Search Results for: lobola

2017 South African Lobola Survey Results (Must See) #GeniusLevel #MoneyMonday

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2017 South African Lobola Survey Results

By Kagiso Maloma.
About a month ago we put up this Lobola survey on Google forms and up until the day I took it offline for analysis the response has been phenomenal and I’d like to thank all those that participated in the survey. For those who are signed up to our online mag and also completed the survey, you will be receiving an email soon with a PDF copy of the survey as a token of appreciation for assisting us compile this report. The stats are overly interesting so be guaranteed that you’ll be raving and sharing this in no time.

Also just as a disclaimer, the results of this survey represents the views of the individuals who participated in this survey. Much thanks to Mzanzi Humor page for assisting in distributing the survey to their many followers. In our view our sample size is sufficient enough to warrant statistical analysis.

Given social media’s sensitive nature, let me start this report with a preemptive apology (apologizing in advance) by quoting Gilbert Gottfried. The results are as per survey participants and do not represent any biased views from myself or Genius Level Online Mag.

“Let me begin by saying I’m sorry. I’m truly, deeply, unequivocally sorry. I apologize to the people I offend with this survey, and I apologize to the people who aren’t sure why they’re offended but are pretty sure they should be. I don’t know how I live with myself, and I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me” Gilbert Gottfried

Lobola is the bride price of appreciation paid by a prospective husband among certain traditions around southern Africa. I’ve written extensively on this topic on our #moneymonday slot, you can check out some of the articles on the below links

1. ‘Married In Community Of Debt’ – Why the Black Man Will Forever Be Broke
2. A Smart Substitute For Lobola – “What The Black Man Needs To Do To Start Building Generational Wealth”


We had well over a thousand responses to this survey and by the looks of the above stats, women are taking over, of the total participants 67% were female and 33% were male. Not sure how to read this, but it could be an indication of more social pro-activeness and an inner need to contribute. Whatever it is, power to you ladies.


The above stats show that we as South Africans actually do love preserving and have some level of respect for our ancestral traditions. When in Africa do as the Africans do; being pro-Lobola its encouraging to see a large number of us all wanting to preserve and celebrate our culture.


Now we took it a step further to analyse of the survey participants which represents a subset of the South African population, of the ones who agree and disagree with the Lobola practice, how is that broken down by tribes?? Xhosa, Zulu, Tswana, Tsonga, Venda and Afrikaans tribes are more in favour of Lobola than other tribes (>80%).

‘Married In Community Of Debt’ – Why the Black Man Will Forever Be Broke

You might ask what are Afrikaans people doing taking the survey?? Well we all South Africans aren’t we? We’ve seen a spike in the number of interracial relationships, so this explains why, also the Afrikaans tribe is well know for their love, celebration and preservation of culture, be it a case of real recognise real; they in this case also love seeing and support other tribes that value and preserve culture. The English and Ndebele tribes are sitting as the bottom of the stats with 46% and 45% of them respectively being against the Lobola practice.


Of the males who actually paid Lobola, we seeing that a large number of the English, Ndebele, Pedi and Sotho participants were not in support of the Lobola practice but because its something they had no say in, hey were forced to go with it.


We asked our survey participants what they thought is a fair amount to pay for Lobola. Xhosas and Zulus are sitting high at over R40K and the lowest values from the survey are from Pedi and Ndebele participants. What could be the meaning of this? Well sometimes its merely conditioning, most communities price Lobola based on the average amounts paid in that community.



From the responses on what is a fair amount to pay, we took it further and split the results by male vs female. With no surprise the ladies priced the Lobola amount as a higher value than the guys. R40K asking price from the ladies, with guys willing to pay on average R31K for Lobola. One could laugh and say its easy to call for a higher value when you not paying lol.


Now moving away from what participants think is a fair amount to pay to a more realistic view, the above represents actual Lobola paid split by tribe. Now if you a micer like myself, I would be going for eitehr a Ndebele or Pedi lady as they are on average very reasonable on the Lobola Asking price coming in under R40K. For a Xhosa lady you would be looking at paying over R60K in Lobola and for a Zulu lady, you looking at R48K. My girlfriend happens to be Tswana so I’m definitely breaking the bank and paying over R45K :(, need to start saving up lol.


With Genius Level being an awesome online platform, we decided to take it another step further and broke down the actual figures paid for Lobola by the Level of education the lady had at the time of the Lobola being paid. For a female with a Doctorate #hashtag levels, you will be looking at paying over a R100K (ln this case it would be smart to marry soonest before she elevates to a Doctorate).

A Smart Substitute For Lobola – “What The Black Man Needs To Do To Start Building Generational Wealth”

For a female with Masters or a degree you looking at paying on average R77K and R56K respectively. Bit of a weird turn as we seeing ladies that drop-out coming in at an average of R50K… The only way to explain this is, females that dropped-out or do not have Matric had a head-start in the working environment and because of the experience accumulated while the rest were still pursuing their university degrees, they were climbing up the corporate ladder and thus managed to have a higher Lobola charge justified based on their career progression and financial well-being as can be seen on the below stats of what the driver behind the Lobola amount paid is.


-24% of respondents believe that the level of Education of the lady plays a huge role in the determination of the Lobola amount (as can be seen with the R100K for a lady with a Doctorate and R77K for a female with a Masters Degree). So ladies, get your book on and make that dude break the bank for you, you worth it.

– 10% believe that the financial well-being of the guy plays a hige role in the determination of the Lobola amount (It would then be wise to not be too flashy and only Uber to your girlfriend’s house or ditch your German machine when your visit them for a more economic automobile so as to mislead the uncles, more especially that one drunk uncle who holds the most resistance during negotiations)
-8% of respondents think that the financial well-being of the lady being married plays a huge role in the determination of the amount.
-6% say the driver of the Lobola amount is greed and 4% are of the opinion that the lady’s looks are a driver.


