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South Africa (22 April 2025)<\/em> – I\u2019ve been thinking a lot about the VAT increase and what it actually means for us as South Africans. Not just on paper. Not just as a line item buried in a budget speech. But what it really feels like.<\/p>\n And what will it cost us?<\/p>\n Please grab a cup or tea. And take a deep breath. This is longer than my normal \u201clong\u201d posts.<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve shared this before, but I\u2019ll say it again, because it shaped who I am\u2026 I started working when I was 15 years old. First at Nando\u2019s, then Emilio\u2019s Pizzaria and eventually Ascot Mews, a beautiful wedding venue in Alberton.<\/p>\n I started as a \u201cbusser\u201d with the ashtrays on the wedding tables (like cleaning them\u2026 cause you could smoke indoors back then). Then I became a waiter. Then a manager. And eventually, I worked right next to the wedding coordinator, her right hand, helping create some of the most important (and memorable) days of people\u2019s lives. It was hard work. It was long hours. And it taught me many lessons.<\/p>\n One of the lessons may be the most valuable lesson of all: the difference between personal money and corporate money.<\/p>\n Let me explain.<\/strong><\/p>\n Personal money (or emotional money, as I like to call it) is the money you \u201cfeel\u201d. The one you budget with. The money you use to buy school shoes, to put food on the table, to pay for electricity, to help out a friend, to save for holidays (or weddings) and sometimes (mostly) to stretch from the time you get paid until you get paid again.<\/p>\n Corporate money is the kind you move around on a spreadsheet. It\u2019s strategy. It\u2019s structure. It\u2019s a “necessary loss” or a “long-term gain.” You don\u2019t feel it in your stomach when it\u2019s gone. You don\u2019t lie awake at night because something costs more than it did last week. It\u2019s as if corporate money is not real. It\u2019s \u201csomeone else\u2019s\u201d.<\/p>\n And that, right there\u2026 is the disconnect.<\/p>\n You see, our government, our presidency and the politicians who voted for the VAT increase\u2026 they\u2019re playing with our emotional money as if it\u2019s corporate money. They make decisions with a spreadsheet lens, adjusting tax and hiking VAT, without ever really feeling what that means for the single mom, or the pensioner, or the young couple trying to build a life, or you, or me.<\/p>\n They\u2019re just shifting numbers. While we are being forced to shift priorities.<\/p>\n Because that extra 0,5%? It doesn\u2019t sound like much in a press conference. But for someone buying nappies, bread, electricity or petrol. It\u2019s everything.<\/p>\n Emotional money hurts when it\u2019s mismanaged or taken without thought. It hurts in the pit of your stomach, in your chest, in that quiet moment when you wonder if you\u2019re doing something wrong\u2026 or if the system is just not made for people like you and me to ever breathe easy.<\/p>\n And this is what gets me.<\/p>\n Politicians don\u2019t feel that. Not really.<\/p>\n They don\u2019t feel the panic when debit orders bounce, or the shame of saying no to an invite because petrol\u2019s too expensive. They don\u2019t feel the tightening. The shrinking. The daily recalculations of a life that no longer fits in the same budget it did last year. Or last month. Or last week.<\/p>\n Because they play with corporate money.<\/p>\n And all we have is emotional money.<\/p>\n We are the people picking which bill can go unpaid this month. We are the ones choosing the cheaper options, cutting back on data and skipping meals\u2026 not because it\u2019s the latest fad diet but because it is for survival.<\/p>\n And the frustrating part is not just the hike.<\/p>\n It\u2019s that we didn\u2019t ask for this. We didn\u2019t break the system. We\u2019ve been showing up, working hard and trying our best. We are not the ones who need to be punished for mismanagement.<\/p>\n But here we are. Paying more. For less.<\/p>\n And look, I don\u2019t have all the answers. I can\u2019t fix the economy with an Instagram post or a heartfelt caption. I know\u2026 \u201cbad\u201d Good Things Guy. But I can remind you of this:<\/p>\n You are not alone. You are not crazy for feeling overwhelmed. You\u2019re not weak for struggling to make it work. You are living through something that was never meant to serve you\u2026 and doing so with more grace and strength than those who made these decisions could ever understand.<\/p>\n So what now?<\/strong><\/p>\n We pull together. We keep sharing ideas. Swapping savings tips. Supporting small businesses. We buy local where we can, we call out the nonsense when we need to, and we take care of each other\u2026 because let\u2019s be honest, nobody else is going to do that for us.<\/p>\n And above all?<\/strong><\/p>\n We pay attention. We remember. We don\u2019t let frustration turn to apathy because apathy is exactly what they count on. And when the time comes, we vote with our hearts and our heads.<\/p>\n It\u2019s going to be tough.<\/p>\n But so are you. And if they\u2019re going to play games with our emotional money, then we\u2019ll fight back the only way we know how\u2026 by showing up for each other. By remembering what real wealth looks like: Community. Kindness. Courage. And resilience.<\/p>\n Let them keep the spreadsheets. Let them drink the Veuve. And wear the Louis Vuitton. And drive those expensive cars. And build fire pools. And hide money in couches. And go on expensive holidays to Geneva (but definitely not Switzerland).<\/p>\n But let us not forget.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve got each other.<\/p>\n
\nSo are we.<\/p>\n
\nSources: Brent Lindeque \u00a0| Opinion Piece | VAT increase\u00a0<\/em><\/h6>\n
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