The festive season is around the corner, shopping malls are filling up their stocks, commercial buildings are sparkling with gold and silver lights, streets and roundabouts are lighting up the Kigali nightlife.

It’s time to celebrate the year’s hard work and plan for the enjoyment of Christmas and New Year’s festivities. In the midst of a global pandemic, which is constantly growing into more complicated versions, the feeling of worry and uncertainty is taking over.

How confident are you about your finances? How will you survive the main spending period of the year? Financial confidence is and remains in its nature a feeling of empowerment that comes from knowing you’re in control of your life. 

Ever heard of a certain confidence rulebook that will help you live with financial confidence during the festive season and in your daily life? These rules have been tailored to remind us all that we can have fun without the common "nguriza bitanu’’. Here are some of the best.

Confidence rule 3: Don't spend yourself poor trying to look rich 

We are often tempted to think that looking rich makes us rich because we all generally tend to judge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone. Only spend if you need to, and as George Eliot said, ‘’don’t judge a book by its cover’’.

Confidence rule 6: If you’re going to owe anyone anything, make sure it’s a favour

A small debt produces a debtor; a large one, an enemy. Life can be hard. Finances can look bad, but the goal should be to live debt-free. We often turn to our friends and family when we go broke; ‘’lend me fifty-thousand, there is this new watch that I want to buy’’. Think twice and remember that paying back is always the hardest.

Confidence rule 34: Earning a lot doesn’t make you rich. Saving it does.

Wealth is not about what you earn, it’s about what you spend. Saving can be quite challenging, especially during the festive season. It’s important to celebrate the fruits of our efforts with family and friends, but it’s more important to think about tomorrow. What if that job stops? What if that business fails? It’s called saving for a reason. It could save you.

Confidence rule 48: The best thinking is future thinking.

Invest in the future. Think about one, two or five years from now. Do you know where you want to be? Do you have a plan to get there? Remember, a sustainable future is the best long-term investment you can make.

Confidence rule 27: Having the right support can get you through the unthinkable.

You don’t have to be a financial expert, you just have to partner with one. You know you can do anything as long as you have the passion, the drive, the focus, and the right people there to support you? Do you want to win? Pick a winning team.

When looking at festive season spending by household size globally, a third of those with children believe they will see a 31 per cent increase in their spending this season compared to just 11 per cent of single adults, as published by Kantar, a research and data analytics company.

The festive season is one of the biggest financial challenges of the year for many people. It can be easy to get carried away with going on trips and picnics, shopping for outfits, furniture, electronic devices, among others. Financial confidence during the holiday season allows one to spend responsibly, by selecting the needs above the wants.

While Sanlam has been striving to place purpose at the centre of its priorities, the largest non-banking financial service provider in Africa has embarked on a journey with José Mourinho, Roma football manager, who is now using the Confidence Rulebook to make notes and share a unique takeaway and reminder to customers that it is possible to celebrate this festive season without emptying their wallets. Through the brand’s Facebook page, Murinho has introduced confidence rules among other financial literacy initiatives that aim at upskilling Rwandans in financial knowledge and confidence as one of the best ways to empower them to live with confidence. The insurer’s brand positioning focuses on financial confidence, as the right tool of knowing that you are prepared for challenges that may come your way and the knowledge of your own power over your finances.

Learning to live with this kind of financial confidence, however, is a journey that the Sanlam brand is committed to its customers by equipping them with the right tools, support, and guidance to help them get from where they are to where they want to be. As we enter this festive season, Sanlam wishes you all a Merry Christmas and a happy New Year 2022. May we all live it, financially confident.