How McDonald’s worker saved $34,000 in months and the heartwarming reason behind it

It’s the 23-year-old’s first job and there’s a heartwarming reason behind why he saved the money.

Henry Serfontein had never had a job before starting at McDonald’s but in just 15 months he saved $34,000 and there’s a touching reason for him stashing away his money.

The 22-year-old moved to Australia with his dad, stepmum and sisters back in 2017 from South Africa.

But he left behind one of the most important people in his life – his mum.

So the Wollongong resident has set out to save a whopping $60,000 to pay for the visa to bring his mum to Australia.

“I think nothing can ever be enough to say thank you for what a mum does and this is the least I can do to be able to get my mum over. I really don’t need more than that, to me, that’s perfect, that’s enough to be able to do this and give her a better quality of life and feel safer,” he told news.com.au.

“At the moment in South Africa, it’s just my mum and my grandmother. South Africa has naturally a very high crime rate and its more just the fact I can’t be there anymore, which is really concerning for me. The last time I saw my mother was when I was 20 and I’m 23 now, so if something happens I can’t be there.”

Mr Serfontein is currently a restaurant manager at McDonald’s after working there for the past few years.

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Henry said he hasn’t had to sacrifice everything and managed to buy a car among making savings. Picture: Supplied

His financial strategy has been to put most of the money from his wage away into savings first and then allocating what’s left over to his needs for the month. His big saving goal hasn’t stopped him buying a car either.

“The misconception is that you have to limit yourself with your spending but as soon as you put your money aside first, the guilt of spending isn’t there anymore as you have already saved,” he said. “It gives you permission to spend the money left over.”

But he wasn’t always financially savvy and when he first landed the job, he quickly realised he lacked the financial skills to set himself up for success.

“No one had ever taught me anything about money … I couldn’t risk blowing it all. Every dollar was a dollar either towards or away from this big goal,” he said.

He enrolled in an online financial education program Mastering Money from SkilledSmart.

Paridhi Jain founded the money education business back in 2017 after concerns that basic financial advise was out of reach for many Australians.

“Financial advise in Australia costs thousands of dollars and it immediately prices out the majority of population … who are trying to figure it out themselves and a lot without any guidance,” she said.

“If they have haven’t gone to university to study finance or you don’t have parents to guide you, then Aussies are literally trying to do it on their own. This is a chronic problem where the vast majority of the population, regardless of age or profession, don’t know about money and don’t have anyone to help them.

“The problem with self teaching is one website says something and another says the opposite and you don’t know how to make head or tail of it as you can’t understand half the words used.”

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Paridhi Jain, founder of SkilledSmart, is seeing a growing interest in financial management among young adults. Picture: Supplied

The 31-year-old, who has a bachelor of business and law, first experienced how badly people can experience financial distress while working at the Cancer Council during university, where she manned the phones, speaking to adults dealing with costly treatment.

Since setting up her business, she’s has had hundreds of people take the course ranging in age from 17 to 60.

It offers a step-by-step guide to finances from money mindset and budgeting to setting up saving systems through to personal insurance and investing, tax and superannuation.

She said Mr Serfontein is a great example of saving with a personal goal in mind to motivate you, rather than buckling to societal expectations like getting on the property ladder.

“I think with Henry’s case it’s been really heartwarming to watch his story and I know especially with his goal it’s a deeply personal goal,” she said.

“Sometimes we tend to think of money as something that can buy us a holiday and cars and nice things, but his story reminds us what money can do for you.

“The idea that is he going to be a pivotal piece of bringing his mum to Australia, it’s such a heartwarming story and kudos to him for taking that on at such a young age, but it’s a great example of what you can do when you set your mind to it.”

As for Mr Serfontein, he expects to reach his massive goal by the end of the year.

“The visa process takes about four to six years. I estimate, based on my current savings trend, that I’ll have all the money I need by the end of this year,” he said.

“I can’t control how many applications get approved for the visa each year, but I can control how financially ready I am to get my mum over.”

Young Aussies are increasing taking a deeper interest in finances. Picture: iStock

Ms Jain added that she is seeing a growing interest in financial management among young adults, with almost 20 per cent of SkilledSmart students now in the Gen Z category.

Recent national research, commissioned by American Express, backs this up as it found 84 per cent of young Aussies, from Millennials to Gen Z, would like to increase their skills in financial management.

In fact, 50 per cent define being financially savvy as ‘aspirational’ or ‘cool’, while 71 per cent said the implications of the pandemic have prompted them to be smarter with their finances.