Now I need all the guys to gather as we are about to reveal something interesting, the younger you decide to marry her, the better as you more likely to pay a lower amount vs when she’s older. On average you looking at paying R44K when she’s 27 and R54K at 30 years. This can be linked to the fact that the older she gets, the higher her financial well-being, the higher your financial well-being as the guy and also she’s more likely to be driven to study further so as to progress in her career and workplace; and we’ve seen with the above tables that this are factors that are looked at when determining the Lobola amount.


The above stats knocked my socks off and actually made me have more faith in black South Africans. 39% of the guys who paid Lobola had to save up for it, 34% of them had the money readily available. For both instances they would have had to save and its quite encouraging and insoiring to see that South africans actually save. This shows serious commitment, discipline and patience! so bravo to all the guys out there throwing a penny each month into a Lobola savings account, we see you!!

14% of the guys that payed Lobola took out a loan to fund the payment. This might not be a good idea for couples going into marriage as its a known fact that married couples ened up divorcing due to financial problems. While they should be looking forward to a new life, new house and new beginnings they will instead be slaving to pay up the loan. Its a lose lose situation for the couple.

8% were helped by their parents in funding the Lobola and 3% had their partners assist them. Where are these awesome beings??? If you spot one do give a brother a shout! We need more of you.


Looking again at how the Lobola money was raised, we split the results up by tribe to get an understanding of how some tribes fund the Lobola.

-Over 50% Xhosa, Pedi, English and ‘Other’ tribes had the money readily available (Ladies I hope you taking notes)
-Ndebele, Pedi and Tswana guys are more likely to save up for Lobola than any other tribe (>50%).
-Sotho and Xhosa guys are more likely to take out a loan to fund the Lobola. As you will see below, Xhosa guys prefer marrying Xhosa ladies, and given that from the above stats we see that on average for a Xhosa lady you looking at paying over R60K, this could explain why 50% of Xhosa guys take out a loan to help fund the Lobola.
-50% of Sotho and 20% of Swazi guys are more likely to not be able to afford the Lobola asking price.
-Tsonga and Venda parents are the best!! They are more likely to assist their son pay the Lobola money than all the other tribes. Don’t you with you were Tsonga or Venda?


Just as a bonus, I played around with the stats further and managed to get the above. Seems like the English guys prefer Tswana and Sotho girls.
-Xhosa guys prefer to use their home-ground advantage as of all the guys who took the survey and actually paid Lobola at some point in time, they all went for Xhosa girls.
-Zulu guys also prefer marrying their own. This can be directly attributable to that fact that if you marry someone of the same cultural upbringing, it will be easier for them to get along with your family and also understand you more.
-The Pedi guys who took this survey seem to not be loyal to their own as they’s rather go for Xhosa and Tswana girls (50/50 split).

So with all these stats taken into play, if you really wanted to save on Lobola as a guy, this is how you’d play it….

-Make sure you marry a Ndebele or Pedi lady (You pay less than R40K)
-Be sure to marry her right before she gets her degree (R35K on average)
-Marry her before she turns 28 (The Lobola money escalates the older she gets)
-And be sure you convert to Tsonga or Venda as your parents are more likely to assist with the Lobola money lol.

Hope you found this as interesting as I have! Be sure to subscribe for more Genius level awesome stuff. Plus if you subscribe you will receive a free PDF copy of the survey.

**And remember, this report does not serve as a dictate, its merely an average subset representation of the population.

**All rights reserved. No part of this report/article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the publisher!!

1. ‘Married In Community Of Debt’ – Why the Black Man Will Forever Be Broke
2. A Smart Substitute For Lobola – “What The Black Man Needs To Do To Start Building Generational Wealth”

By Kagiso Maloma

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The Lobola Calculator By Genius Level (Free Download)

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Click HERE or the picture above to download the excel file with the Lobola calculator

Once in a while Genius Level just has to redefine the game and bring you awesome stuff! Nothing new really, but, I figure that was worth a reminder.
This calculator is based on a survey we did some time back and the numbers represent averages. By putting in all the variables you will get the LOBOLA Value, The number of cows as an equivalent of the Lobola value, Ho much money you still need to save to be able to pay the Lobola, and how much to save on a monthly to get to the required value.

Go ahead and try it out and let us know in the comments section what you think.

#GeniusLevel

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Take Care When It Comes To The Cost Of Lobola Negotiations

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By Dineo Tsamela
There isn’t a step-by-step guide to setting a budget for a traditional wedding. Unlike a white wedding, you’re not aware of the costs until negotiations are under way.

Despite this, the process doesn’t have to catch you off guard. Mpendulo Zungu*, an investment analyst, shares a few tips about how best to navigate lobola negotiations, and the importance of open communication between the families.

You might not have a specific account for lobola, but you can contribute extra to your savings in anticipation of the process.

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“A year before the actual event, when I knew that this is the path I want to take, I increased my monthly savings to prepare for it. But it’s not easy to do so because you never know how much the amount you’re going to pay will be,” he said.

Speaking to your partner and being realistic about what you can afford is a vital first step.

“We’re very open about our finances. She knew how much I could afford. It doesn’t make much of a difference because the ‘how much’ decision wasn’t hers to make (it is decided by her family). But it’s important to make her aware of your position,” he added.

Zungu pointed out the importance of understanding the differences in cross-cultural settings, which he learnt well into the negotiations. For instance, Zungu had assumed they would deduct inhlawulo – which had already been paid – as they do in KwaZulu-Natal, where he comes from. “It ended up being a tad more than I’d budgeted for,” he said.

Inhlawulo refers to the practice where a man who has impregnated a woman out of wedlock compensates her family.

