This week · № 19

Emotional durability

Savings plans die in month seven, usually over something as ordinary as a fridge. Three questions written for companies that survive shocks, asked of one household and one shop.

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In this edition

Nearly three in ten adults could not find E3 100 in a month; one in ten would use savings first
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Petrol, bus, electricity and a car loan add about E466 a month for one household
After a E4 100 fridge, the stop order restarts at E200 and is back at E500 within three months

Three in ten would ask family or friends. One in ten would reach for savings first. The saver with a stop order is the exception.Chart · Plain Money / World Bank Global Findex

The economy

All in The economy →

№ 18 · 11 Oct 2026

Tiny, but mighty

Thirty-five years ago Eswatini was one of the fastest-growing economies on earth. Income per person has only doubled since. Five small countries show what it takes to keep growing once a boom has passed.

№ 17 · 4 Oct 2026

Price of the peg

The Central Bank raised interest rates in the same breath as it lowered its inflation forecasts. The reason sits across the border, and it reaches every loan and deposit in the kingdom.

№ 16 · 27 Sep 2026

The economy is growing. Can you feel it?

The ministry expects the economy to grow 5.3% this year. This is how that money travels from a building site to a till, and how to tell whether any of it is coming your way.

№ 15 · 20 Sep 2026

Where does our money go?

In August the kingdom sold E3.86 billion of goods abroad and bought E3.67 billion. Follow that money across the border and back, and you will find some of it in your own pocket.