In our 21 years as financial planners, we’ve had the privilege of sitting across the table from clients in very different life stages—young professionals taking their first financial steps, parents juggling competing responsibilities, and retirees planning their legacy. Despite the diversity of circumstances, we’ve noticed that certain mistakes come up again and again. They’re not usually the result of carelessness but of misunderstanding, misplaced confidence, or the sheer busyness of life. Our hope in sharing what we’ve observed so far is to help others avoid these missteps and approach their finances with greater clarity and confidence.
Mistake 1: Delaying the start of investing
Many people postpone investing until they feel financially “ready.” The truth is that readiness rarely arrives, and years of compounding are lost while money sits idle in low-interest accounts. Even a five-year delay can significantly reduce long-term growth, thanks to the power of compounding.
Key takeaway: The best time to start investing was yesterday; the second-best time is today.
Food for thought: ‘Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.’ – Warren Buffett
Mistake 2: Neglecting to build an emergency fund
Unexpected expenses—retrenchment, medical bills, or urgent car repairs—can derail financial stability if there’s no buffer in place. Too often, clients dip into retirement savings or rely on high-interest debt to cover emergencies, putting long-term plans at risk.
Key takeaway: Your emergency fund is your first line of financial defence—protect it fiercely.
Food for thought: ‘An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’ – Benjamin Franklin
Mistake 3: Overreliance on debt
Credit cards, overdrafts, and personal loans make it easy to spend beyond one’s means. While home loans can be productive debt, revolving consumer debt is destructive, and many underestimate how quickly compound interest works against them.
Key takeaway: Use debt strategically in your overall portfolio, never habitually.
Food for thought: ‘Debt is the slavery of the free.’ – Publilius Syrus
Mistake 4: Ignoring risk cover
Insurance is often treated as optional—until life proves otherwise. We’ve seen families forced to liquidate assets or downscale drastically because a breadwinner was underinsured. The financial impact of death, disability, or severe illness can be absolutely devastating.
Key takeaway: Protect your greatest asset—you and your ability to earn an income.
Food for thought: ‘By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.’ – Benjamin Franklin
Mistake 5: Not updating wills and beneficiary nominations
Life events such as marriage, divorce, or the birth of children should always trigger updates to Wills and beneficiary forms. Yet, we’ve come across clients whose estate documents were outdated to the point of passing assets to unintended recipients or leaving children financially vulnerable.
Key takeaway: Your will and beneficiary forms should evolve as your life evolves.
Food for thought: ‘In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’ – Benjamin Franklin
Mistake 6: Emotional investing
Markets go up and down, but many investors respond impulsively—panic-selling in downturns or chasing trends in upswings – with the result being locked-in losses and compromised investment returns. Emotions, left unchecked, are often the biggest threat to investment success.
Key takeaway: Stick to your plan – and don’t let fear or greed drive your investments.
Food for thought: ‘The investor’s chief problem—and even his worst enemy—is likely to be himself.’ – Benjamin Graham
Mistake 7: Overestimating retirement readiness
It’s common for clients to assume they’re saving ‘enough,’ only to find projections showing significant shortfalls. This is because longevity and inflation are often underestimated, creating a gap between perception and reality. Retirement planning requires concise numbers and robust assumptions, not guesswork. Hope is not a strategy.
Key takeaway: Don’t guess—calculate what you’ll need for retirement.
Food for thought: ‘Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.’ – Alan Lakein
Mistake 8: Failing to diversify
Placing too much wealth in one asset—be it property, shares in a single company, or even cryptocurrency—magnifies risk. True diversification requires balancing growth, income, and capital protection across different asset classes and markets.
Key takeaway: Don’t put all your financial eggs in one basket.
Food for thought: ‘Diversification is the only free lunch in investing.’ – Harry Markowitz
Mistake 9: Lifestyle creep
As incomes rise, expenses often rise just as quickly—bigger homes, better cars, and more extravagant holidays. We’ve seen high earners with surprisingly little wealth to show because lifestyle inflation eroded their ability to invest for the future.
Key takeaway: Live below your means today to live on your terms tomorrow.
Food for thought: ‘Too many people spend money they haven’t earned, to buy things they don’t want, to impress people they don’t like.’ – Will Rogers
Mistake 10: Overlooking tax efficiency
Tax efficiency is often treated as an afterthought. Many clients fail to take advantage of tax deductions for retirement contributions, underutilise tax-free savings accounts, or trigger unnecessary capital gains. Careful tax planning can significantly improve outcomes without requiring additional income, so be intentional about it.
Key takeaway: Every rand saved in tax is a rand added to your wealth.
Food for thought: ‘The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.’ – Albert Einstein
Mistake 11: Inadequate healthcare planning
Healthcare costs are a leading cause of financial distress, and yet many dismiss medical aid or gap cover as being ‘too expensive.’ The reality is that one serious health event can undo years of disciplined saving if proper cover is not in place.
Key takeaway: Health events are not ‘if’ but ‘when’—plan accordingly.
Food for thought: ‘He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything.’ – Arabian Proverb
Mistake 12: Failing to involve spouses or partners
Alarmingly, it is still common for one partner to manage all the finances while the other remains disengaged – and when divorce, illness, or death strikes, the uninvolved partner can find themselves financially vulnerable and overwhelmed.
Key takeaway: Financial decisions should be shared between partners, not shouldered alone.
Food for thought: ‘When it comes to money, couples who plan together, stand together.’ – Unknown’
Mistake 13: Not seeking professional advice
Some clients attempt to ‘go it alone’ to save on fees. From experience, we know that DIY investing can work in simple cases, but that the cost of mistakes in estate planning, tax structuring, or retirement withdrawals is often far higher than the advisory fee would have been.
Key takeaway: Professional advice is an investment in avoiding costly mistakes.
Food for thought: ‘An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.’ – Benjamin Franklin
Money is deeply personal, influenced by emotions, habits, and life pressures, which means mistakes are inevitable. Our role as financial planners is not to judge, but to guide, correct, and support clients as they navigate their financial journey. By recognising and addressing these common errors early, you can avoid unnecessary setbacks and move more confidently toward long-term financial independence.
Have a fantastic day.
Sue