Zungu highlighted that changing times mean the financial burden falls squarely on the groom. It’s unlike the old days, where the father would pay with cows accumulated over decades. Nowadays you’re also expected to provide a home for your family as well as two cars.

With this in mind, it’s important to take a holistic approach, said Zungu. Don’t just think about the short term.

Having the right negotiators who understand the process also makes an impact as proceedings aren’t set in stone, and they need to steer things in the right direction.

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The process varies from culture to culture, and families have their own ways of doing things. “You also have to think about what happens after the lobola negotiations are concluded. This differs across the various cultures.”

In KwaZulu-Natal, most families have umembeso – where the groom’s family give gifts to the bride’s family prior to the wedding.

There’s also umabo – where the bride’s family bring gifts to the groom’s family. Other families might also have umbondo, where the bride’s family bring food to the groom’s family before the wedding.

“All these events have to have food and that isn’t cheap,” said Zungu.

If the bride’s family are aware that the groom’s family is quite big, and they will have to bring lots of gifts for umabo, they may be inclined to request a higher price on the lobola. Similarly, if the bride’s family is big, the groom’s family may want to negotiate a lower lobola price.

Everyone involved needs to understand what the process is meant to achieve – building a relationship between the families. “There are cases where people are exploited but I was fortunate,” said Zungu.

By Dineo Tsamela

A Smart Substitute For Lobola – “What The Black Man Needs To Do To Start Building Generational Wealth"

Posted onAuthorgeniuslevels16 Comments

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So like I’m pro-Lobola, I believe in maintaining and celebrating our African roots and culture. When in Rome do as the Romans do, same applies to Africa, when in Africa do as the Africans do….

“Culture makes people understand each other better. And if they understand each other better in their soul, it is easier to overcome the economic and political barriers. But first they have to understand that their neighbour is, in the end, just like them, with the same problems, the same questions” Paulo Coelho Read More …

I Had A Dream I Could Buy My Way To Heaven, When I Woke Up I Spend It On Lobola… By Kagiso maloma

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Why the Black Man Will Forever Be Broke and In Debt

Back in the day, the process was as follows…

You meet a girl you like, you start dating and you meet the parents and by the luck of God the dad likes you and doesn’t whip your ass as you had imagined. From there on the 2 families are aligned as to what is going on. Then the Lobola negotiations come up and #Lobola (1) is paid. Then what follows is the #Traditionalwedding (2). And if it’s the right match they have kids and live happily ever after. And Oh, they get 2 funeral plans.

Two hings happened here, lets put monetary value to them

1 #Lobola R40 000 and maybe a Johnny Walker Black bottle to bribe the drunk uncle who holds the most resistance, say R250

2 #Traditional wedding = R50 000

Total Costs R40 000 + R250 + R50 000 = R90 250 Read More …

“YOUR SALARY IS A DRUG”… By Bafana Mtshali

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YOUR SALARY IS A DRUG.

This article came to me in a dream, the hardest part for me was “penning it down” (I in fact typed it on my laptop) as the phrase goes. Its 2am in the morning and I awoke to a dream or somewhat of a nightmare regarding money issues and I felt the urge to write something on this subject of personal finance seeing that its #MoneyMonday. A bit of background on me, I am no self proclaimed financial expert, however I have been fascinated on the topic of finances that I have for the past two years studied the subject religiously, I have been fanatical and became somewhat of a “Stan” on issues relating to money, personal finance, debt ,investments, savings etc I have read and followed the teachings of the greats such as Dr. Boyce Watkins of Juneteenth fame ,Phumelele Ndumo of From debt to Riches fame, Robert Kiyosaki of rich dad poor dad, Warren Buffet and the list goes on.

I’m also a big fan of a show called rands with sense which chronicles the lives of ordinary South Africans in debt and with each episode it’s appalling at how black people in particular tend to make stupid short term financial decisions with lifetime financial repercussions. Watching this show made me realise how financial institutions like African Bank and a majority of the big banks never really loved us and are all self serving, hence educating yourself is very important. In varsity I did not study anything remotely related to finance  so I would most likely say that the subject is self taught, through intense research and reading. Hell, the only reason today I am familiar with genius levels is through a friends facebook post on an article titled “married in community of debt”, and boom I was hooked. I have since read each and every article written on money Mondays. Having read all these articles I came to a realisation that as black people in particular we are a people of pride and are ego centric and this Achilles heel in our financial literacy has become a generational curse which continues to punish us and each time we get this beating we never learn.
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Now back to the topic of my article “your salary is a drug”, I mean this phrase in every literal sense intended. Wikipedia defines a drug as “any substance other than food, that when inhaled, injected, smoked, consumed, absorbed via a patch on the skin or dissolved under the tongue causes a physiological change in the body.” Another article describes drugs as “essentially poisons. The amount taken determines the effect.” In my life thus far this drug called salary has taken many forms and has perpetually evolved and the addiction has grew into a life of its own, i.e. the monkey on my back is now a gorilla but I can trace its origin/ inception back to my varsity days. After graduating from varsity, like most young people in South Africa I was faced with the challenge of finding employment and like many young people I hustled hard. I decided instead of sitting at home let me further my studies, so I took up a masters degree for which I was receiving a stipend of R60000 per annum which seemed like a lot of money when this drug was dangled in front of me. It seemed like the “fix” I needed, coming from having R0 in my pockets to R60k.

So like the good first time salary fiend I was, I shot this up my veins and the feeling was so good, better than you know what, lol. It soon (3 months of receiving the stipend) dawned on me how this stipend (drug) was not enough and to my shock I discovered after all expenses it wasn’t satisfying my drug (salary) appetite and giving me the high that I need,(mind you this is coming from a person who had R0 to R60k) after doing some number crunching the portion of this drug that actually came to my pockets was a meagre R2930 per month after all my incurred expenses such as residence fees, dissertation fees, university levies. So this means that of the R60k I was meant to be receiving, 41.4% of it was going to someone else’s pockets. To add salt to the wound, as a black person I was subject to black tax, portion of this money went back home to take care of siblings and other family related expenses before I can take care of my own general living expenses such as food.

