Happy March. We are already past the first quarter of the year and what a year it has been. Trump continues to make bold statements and threats, while the DOGE keeps claiming they have found widespread corruption and fund mismanagement in the various state departments.
It will be interesting to see the amount of waste in their government and, more importantly, to see if any people will be going to jail.
Markets
Markets remain volatile, and unfortunately, Trump’s various policies and threats are creating uncertainty, which leads to volatility.
| Returns % (To 07 March 2025) | 1 week | 1 month | YTD | 1 year | |
| SA Equity (ALSI) | 3.1% | 1.3% | 5.5% | 24.8% | |
| SA Bonds (ALBI) | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.5% | 17.3% | |
| SA Property (ALPI) | -2.0% | -0.8% | -4.7% | 18.4% | |
| SA Cash (Ave Money Market) | 0.0% | 0.6% | 1.2% | 8.2% | |
| Global Markets (MSCI ACWI in ZAR) | -2.9% | -2.8% | -1.9% | 9.1% | |
| Global Markets (MSCI ACWI in USD) | -1.2% | -1.9% | 1.5% | 11.9% | |
| USD/ZAR – R18.19*/USD | -2.1% | -1.3% | -3.5% | -2.8% | |
| * 07 March 2025 (negative number indicates appreciation of the rand) | |||||
The main thing is to remain calm, have a diversified portfolio, stick with your long-term approach and not listen to short-term news and fear-mongering.
Lifestyle Creep
What is it, and why is it important?
This type of creep is one of the most often experienced. It sneaks up on you very quickly and quietly, but before you know it, you have already been caught.
Have you ever received a promotion or increase at work that you were very excited about, but after two months, you cannot even see that extra money? Then, when you go and try to figure out what happened, you realise you bought a new car, subscribed to new services and started getting takeaway every Friday and Saturday.
In short, that is lifestyle creep, and it is the big hurdle to building wealth. Yes, inflation is a factor, but most people keep buying bigger and more expensive things every time they get an increase or promotion at work.
So, be cognizant of this phenomenon and ensure that when you get an increase or promotion, you also save or invest some of the extra money and do not just spend it on lifestyle expenses.
Below is an excellent infographic showing world GDP by country from 2015 to 2025:
