How financial planning can help you realise your passion

Whether it’s travelling the world, starting a side business, or pursuing a creative hobby, contrary to popular belief, passions are not just luxuries but are, in fact, real-life goals that deserve a place in your financial plan. Treating passions as life goals makes them more attainable.

Too often people think passions are something they’ll get to “one day” after covering the essentials like retirement and education. But your passions are part of your life.  They can be achieved if you treat them as such, plan and save for them with the same seriousness as other long-term goals such as your retirement.

The best way to get onto this journey is to start by identifying and prioritising your goals, then working out what they will cost. Break it down into a monthly savings amount. If you want to take a R100 000 trip in 12 months, that means saving about R8 300 each month. Once you know the number, you can adjust your spending with your income to make it work because you now have a clear target.

Building passion savings into your budget is critical. If your goals sit on the sidelines, they’ll always be neglected. Treat them like a debit order and that way you make those savings non-negotiable and you quickly build momentum.

Funding these goals often requires trade-offs, such as trimming back on entertainment or boosting income through side hustles.

“Poly-jobbing” is on the rise in South Africa. According to the latest Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor, close to six in 10 people are poly-jobbers, with the trend even more pronounced among the youth, with 75% of those aged 18 to 29 falling into this category. So many are using their additional income to fuel their dreams. It’s a powerful way of turning passion into a goal that feels within reach.

The decision on where and how to invest should not rest on you alone. Your financial adviser, as the expert, will guide you, because investing is not separate from your financial plan but an integral part of it. All you need to do is make the decision, be ready to make the trade-offs, start your journey, and commit.

Importantly, people often underestimate the true costs of pursuing passions. A holiday is not just about the ticket price, it’s also including food, transport, entertainment, visas, and other extras.

Also, saving for one’s passion isn’t only about money. It’s about motivation. When you work towards something that excites you, you’re more likely to stay disciplined with your finances overall. Passions give you a sense of purpose and reward along the way, and that energy can spill over into how you manage bigger financial commitments too. The journey becomes as important as the destination.

When you recognise that passions are real-life goals and not just luxuries, you give yourself permission to plan for them. And with a solid financial plan, they stop being ‘someday dreams’ and start becoming achievable milestones.

Van Zyl is a Certified Financial Planner at Old Mutual Personal Finance.

PERSONAL FINANCE