The feeling (excitement, high, on top of the world exhilaration) I had on the first three months when I first snorted this drug had soon disappeared for the drug was not enough anymore and like the good fiend that I was I hustled so that I can get an increase in my drug dosage because as the definition says (read up) drugs are essentially poisons and the amount taken determines the effect, so I was determined to increase my dosage. I soon found myself in the employment of the leading organisation in my field on an internship with a triple dosage of the drug I was initially getting and my mind said to me “finally you got the ultimate fix” this is it right here. This is the grandiose and the mother of all fixes. And the thrill and excitement was much too much to bear. Now coming from a varsity student mentality to a corporate person, the shift in dynamics became apparent. A new world began to unfold before me. Certain unsaid standards began to be expected of a corporate person. More on that later.
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So the first pay check (drug injection) clocks in and it feels so good. It feels better than that R2930 I was previously subjected to, this, i say to myself, is what cocaine is to marijuana, the ultimate knock out. Weed is good but cocaine is better. So those unsaid standards began to creep in mind you my financial IQ at this point is 0. Suddenly there are places I have to eat at, certain brands I have to endorse (Jordan’s, Gucci, Apple), and as you can imagine my drug became insufficient. Every month was a struggle to keep up with my salary addition, like most fiends I would feel sooooo good on the 25th of every month and exactly 10 days after that the withdrawal symptoms would kick in (moody, always angry, depressed, and stressed), I would be waiting for the next 25th fix and the cycle continued. There seemed to be more people in my pockets than there were back when I was in varsity.

Each of these invisible hands were taking a share of my drug (salary) before it reached my veins (pockets), this ranged from the government in the form of tax, to creditors, to landlords, to friends who budgeted on my share of the drug to get their high on, to family members and this is even before I could take care of my own basic needs such as food. I have since been employed permanently by this company and having been lucky enough to want to get rid of my addiction I began to educate myself on this drug. As we all have become aware that not all drugs are bad for you. There are drugs which are meant to enhance your life, to heal you and increase your lifespan. And ever since educating myself on this drug called a salary/money, I have since made it work to heal me instead of destroy my financial health, increase my lifespan so to speak instead of it shortening it.

I recall having a conversation with a friend/colleague where he lamented on how he started off earning a stipend of R2000 to almost more than quadrupling his earnings and says he was better off when he at R2000 than he is now. Most people are probably in this frame of mind as well. I don’t have all the answers on how to rehabilitate yourself on this addiction but the first step to this is in admitting you have a problem, as all rehab steps begin. Salary addiction is more psychological than most people actually think, there’s a lot of emotions at play and as the great Warren Buffet has said, if you can’t control your emotions when it comes to money matters your battle is already lost. Secondly you need to educate yourself. Really teach yourself and practise what you learn. We live in a world of information and there’s good and bad information and the more you know the better you will be at discerning what’s good from what’s bad. So read, read and read some more. Not a day goes by that I don’t read articles on personal finance on a wide range of topics. Thirdly learn from others mistakes but more importantly learn from your own, I know I’ve made huge financial blunders of my own in the past, one which I share most with friends is paying for a bill of R800 for booze at a club on a night out with friends in Florida road Durban, using my credit card and to this day I am paying for it (literally and figuratively). Lastly break yourself away from the bonds of servitude, always anticipating a salary to give you the “fix” you need so you can be back in the same state 10 days later isn’t the answer. Instead you need to use the drug to embetter yourself and those around you. Build wealth not by saving money, although that’s a good start. Build wealth through investment, building businesses.

Do not be job dependant; your years of working should be used in building wealth and protecting this wealth. As a young person all your extra time and energy should be dedicated towards this one thing, building wealth. Every little thing which involves you taking out money from your pockets, you should ask yourself “how is this benefitting the future me”. Teach this to your siblings because as black people we tend to sell the notion of success in a wrong way. The first thing we ask someone who starts working is when are you buying a car, when are you paying for i lobola, why are you wearing Mr Price clothing when you belong to such and such profession, why you driving such a car. Etc. These things are not essentially bad but I feel we prioritise them more than the idea of ownership. We love the illusion of looking successful to others than actually attaining it. Let’s start building and break your mind away from the salary drug.

And oh…hi IamAndreB aka CapitalistNigga and for me to say I am not a genius would be lying to you and to myself. Thanks for reading this article.

Article By Bafana Mtshali

30 Worst Financial Decisions That South Africans Regret The Most

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30 Worst Financial Decisions That South Africans Regret The Most.

1. Spending on Booze for girls.
2. Opening a clothing account and buying clothes I did not need.
3. Spent a lot of money for my wedding day, been in heavy debt ever since.
4. Saving less instead of more, but better late than never I suppose.
5. Spending too much money on useless things.
6. My family convinced me to take out a loan to finance what was an overly. expensive funeral.
7. Not investing in Bitcoins 7 years ago.
8. Me pretending to be Jesus Christ helping others while I’m also poor.
9. Clothing accounts. Can’t be spending all my money on a monthly basis on. paying that account for clothes I don’t even wear anymore.
10. Having a girlfriend.
11. Paying for the gym membership I don’t use.
12. borrowing money from people and taking out heavy loans.
13. Triple M (MMM).
14. Bought an iPhone for my girlfriend and the following week she dumped. me.
15. Buying a Citroen C4 car which in turn spend its entire journey in and out from the local mechanics,I curse that piece of sh$t namanje!
16. Giving money to churches and pastors.
17. Weed, alcohol and many bad decisions.
18. Paying for a qualification that I ended up hating.
19. Boring a boyfriend money, never again. It turned out it wasn’t a loan.
20. Buying stuff I didn’t need to impress people I do not like.
21. Living with an addiction, drugs ruined my life.
22. Not saving my hard earned money.
23. Buying a car that I could not afford.
24. Renting an apartment in Sandton to impress girls.
25. Spending money before I got it.
26. Eating out a lot and takaways.
27. Paying for my then girlfriend’s university fees, she later married a guy. she met in class.
28. Paid Lobola for a girl that later cheated on me.
29. Black tax, found out later that my father took the money from my mother and bought booze with it.
30. Spending all my bonus money in December.

