A social experiment for National Savings Month.

South Africans are among the worst savers in the world, with families’ household debt averaging 75% of their after-tax income.

For National Savings Month we wanted to raise awareness about the country’s debt problem and encourage people to save more.

Like many South African families, the One Rand Family enjoyed a happy life. They lived in a beautiful home, had good careers and healthy children. There was just one problem; because they weren’t managing their finances properly, there never seemed to be any money left at the end of the month. So we followed them for 30 days and watched as they paid everything – from their groceries to their car installments – with only R1 coins.

This experiment helped the family to reconnect with their money in a world of plastic cards and apps, and encouraged South Africans to carefully consider how they spend their money, down to the last R1.