Every Heritage Day, South Africans celebrate the traditions, food, values and stories that make us who we are. Among the most enduring of these is Ubuntu. It is reflected in how we show up for family, support our communities and share both our successes and our struggles.
This spirit of collective care shapes many aspects of our lives, including how we think about money.
For many South Africans, financial decisions are rarely individual. A salary often supports more than one person. A promotion can create opportunities for an entire family. And financial success is frequently measured not only by personal achievement but also by the ability to uplift others along the way.
This is often where conversations about “Black tax” begin. Yet reducing the discussion to a single term risks overlooking a deeper truth: support for family is not simply a financial obligation. For many people, it is an expression of responsibility, gratitude, pride and care.
Read more: Black tax: drawing the line is essential
‘Black tax’ does not need to be a burden
At the same time, it is important not to romanticise this reality. The pressure of supporting parents, siblings, children and extended family can place significant strain on working South Africans.
According to the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor 2026, four in 10 working South Africans now belong to what’s known as the sandwich generation, supporting both their children and their parents or other adult dependents at the same time. Among working Gen Z South Africans, that figure climbs to 43%. These are young people barely a few years into their careers, already carrying two generations on their shoulders.
The goal should not be a society where more people carry this responsibility. True progress is a society where fewer families need to rely on one individual because every generation has greater access to opportunity, financial security and economic participation.
From financial support to financial strength
One of the most powerful outcomes of social mobility is the ability to create opportunities beyond a single generation.
While helping family through immediate needs remains important, long-term financial resilience comes from creating pathways to independence. This may include investing in education, encouraging savings habits, building emergency funds or helping loved ones access financial tools and services that improve their financial well-being.
In this way, financial support becomes more than assistance for today. It becomes an investment in tomorrow.
Finding balance without losing value
Ubuntu does not require self-sacrifice to the point of financial hardship. In fact, sustainable support starts with protecting your own financial future.
Setting boundaries, planning ahead and building personal financial resilience are not acts of selfishness. They are what make it possible to continue supporting others over time.
The challenge for many South Africans is finding that balance: remaining committed to family and community while also creating financial stability for themselves and future generations.
This is where being clever with money earns its meaning. You don’t have to give less to the people who matter. But you can give in a way that doesn’t quietly sabotage your progress, so the support you provide today doesn’t become a crisis you’re asking for support with tomorrow.
Modern banking has a real role to play here. Something as simple as being able to send money to a parent or sibling instantly, without a transfer fee eating into an already tight budget, changes the maths of family support.
That’s the role a bank should play in this story: not the hero of it, but the copilot. The people doing the giving, the saving and the sacrificing are the ones showing up for their families.
Heritage worth preserving
As we celebrate Heritage Day, perhaps the conversation should move beyond Black tax and focus instead on the values that underpin it.
Ubuntu remains one of South Africa’s greatest strengths. It reminds us that success is often shared and that communities thrive when people support one another.
But the true measure of progress is not how many people carry others financially. It is how many families become financially resilient enough to stand together on stronger foundations.
That is the future Ubuntu should help us build: one where caring for each other remains a defining value, and where every generation has a greater opportunity to achieve financial independence and prosperity.
- Radebe is senior product specialist at OM Bank
- Every Heritage Day, South Africans celebrate the traditions, food, values and stories that make us who we are.
- Among the most enduring of these is Ubuntu.
- It is reflected in how we show up for family, support our communities and share both our successes and our struggles. This spirit of collective care shapes many aspects of our lives, including how we think about money. For many South Africans, financial decisions are rarely individual.
- A salary often supports more than one person.
- A promotion can create opportunities for an entire family.
Every Heritage Day, South Africans celebrate the traditions, food, values and stories that make us who we are. Among the most enduring of these is Ubuntu. It is reflected in how we show up for family, support our communities and share both our successes and our struggles.
This spirit of collective care shapes many aspects of our lives, including how we think about money.
For many South Africans, financial decisions are rarely individual. A salary often supports more than one person. A promotion can create opportunities for an entire family. And financial success is frequently measured not only by personal achievement but also by the ability to uplift others along the way.
This is often where conversations about "Black tax" begin. Yet reducing the discussion to a single term risks overlooking a deeper truth: support for family is not simply a financial obligation. For many people, it is an expression of responsibility, gratitude, pride and care.
Read more: Black tax: drawing the line is essential
‘Black tax’ does not need to be a burden
At the same time, it is important not to romanticise this reality. The pressure of supporting parents, siblings, children and extended family can place significant strain on working South Africans.
According to the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor 2026, four in 10 working South Africans now belong to what's known as the sandwich generation, supporting both their children and their parents or other adult dependents at the same time. Among working Gen Z South Africans, that figure climbs to 43%. These are young people barely a few years into their careers, already carrying two generations on their shoulders.
The goal should not be a society where more people carry this responsibility. True progress is a society where fewer families need to rely on one individual because every generation has greater access to opportunity, financial security and economic participation.
One of the most powerful outcomes of social mobility is the ability to create opportunities beyond a single generation.
While helping family through immediate needs remains important, long-term financial resilience comes from creating pathways to independence. This may include investing in education, encouraging savings habits, building emergency funds or helping loved ones access financial tools and services that improve their financial well-being.
In this way, financial support becomes more than assistance for today. It becomes an investment in tomorrow.
Ubuntu does not require self-sacrifice to the point of financial hardship. In fact, sustainable support starts with protecting your own financial future.
Setting boundaries, planning ahead and building personal financial resilience are not acts of selfishness. They are what make it possible to continue supporting others over time.
The challenge for many South Africans is finding that balance: remaining committed to family and community while also creating financial stability for themselves and future generations.
This is where being clever with money earns its meaning. You don’t have to give less to the people who matter. But you can give in a way that doesn't quietly sabotage your progress, so the support you provide today doesn't become a crisis you're asking for support with tomorrow.
Modern banking has a real role to play here. Something as simple as being able to send money to a parent or sibling instantly, without a transfer fee eating into an already tight budget, changes the maths of family support.
That's the role a bank should play in this story: not the hero of it, but the copilot. The people doing the giving, the saving and the sacrificing are the ones showing up for their families.
As we celebrate Heritage Day, perhaps the conversation should move beyond Black tax and focus instead on the values that underpin it.
Ubuntu remains one of South Africa's greatest strengths. It reminds us that success is often shared and that communities thrive when people support one another.
But the true measure of progress is not how many people carry others financially. It is how many families become financially resilient enough to stand together on stronger foundations.
That is the future Ubuntu should help us build: one where caring for each other remains a defining value, and where every generation has a greater opportunity to achieve financial independence and prosperity.
- Radebe is senior product specialist at OM Bank