#MoneyMonday What are some of the financial decisions that you regret??

Genius Level Website & App Development

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We bring you winter specials from the makers of Atimeme and Mzanzibiz App. We have been in teh digital space for 5 years and in that period we’ve managed to develop top class web and mobile app products (see below)

Atimeme Social Media App
Mzanzibiz Business Listing App (Apple IOS)
Mzanzibiz Business Listing App (Android)
www.geniuslevels.com
www.lobolacalculator.com

And may others!!!!

Now we extending our services to the public, the economy is bad and we know it – that’s why we have discounted our prices

Basic websites (R2 500 – R3 000)
Entreprise (R3 000 – R10 000)
Mobile Apps Android and Apple IOS (Email for a quote).
Digital Marketing Services (Facebook+Google+Instagram+Twitter+Youtube). (Email for a quote).

Email: info@geniuslevels.com / info@mzanzihumor.site
Whatsapp: 0764264924

A Picnic For Bloggers – 06 Oct 2018 Zoo Lake (Hosted by Genius Level)

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Please Register below for the event (Free) (Google form)

Register here or see registration form at the very bottom

Genius Level is an online platform of expression started in 2014, we have within our team multiple writers who contribute diverse material – we share our views with other South Africans and over 100 other countries in the world. Our team members have been featured on platforms such as Power FM, Motsweding FM, and Metro FM.

With the picnic, we plan to celebrate blogging, interact and network with other bloggers from across South Africa, share ideas and have fun while getting to know and connect with other bloggers.

We will also be handing out a free blogging pack that will help you in your blogging journey, this will include blogging tools that will help you in reaching a bigger audience on your blog, help analyse audience data and be able to capitalise and turn your blogging hobby into a business, and its all free.

List of Genius Level owned/affiliated blogs and business websites { www.geniuslevels.com www.bookofchallengez.com www.blackjesus.site www.afrikanmythology.com www.keledimo.com www.27confessions.com www.ididthihigh.site www.lobolacalculator.com www.prohangout.com www.mzanzihumor.site www.mentamee.com www.propertystokvel.com }

We look forward to connecting, sharing ideas and networking with you

Saturday 06 October 2018 – Zoo Lake – from 12 pm (near the basketball courts)

The 60 Second Financial Advice That Will Keep You From Being Broke

Posted onAuthorgeniuslevels8 Comments

I hear and get all sorts of business, relationship and career advice on a daily. This are people who would tap into your life acting in your situation presumably for your best interest and give advice of what to do and all. most of it is usually advice that one never asked for, but I guess it makes for good small talk right?

So I drive a 2008 black hatchback Toyota Yaris that I bought second hand 6 months into getting into the working world. By far the best purchase I’ve ever made, being frugal about my money it took me 3 months to shop for a car, now like most people I wanted a nice good looking car, but not only that, i was also looking for durability, quality, comfort and longevity. Which I found in my ever so gorgeous Jinx (which i termed the ‘she’ opposite of my Res nickname Zinx).

Been with this little beauty (no pedophile vibes), so I’ve been with this beauty for almost 4 years now and I’m just about done paying the debt up. looking at this Bae now I don’t really see why i should let her go, i mean I work an 8 to 5 all week, work is 5 minutes away in this gorgeous windy city of port Elizabeth. She’s still in great shape, has never let me down never. Insurance payments on her are minimal and really looking forward to not having to pay for a car! There’s enough expenses for a black brother like myself in this day and age. we should be saving money up for Lobola or better yet a house.
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The crazy thing is most people who know me and what I do and people who assume my financial position always ask why am I driving a Yaris?? You see as a society, especially around my black beloved society we draw certain standards for working people and pile on pressure for them to acquire cars and other assets regardless of their monthly Salary; so trust that when a brother finally gets that employment contract they turning up with a Beast of A German machine… (Please check an article we published last year about your first car determining your retirement).

Vusi Thembekwayo once said “We black people are the only race that measure our success by how many failures we see around us, our normative measure is how ahead am I from the people who are not doing so well!!” So immediately as one steps into the employment scene they immediately enter the competing game regardless of how much they earning, how much of debt they getting into just so they can match up with society’s silly standards. Most of it is made believe, I mean yeah its all good when people think you have money but when you get home and those bills and debt collectors start ringing up your phone, reality steps in.

As a race we aught to really address the things that steal away wealth from us, we need to address how looking good surpasses feeling good, we need to address that we do not need to seek acceptance by balling and living a certain life. The danger with this is you end up with friends that encourage such habits and then its hell from there, you locked in… the beauty of being honest with yourself and situation and staying in your financial lane is that you get to meet other sober minded geniuses that believe in what you believe, and yes that includes your own miss independent lady that understands hard-work and understands where money comes from so she wont feel the need for you to go out on a weekly or spoil her on credit. Wouldn’t you just love such a life? where your happiness is the highest priority, where a night out with friends is all about having fun and not flashing your wealth to people who shouldn’t really be seeing it?

