Graduating from university is momentous. It is no small feat. After hundreds of sleepless hours, tuition fees and the financial pressures of student life, finally crossing the finish line can bring enormous relief.
Then comes the next challenge: finding a job. There are applications to submit, interviews to prepare for and emails to check with nail-biting anticipation. Then, finally, the first salary arrives.
For many, that first pay cheque represents more than personal financial stability. It can also mean finally being in a position to help siblings, cousins and other relatives who may be facing financial challenges. After years of hard work and support from family, being able to give something back can feel like the culmination of a long journey.
Sooner or later, savings plans set in. It is at this point that these plans find themselves in competition with the obligation to financially help those siblings and cousins.
For many, when they are in college, they totally rely on their parents and the wider family for both financial and moral support. This often strengthens family solidarity, with the extended family hoping to receive help once one graduates. In some Zambian families, children are raised with a strong expectation of filial responsibility. For young people entering formal employment, this can mean that their first salary is viewed not only as personal income, but also as an opportunity to support the family that helped them reach that point.
What Is Black Tax in Zambia?
This expectation that financially successful people may support not only their immediate households but also members of their extended families is often described as “black tax”, a term used to capture the financial responsibilities that can arise within families and communities. The term itself remains controversial, with some preferring language that emphasises solidarity and shared progress rather than taxation.
An award-winning personal finance educator, strategist and author, Jane Mazimba, doesn’t like to call this black tax, or giving, or even helping. “I like to think of it as a Love Fund because most of us, like I always say, we’re first or second generation to go to school, to get jobs, to drive cars, own homes. And to a certain extent we have a responsibility to bring our people along with us,” she explained.
When Supporting Family Becomes a Financial Burden
Once someone enters formal employment, however, they may suddenly be seen as the person who can help solve every financial problem in the family. For some, the pressure to avoid disappointing relatives or appearing unwilling to help can result in a large portion of their income being redirected towards family support, leaving little for their own needs, savings or plans. Over time, being the successful person in the family can begin to feel like a burden. What once felt like an act of love can become a source of constant financial anxiety.
James Mwale, an electrical engineer from Lusaka, expressed his feelings, stating, “There’s that pressure every month that you’re supposed to be a provider and people are supposed to come to you for help.”
A teacher and librarian in Lusaka, Doreen Mwenda, shared similar feelings. “It’s really not easy, especially with family responsibilities here and there; I mostly find myself thinking of what the family needs before I think of myself. But lately I have been telling myself that a little balance on both ends is helpful,” she said.
For many other young corporate workers in Lusaka, this is the pressure they face every day.
Can You Save Money While Supporting Your Family?
Supporting family and building personal savings do not necessarily have to be competing goals. The challenge is finding a level of support that helps relatives without leaving the person providing that support financially vulnerable.
For Anna Chibesakunda, a medical doctor, supporting family is most sustainable when there is a clear limit to how much she gives. “I have a standard; currently, I put a k3000 aside for supporting a relative, maybe in their school, and it doesn’t mean I support them fully; other family members chip in. So I feel it’s beneficial because I don’t want to keep helping the same people every time,” she explained.
“For my savings, I do them at a lower rate but monthly and consistently. It’s mostly smaller amounts, something like k1000, k500, into a place that cannot be easily accessed, or have some sort of investment keeping your money, bonds, shares. She also recalled buying British pounds when she first started working and later using the proceeds towards purchasing a piece of land.
Many others find saving a must even while rendering help to family, no matter the size of one’s earnings.
“One of the misconceptions many Zambians have is thinking we don’t have enough money to save, to invest. But saving is a muscle. If you can’t save on a k1000 you won’t save on a k100,000. It’s actually easier if you can build that muscle on smaller amounts; then it becomes like second nature to you as your income grows,” Jane Mazimba, the strategist and personal finance educator, explained.
Evans Mwale of the Presidential Malaria Initiative considers saving a necessity rather than a luxury. "I have a personal belief: save me now, I will save you tomorrow," he said.
One can always save, no matter the amount or rate.
Doreen Mwenda, the Teacher and librarian, further stated, “Well, as I help my family, I try to save a little that I can as long as I just manage to save to secure my future.”
James Tembo thought that there are more saving options today than ever, stating, “Usually I save in a way that I don’t have access to the money. You can use Patumba, or you can use a fixed account.”
How to Balance Family Support and Saving
Misplaced priorities may make saving and helping challenging. It is important to outline the hierarchy of needs.
Cover your essentials first.
Rent, food, transport, debt repayments and other essential expenses should be accounted for before deciding how much you can give away.
Pay yourself first.
Set aside a realistic amount for savings before the rest of your income is absorbed by expenses.
Set a family-support limit.
Decide in advance how much you can comfortably contribute each month rather than responding to every request individually.
Prioritise genuine needs.
Where possible, distinguish between emergencies and expenses that could be planned for.
Don't make yourself financially unstable to help someone else.
Supporting family should not require you to take on unaffordable debt or neglect your own essential needs.
The sacrifices and efforts parents and family make for one to finish school and later get a job deserve utmost honour, but one should not inherit an obligation so heavy that it prevents them from building their own future.
