{"id":8076,"date":"2026-06-19T08:44:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T08:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=8076"},"modified":"2026-06-19T08:44:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T08:44:38","slug":"money-habits-make-or-break-your-financial-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=8076","title":{"rendered":"Money habits make or break your financial future"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/iframe.iono.fm\/e\/1687485?layout=modern\" width=\"100%\" height=\"170\" frameborder=\"0\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SIMON BROWN:<\/strong> I\u2019m chatting with Dr Thomas Brennan, founder and CEO at Franc. Thomas, appreciate the time today. Your Franc Wealth Index report 2026 just came out. Give us some of the details around the report before we dig into some of the findings.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DR THOMAS BRENNAN:<\/strong> Simon, thanks very much. We thought it really important to get a measure of where financial well-being is at in the country. We were able to survey nearly 4\u00a0000 individuals, and we measured financial well-being in a very holistic way.<\/p>\n<p>So we covered just the basics \u2013 obviously resilience like emergency savings, what you\u2019re doing with your money, what is your investing behaviour, and lastly your mindset. How are you feeling? How confident are you? Are you planning for the future?<\/p>\n<p>It is the largest survey done in South Africa which we are very proud of. Obviously we want to continue going forward to look at some of the longitudinal trends that we hopefully can see \u2013 about which behaviours are driving financial well-being in the country.<\/p>\n<p>Listen: Index shows women build wealth creation better<\/p>\n<p><strong>SIMON BROWN:<\/strong> I read through it and there\u2019s a bunch I want to touch on. For you, what would be a key finding that came out of the report?<\/p>\n<p><strong>DR THOMAS BRENNAN: <\/strong>For me, what was really dramatic was how significant behaviours are compared to things like income. For the longest time, I think, people think if I just earn more, I\u2019ll be better off.<\/p>\n<p>But what we see in the data is that it\u2019s actually what you do with the money that you have. That actually is a far greater predictor of improved financial well-being.<\/p>\n<p>Those are sort of those daily money habits that are easy for one to think about. They are not complex, but they do require building up and having that discipline to nurture those habits.<\/p>\n<p>Read: Sip, save, and savour: Blind coffee tests, budget brews, and smarter choices<\/p>\n<p><strong>SIMON BROWN:<\/strong> It\u2019s actually interesting, because I had a conversation with a certified financial planner earlier in the week, and that\u2019s exactly what we were talking about, but without the data so much to back it up.<\/p>\n<p>It really is a case, as you say, around sort of the doing more than the earning. It\u2019s the holistic nature of it. It\u2019s the regularity. It\u2019s the consistency. It\u2019s the reviewing. It\u2019s things which are kind of intangible, but have a real impact.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DR THOMAS BRENNAN: <\/strong>Without a doubt. And I think if people were to be honest, as asking where do my money habits come from, people would realise that there\u2019s a lot that\u2019s probably inherited, if you will, from your upbringing, which you\u2019re bringing from your parents or your family \u2013 and so actually being honest about, well, what is my relationship with money, what are my habits?<\/p>\n<p>And then obviously what we identified is that having a couple of just key changes \u2013 like something as simple as like saving for emergencies and having sufficient liquid savings to cover three months of expenses \u2013 has a cascading consequence.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>So not only do you feel less stress, but you also are then able to start thinking for the future and start planning and start taking on investment risk. We see some of these keystone behaviours.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Paying yourself first is another clear example. Just by setting up \u2013 it doesn\u2019t matter how small it is, but the fact that you do that on a regular basis and you try to sort of automate it, if you will, as much as possible.<\/p>\n<p>Read: Money muscle: A youth guide to building wealth<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t have to rely on kind of willpower every month at the end of the month, obviously, when there\u2019s pressure for any cash.<\/p>\n<p>Paying yourself first is such a simple thing to say, but very hard to do.<\/p>\n<p><strong>SIMON BROWN:<\/strong> I like what you said there about pressure, because that comes to mindset. One of the things that stood out for me \u2013 it\u2019s intuitive \u2013 is that the two behaviours particularly significant were having debts and not having emergency funding. And that\u2019s a financial challenge in both examples.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s also a psychological challenge at the same time. Debt can overwhelm us. Not having an emergency fund can make a lot of what would otherwise perhaps be minor things a lot scarier.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DR THOMAS BRENNAN: <\/strong>Without a doubt. I think attacking the debt first is obviously the right place to start, because you are overwhelmed and you\u2019re running months and months.<\/p>\n<p>I do think, though, that there is an opportunity, even if it is just setting up that behaviour of putting aside some money for emergencies. That will undoubtedly help you and, indeed, if an emergency does come along, you don\u2019t have to go into yet more debt to cover the expenses \u2013 you can kind of lessen the burden.