One thing I always say to myself and friends with regard to car is that I really love LOVE cars, but I will not move from one bicycle to another… meaning I will not move from a small car to another small give or take fancier car as i know that after 2 or 3 years I will definitely want to change it. rather save up for a bigger car give or take a Benz, something you know will outlive you, something that you wont want to change after 2 years, and also something that retains its value.
20140721112345-YICAR728x90“A man who is a master of patience is a master of everything else…..” GL

#MONEYMONDAY

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Black Tax To The Power Of Six, Wait Seven – (Why The Black Man Will Forever Be Broke)…

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6 TYPES OF EXPENSES ONLY THE BLACK MAN WILL IDENTIFY WITH

Seizenina? translation what have we done? Well we the unlucky ones entrusted with the responsibility of building something from nothing… meaning using credit to create and build wealth. Wealth is generational, meaning it gets passed on from one generation to the next, in the case of us blacks, we need to first be creating wealth as currently we have non of it so as to eventually be able to pass it on to our children and their children’s children. Conditioning is a deadly virus, if your parents never had any form of financial literacy then chances are you too will eventually adopt their money mismanagement ways, then on and on such traits are passed on to the next generation and thus the black man is forever and will be forever broke and in debt… Read More …

How much does that woman cost???

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I had one of those rare days last week where I was a full on couch potato. Im trying this new thing where I teach my brain how to concentrate for longer than a Game of Thrones episode, so I watch films. Anyway, so as I was looking for a good film to watch, I stumbled on an interesting TV program (I forgot the name) and the reason why I decided to watch it was because the topic that was being discussed was Lobola( bride price). Since I am a black woman living in South Africa, this matters. Read More …

Dear Mama Lillian Ngoyi: Hmmmmmmmm

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Dear Mama Lillian Ngoyi

I was walking on a street named after you when this happened; I wish you were still here with us. I saw on the front page of a popular news-paper a person whom Read More …

ANCWL Where Are The Pots Though? **Inserts Thuli Madonsela Confused face** By Pamela Kunene

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Back in the olden days before most of us young independent and gorgeous ladies were born, women had men to build the world and things they wanted. Women had less opportunities, less recognition, and you could say were less appreciated by society back then. All these due to the man taking centre stage in terms of being the one to go out and work for the family and be the sole provider. Women back then were either maids or full time housewives. Things like Lobola made sense then as the men were required to prove that they can provide for the woman they intent on marrying as she would not be working.

But today all that has changed thank God! We now live in a society where women (including myself) are the more superior being with superhero powers to add to that (business woman, employee, CEO, wife, etc.). We are the beneficiaries of equality and freedom that was hard fought by heroic women as they courageously marched to the Union buildings and demanded that they too be considered equal citizens of this beautiful land. Nowadays you can never keep a sister down! We have rightfully earned the right to seat at the big table.

Ok so here is the thing, one of the reasons these women were able to defeat the injustices against women was because of the support they had for each other, their unity kept them stronger, their vision and hunger for opportunity gave them drive. Movements like the ANCWL had strong support and value add objectives to continue their fight against women injustices. I believe their mandate back then was clear and they had a huge sense of objectivity, integrity and honestly.

They have in the long past done some great things for women and for that we are grateful .They did a great job supporting Reeva’s parents throughout the Oscar Pistorius trial, I mean they were there from day one. But wait, lets rewind back to Jacob Zuma’s rape case, what role was played by the ANCWL? Did they go into hiding? Does the zero tolerance to women abuse only apply to certain individuals? Do we allow our leaders to sexually abuse women? The blind following and support they give to individuals within their structures is all a little confusing really. The woman that was allegedly raped by President Zuma was said to have looked up to him as a father as Zuma was friends with her dad. Why did the ANCWL not wait for the law to take its cause before picking sides? Ok I think I must be directive now when I ask this question! Did it ever come to mind that the support you were giving Zuma was totally against what you as the ANCWL stood for? Don’t you think that there was everything wrong with Pres Zuma getting involved in such a despicable act on a woman who was supposed to be more like a daughter to him?

So many female leaders have been verbally attacked by men in the ANC and not a single word from the ANCWL in terms of rebuking such acts. Now let me highlight just a few of these incidents were I strongly feel that they could’ve stood up and defended those women.

  • When Lindiwe Mazibuko was verbally abused with regard to her hairstyle, outfit and weight by ANC male MPs… ANC female MPs laughed hard as this was happening, jumping up and down, some even dabbing. They could have condemned the behavior of their MPs but they chose to play along. If these men can insult one woman, then they are capable of doing the same to all of us. No woman should allow another to be humiliated and insulted like that.
  • When Thuli Madonsela released her report on Nkandla, the ANC Youth League and Congress of South African Students (COSAS) made hurtful remarks about her physical appearance (woman with an ugly nose, clumsy clown, etc.) ANCWL went into hiding again. Why do we always see the ANC distancing themselves? Why not hear anything from the women of the party? Should it not be the ANCWL’s duty to have called the youth to account for the disparaging, sexist and derogatory remarks they made about a woman who is just like them? Just read in the news that there is a freash new attack on Thuli Madonsela again… But this time guess by who? The ANCWL ka sebele (themselves) and guess for what? For defending the constitution, I cannot believe that the ANCWL went and said this to the media (NEWS24), “We demand a more objective and less populist person who will not campaign against government and its people, but defend principles of the structures”-ANCWL. “We, the ANC Women’s League remain steadfast in the course to stand and lead at the front to protect the African National Congress,” secretary general Meokgo Matuba said in a statement. Like where are the pots though? I am literally in confusion mode right now, someone please tell me where the pots are! Does the ANCWL understand what Thuli Madonsela’s job is? Like do they know that she is protecting the public against maladministration? Honestly why do we all believe in her great work except for the ANC, ANCYL and even worse the ANCWL??? How are they not at the forefront in support for a woman who is doing great work for this country? I believe Thuli is as confused as I am, on her recent interview she said

“Women shouldn’t just be fighting for gender equality, they should be fighting for making sure that the state of South Africa is advancing everyone, because when the state fails, it’s women who pick up the burden”

We can’t have the ANCWL always defending president Zuma for doing wrong, instead of defending women that are doing great work. Not even gonna go into the latest Rhodes incidents and how the women’s league went cold again and never said a thing when students were arrested for a peaceful protest that was aimed at raising awareness against the growing rape culture in the country. ANCWL please go back to the drawing board, you are not here to only defend the ANC, your objectives should be to defend women and fight for equality finish and klaar. I strongly feel there is a lot of young talented and strong women leaders who are doing great things in this country, the women’s league does not represent such women.

