degree while working. It is not impossible to do this. Obviously it does mean better time management and dedication, but I know plenty of postgraduates who got their degrees while working in high level jobs and taking care of a family as well.

Another way to go is to perhaps find a company who is willing to sponsor your studies and who will give you study leave on a regular basis.

So you are correct — apart from winning the Lotto, robbing a bank or being the beneficiary of an inheritance it is not possible to get this kind of money together in a year. You may have to accept that it will take longer to get your degree — an extra two years to achieve your goals is not a hardship just an exercise in patience.