<\/p>\n<p>So I think there is an opportunity for people to just realise if you get on top of your debt and you\u2019re able to put some money aside for emergencies, you are far and away doing more than the average Joe in terms of enabling better financial futures.<\/p>\n<p>Read: Investment Series \u2013 Part 1: Back to basics<\/p>\n<p><strong>SIMON BROWN:<\/strong> The other thing that stood out for me is, as you said, financial well-being doesn\u2019t improve with more income. That I got. It doesn\u2019t improve with age. I would have said it did \u2013 but actually, in hindsight, not necessarily.<\/p>\n<p>Again, being older doesn\u2019t necessarily make one smarter or anything, but it can become a significant challenge if we\u2019re not getting smarter as we age and, I suppose, in a sense maybe learning from our mistakes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DR THOMAS BRENNAN: <\/strong>Yes, we saw two clear distinct personas. We called them the \u2018disciplined builders\u2019. So these were younger people starting off in their career. Definitely less income and less total net worth. But what they did have were very good habits.<\/p>\n<p>They had the same financial well-being score as what we call the \u2018stalled professionals\u2019. These are people that are 10 years older, probably earning significantly more, but their lifestyle has crept in. They\u2019re not managing their expenses. They\u2019re not saving appropriately.<\/p>\n<p>Although they are probably older, probably a little bit wiser, they haven\u2019t been able to kind of manage their personal finances in a way that leads to better financial well-being.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<br \/>The real flex: Why quiet wealth beats conspicuous consumption<br \/>The costly truth: Financial mistakes that can derail your wealth<br \/>From lifestyle to legacy: Striking the right balance in your financial plan<br \/>Money muscle: A youth guide to building wealth<\/p>\n<p><strong>SIMON BROWN:<\/strong> Yes. Another data point that stood out for me, although it\u2019s something about which I\u2019ve long seen evidence and I\u2019ve certainly thought \u2013 women are ahead.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DR THOMAS BRENNAN: <\/strong>They are. And I think what\u2019s really positive to see is that the way in which women are investing is actually where the secret sauce is.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Traditionally they also tend to be, I think we see in the data, less risk averse. They don\u2019t think they\u2019re cowboys. They\u2019re not trying to climb the markets and get lucky.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>There\u2019s far less sort of trading activity, but they are very consistent.<\/p>\n<p>So there\u2019s that sort of regular debit order that money is going in into the investments. Once they\u2019ve set up that strategy, they keep on executing on that. And then simply by doing that and leaving that investment over time, they\u2019re enjoying the compound-growth benefits that come with that.<\/p>\n<p>But what\u2019s interesting in the data \u2013 I\u2019m sure you saw \u2013 the women at the same time also expressed higher financial anxiety. I think there we have sort of a historical trend, if you will. A lot of women are maybe for the first time taking control of their finances, and are maybe a little more unsure. Am I doing the right thing?<\/p>\n<p>So for the same sort of level of personal finances, I think the women are probably carrying a little more anxiety into that situation.<\/p>\n<p>Read\/Watch:<br \/>WATCH: Ninety One Women &amp; Investing Seminar, in partnership with Moneyweb<br \/>How women are breaking glass ceilings through financial empowerment<br \/>Women have noticeably better behaviour on insurance and credit<\/p>\n<p><strong>SIMON BROWN:<\/strong> That could also be related to the risk, because my anecdotal experience is that men take the risk, women don\u2019t. And therefore maybe it\u2019s that lower risk level which makes them a little more anxious.<\/p>\n<p>The other big one that came out was education \u2013 not that education is the bullet which solves everything, but that education creates a strong foundation. You still need the patterns, the behaviours on top.<\/p>\n<p>Here we\u2019re not talking around a fancy varsity degree. It\u2019s just like going and finding out, I don\u2019t know, what a tax-free account is. That really is not surprising, but it is creating a strong base.<\/p>\n<p><strong>DR THOMAS BRENNAN: <\/strong>Yes, without a doubt. And obviously for those listeners who want to improve their financial well-being, I would encourage them to read the report, developing knowledge about which behaviours can lead to the biggest sort of material gains.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not knowing the details of capital gains tax, for example, but it\u2019s financial knowledge in the sense that it can help you improve your financial well-being.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<br \/>Investment fundamentals that outlast headlines<br \/>How to manage your money amid rising living expenses<br \/>SA\u2019s youth owe R10bn as debt becomes a survival strategy<\/p>\n<p><strong>SIMON BROWN:<\/strong> Actually, that\u2019s a great point. It\u2019s where it helps, which is also fundamentally important.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll leave it there. That\u2019s the Franc Wealth Index report 2026. Dr Thomas Brennan, founder and CEO, I appreciate the time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>#Money #habits #break #financial #future<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here. SIMON BROWN: I\u2019m chatting with Dr Thomas Brennan, founder and CEO at Franc. Thomas, appreciate the time today. 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