The fact that we are from different backgrounds, political parties, and other institutions doesn’t suppress us as being women first before we are affiliated. We need to find common ground while building support for one another. With the platforms we have already established let us make use of these to improve our country and encourage all women that it is important to support, build, encourage and protect one other. We are naturally strong beautiful creatures, the greatest gift this Universe has ever had. Together we need to reemphasize the fact that ‘Wathint’ Abafazi, Wathint’ Imbokodo’. (You strike a women, you strike a rock).

 

Article By Pamela Kunene

The Jomo Of All Trades “The Story Of A Multifaceted South African Great” By Dimo & Kagiso

Posted onAuthorgeniuslevels

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Mr Ephraim Matsilela Sono known as Jomo Sono, ‘the black prince of SA football’ or Bra J or Mjomana is a legend, even though I personally shared a post throwing shade his waythis week in the midst of all the social media craze I have to admit that there is a lot young entrepreneurs (young people in general) can learn from him. He is the owner, Chairman, and a coach of Jomo Cosmos football club. The longest serving coach in the premier league!!

Looking at his early career or the birth of his career one thing, one thing one can learn is that he was a persistent person. Let me just say should he have never attended that first game he was fielded maybe there won’t be Jomo today. He knows how to take an opportunity and run with it, that is what landed him a contract with Orlando Pirates. He is a hard worker that is why he has scored himself a name Jomo (named after the former Kenya President Jomo Kenyata).

He is a very dedicated man that can be witnessed by simply tracing his career as a soccer player from start to the day he resigned from being fielded out of desperation to playing in the United States. When he bought himself a soccer team Jomo Cosmos (which he named after himself and his former team) one can learn that you can turn your passion into business. He had a choice to buy himself cows, hotels maybe but he chose soccer because that is what he is passionate about.
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His determination, passion and consistency scored him a couching job for Bafana Bafana, but before he got there he was a caretaker couch, he was also a technical advisor and that shows how much he is willing to learn (starting small). This is the man who went to play a game on his wedding day.

He is the board member  of 32 companies, got business interest in property, Petroleum, hospitality, mining, vehicle tracking and still finds time to coach, spot young talent in the dusty grounds where cameras never go and yes sit on the driver’s seat. From today onwards I am calling Mr Jomo Dr Jomo. All of us can learn a lot from this underrated South African hero!! We salute him for his resilience, passion for developing youngsters and also leading the way in business, I myself can only wish for such a genius persona that is within this man.

And oh, the reason we wrote this piece?? Well….

This past week a picture of a Jomo Cosmos bus driver taken from a distance was circulated on the ever chill-less South African social media scene. The bus driver sorta kinda looked like Jomo Sono, this then set social media on fire with people claiming that Jomo Sono actually drives the team bus. This then resulted in many memes being created having his picture on, from him being proclaimed as the team Doctor, to team Spokesperson, team Lobola Negotiator, team Lawyer to team music Director. The list goes on… But apart from the chill-less social media, I just thought that some genius can be drawn from this man. All this highlights his flexibility, he has within him multifaceted traits, he does not limit himself to one thing, he believes in expanding himself and exploring all his God given talents and realizing his full potential.
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South Africans stand up!! It is for that reason that we South Africans will cease to use the figure of speech “Jack Of All Trades”, the recently updated version shall be used as “The Jomo Of All Trades”. This is in honour of Jomo Sono’s multifaceted nature and ability to unleash his full potential and inspire us all to explore whatever it is we want to take on. So go on and explore all possibilities, do not be scared, it can be done, let your ideas outlive you.

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road, will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path. And that will make all the difference.” Steve Jobs (this is a quote taken from a speech he gave to graduates at Stanford  University encouraging them to explore whatever it is they want to take on, that it might not make sense now but trust that one day it will all make sense and everything you would have built on will integrate and turn into a success story.)

#MONEYMONDAY

Article By Dimo Moraswi Wa Sekele & Kagiso Maloma

‘Married In Community Of Debt’ – Why the Black Man Will Forever Be Broke …

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Why the Black Man Will Forever Be Broke and In Debt

Back in the day, the process was as follows…

You meet a girl you like, you start dating and you meet the parents and by the luck of God the dad likes you and doesn’t whip your ass as you had imagined. From there on the 2 families are aligned as to what is going on. Then the Lobola negotiations come up and #Lobola (1) is paid. Then what follows is the #Traditionalwedding (2). And if it’s the right match they have kids and live happily ever after. And Oh, they get 2 funeral plans.

Two hings happened here, lets put monetary value to them

1 #Lobola R40 000 and maybe a Johnny Walker Black bottle to bribe the drunk uncle who holds the most resistance, say R250

2 #Traditional wedding = R50 000

Total Costs R40 000 + R250 + R50 000 = R90 250

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In the Western Culture the process is as follows…

You meet a girl you like, meet the parents after a week or 2 weeks or so (haha no such thing as moving too fast). Then the dude pops the big question, they get Engaged and he buys the #EngagementRing (1) . Then follows the Wedding, lets call it the #WhiteWedding (2). And if it’s the right match they, have kids and live happily ever after. And Oh, they open up 2 investment accounts.

