According to the latest National Credit Regulators’ Credit Bureau Monitor research report of December 2010, millions of consumers in South Africa are struggling to manage their personal finances. To assist consumers and to give back to the community, Compuscan Academy hosted two FREE Money Management Workshops on the 9th April 2011 at the Full Gospel Church, Belmont Park and on the 30th of April 2011 at the Revival Centre Church in Mitchell’s Plain.

The workshop empowered the communities to learn more about how to:

• Take charge of their financial situation
• Avoid financial distress
• Assess and understand their financial status
• Budget and plan their personal finances
• Make good saving decisions
• Understand their credit report, default information and judgements
• Manage their credit accounts responsibly

During the workshop, many concerns were raised such as the uncertainty about future prospects, job losses, increased food / petrol prices and being black listed. The worries that individuals had were discussed at length which concluded with a question and answer session.

The attendees commented that they thoroughly enjoyed the workshop and that the facilitator, Craig Sassman was excellent. Most of the attendees had never attended a workshop like this before and felt that they learnt something new and would be able to make a positive change within their own lives. The overall feeling was that by the end of the day they were more relaxed and better equipped to handle their financial affairs.

The attendees were offered the opportunity to get a copy of their free credit report. They were asked to bring along their ID Documents as proof of identity in order for Compuscan to give them access to their credit reports. On their credit reports they could see what their current creditworthiness status is and therefore know what to do to improve their report and get better access to credit in times of need. Furthermore, the report made them more aware of their credit history and how they can put a plan into action to set realistic financial goals.

Compuscan is committed to creating awareness about the importance of managing your personal finances effectively as well as what preventative measures to take to avoid falling in a ‘debt trap’. We hope that the attendees enjoyed their time at the workshop and sincerely hope that they can put the money management tips into practice in their daily lives.

If you would like to send your employees on a Money Management Workshop or if you want to get involved in helping us sponsor our money management workshops, please contact us at on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.compuscanacademy.co.za

View the article in the People's Post.