July is National Savings Month for South Africans. The campaign was set out by the South African Savings Institute (SASI) to improve the savings culture of all South Africans. Anyone interested in some fun money saving challenges that actually work? Join us for a weekly challenge over the month of July… You in?
With ever rising prices on just about everything we need, most of us can’t afford to save money. But we can certainly do things that might keep more ka-ching in our pockets. For the next four weeks we challenge you to try a different saving hack every week. Get ready to boost your saving skills!
Challenge 2 – The 5-minute shower challenge
Let’s talk dirty. How long do you really need to shower for?
Did you know that every time you shower it costs you about R13? Let’s try and beat that. You can cut your shower time to 5 minutes and start saving on your monthly utility bill, and the planet while you’re at it. It’s a win-win.
Because it’s National Savings Month, we would like to challenge you to save where you can. One of the biggest ways we waste money and water is in the shower. A study by University of the Witwatersrand found that on average South Africans shower for 9 minutes. If we dropped this down to 5-minute showers we should be saving a substantial amount per year.
Power Optional shows us how our showers affect our pockets. The figure shown below was taken from a 2017 study, inflation should be considered.
You can find the study here
We challenge you to set a timer and ONLY shower for 5 minutes every day for a week.
That means:
- It starts as soon as the tap turns on.
- It includes washing hair and shaving.
- It includes weekends.
- If you can, get the whole family to join.
Challenge yourself and your family to shower for ONLY 5 minutes every day this week, or maybe the month, and see how much you can save.
Challenge accepted? Awesome!
Here are some tips to get you started. . .
First things first
Stop using your shower time for cry time 😉
Be prepared
The last thing you want is for the shower to be flowing, without you in it. Prepare your razor, shampoo, soap or other essentials before opening the taps. Make sure that you are ready to jump in the shower as soon as the water flows and prevent wasting water, and time.
Low pressure
You can significantly reduce the amount of water you’re using by replacing the shower head with a ‘low-pressure’ shower head. If you’re already using a low-pressure shower head, you’re already better off than most of us.
Using a water-saving shower head can potentially reduce your water usage by up to 50%.
If you have a standard shower head you are using on average R12,93 per shower. That is R387,90 per month. But if you had a water saving shower head you would spend R4,14 per shower and spend R124,20 per month on showering.
By using a water saving shower head you could be saving R3 164,40 per year by simply changing the shower head.
Shower to a 5-minute song
It’s difficult to keep track of how long you’re actually showering for. Using a timer is one solution, but to jazz things up, use a song instead. You can shower to your favourite song. On average, songs are around 3-5 minutes long. Try to be done with your shower before the song ends.
Shave smarter; this one is for the ladies
Shaving in the shower can take up some time and use up more water than you need. Turn off the taps once your legs are good and wet. Apply the shaving gel or whatever you prefer and start shaving as normal. Rinse the razor in a cup of water, just like men do in the sink. Once you’re done turn the shower back on for a final quick rise.
Washing your hair efficiently
Washing your hair can take up a lot of time, especially if you have a long hair. To save some time, you can wash your hair first before anything else, and conditioning while you are washing everything else.
Save small to earn big
Saving R124 a month might not seem like a lot, but those small amounts make a big difference over time. You could be spending what you’ve saved on the things that you actually need. Let’s start getting in the habit of being a part of a savings culture.
We would love to hear how your weekly challenge went! Drop us a message on Facebook and share your success with us and others!
www. facebook.com/DebtRescueSA
Pssst… Don’t forget to subscribe for our next challenge!
Leave a Reply