Two hings happened here, lets put monetary value to them

1 #EngagementRings R50 000

2 #Whitewedding R100 000

Total Costs R50 000 + R100 000 = R150 000

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Let’s fast-forward to what happens currently

We as the black community decide our traditional way of doing things isn’t enough, lets adopt this new western culture and see where it takes us as it seems nice.

Lets add up the new inherited costs of the newly adopted culture….

1 #EngagementRings R50 000

2 #Whitewedding R100 000

Total Costs R50 000 + R100 000 = R150 000

Oh wait, we kinda know that we decided to adopt a new culture, but we are Africans, we value tradition right? Hey? Why can’t we have best of both worlds? Obama said YES WE CAN….

So lets add up the costs…

1 #Lobola R70 000 (We have adopted newer rating systems, we paid way too much money to raise our child)

2 #EngagementRings R50 000 (The bigger the diamond, the bigger the love right?)

3 #Traditional wedding = R50 000

4 #Whitewedding R100 000

Total Costs R70 000 + R50 000+ R50 000 + R100 000 = R270 000

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But wait, We do not have that much money!! “Don’t worry babe, I would do anything to prove my love for you”…. Sipho visits the bank and gets a R300 000 loan. Plus interest say it all adds up to R300 000.

The wedding days are over…. We need to get a house and 2 new cars to show people how well off we are, we are working mos….

Three costs are incurred here

1 #FancyCarOne R500 000

2 #FancyCarTwo R400 000

3 #NewHouse R900 000 (We part of the #BlackMiddleClass now so we godda move to the the suburbs)

3 #InitialWeddingLoan R300 000

Sooooo… Does anyone wanna help add up the costs?

R500 000 + R400 000 + R900 000 + R300 000 ……. Add that up!!

A couple of months into the marriage, things go sour due to the extreme debts they have, one party blames the other for all the credit that was acquired in the name of love….. I will not be the one to predict the ending of the story, I’ll give you a hint; Its a sad one.

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Lets stick to our own lane, that way we’ll all be free……

*Lobola – For all the international readers: Lobola is the bride price of appreciation paid by a prospective husband among certain traditions around southern Africa.

*** Follow up article below…

A Smart Substitute For Lobola – “What The Black Man Needs To Do To Start Building Generational Wealth”

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Our #MoneyMonday Vision For A Financially Literate South Africa

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My vision as a writer has always been to educate and inform you the ready while making you laugh in the process, so what I’m expecting from you is an ‘aha’ moment and maybe a little bit of a giggle; get those LOLs in line.

You being the Genius Level loyalist that checks out our Online Mag on a daily and recommends it to your mates know very well about our #MONEYMONDAY initiative, given that i get ahead of myself at times and just jump into writing away, I felt it necessary on this weekly edition of #MONEYMONDAY to take some time out to explain what #MONEYTMONDAY is and why we at Genius Level are so passionate about educating the youth about their money and increasing their financial literacy levels.
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All our articles are meant to address issues while presenting Genius ways to solve those issues or problems. The issue at hand being Financial Literacy! With South Africa being what I Geniusly term a ‘newly issued share’ in the global economy, i feel like right after we attained our freedom and were presented with employment and enterprising opportunities that helped enrich most of our parents, the fundamental problem became that we did not know how to manage our money, our parents were ‘new money’ as it were, with so much happening so fast they got overwhelmed and taken advantage of by the system; same way Don king sucka punched a lot of boxers without ever being in the ring (just sit back and let that one kick in)
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With the more money you get comes friends with money also that want you to spend the money with them, then also comes the hunger for more money and even more self injuring, there comes the sense of entitlement and lifestyle enhancements. You start eating at larniar places and wanting to buy luxurious cars and expensive furniture for your million rand house in the suburbs. Then you have black expenses like lobola, expensive weddings and overly expensive funeral plans. We are fundamental new at this money management thing, we are conditioned to live beyond our means and spend money soon as we get it. this type of monetary behavioral trait gets passed on to each generation hence you get movements like the Skhothanes and BEE fat cats, people purchasing clothe and cars they cannot afford meanwhile they still confined to the semi steel walls of a shack in a Squatter Camp.
17682441a1951203954b930e79312fbcConditioning is real and its a mafaka, it takes a lot of discipline to move away from such traits, hence 50% of all working South Africans are broke and in debt. I call it GENERATIONAL BALLERITIS; a situation where the habit of making bad financial decisions gets passed on from father to son and mother to daughter…. Like why are you buying Carvelas when your fees aren’t paid up, why are you opting for a R3 000 weave when your mother cant even afford both you and your baby.

With it  being an obvious case that this needs to stop! how do we then make people to get into a habit of making good financial decisions?? #MONEYMONDAY

We are here to jump in on the hole that’s been keeping you down and hold your hand as we figure out together how we can instill financial literacy into the young minds of all South Africans one article at a time, one Monday at a time. The inception and vision for #MONEYMONNDAY is to educate the youth on issues relating to money management and debt avoidance. In a place where debt is the new in ‘kool’ thing, we are here to help you plan for the future and assist with strategies that will make sure your retirement is filled with riches. there is absolutely no way in hell that people should be subjected to over 30% in interest payments on loans and credit, the credit market gets reckless by the day and cold calling has facilitated for the growth of impulsive buying and licking one’s self into contracts that stretch over a prolonged period with ridiculous interest rates. We here to sell you the dream of being debt free and being financially savvy. With most credit institutions taking advantage of blacks in that they aren’t financially literate enough to know what their signing themselves into, now is the time to read away on our weekly pieces to educate you on everything finance.

The hashtag willl find you, the financial literacy will be incepted in you and your financial affairs will be genified. We are here for you when you need us and do make sure to check our weekly #MONEYMKNDAY posts that will surely help stretch your Madibas and remember, we always watching, spend wisely and stick to your budget.
wnYaWCR