Salem Nyati, Consumer Financial Education Specialist at Momentum Group Foundation

You’re lying on the couch after a long day, scrolling through Instagram. Someone is drinking cocktails in Bali. Someone else is unboxing a new handbag. A 25-year-old is smugly explaining the “five things she did to become financially free”, while another reel informs you that by 40, your savings “should” be sitting at a number that makes your stomach drop.

You put your phone down feeling vaguely as though you’re failing at life.

Sound familiar?

I think we underestimate how much social media has changed not only what we want, but how quickly we think we should have it. We see the house, the holiday, the promotion, the business and the “soft life” compressed into a 30-second reel. What we don’t see is the ten years that came before it – or the debt, family money, sponsorship, sacrifices and sheer luck that may sit behind it.

Throw in #SoftLifeEra, #ItsMyTurnBafazi, #GirlMath and #GirlTherapy, and it can become very easy to mistake somebody else’s highlight reel for the standard our own lives should meet.

That pressure has financial consequences. When your own progress starts to feel too slow, spending can become a way of closing the gap. Credit cards, loans and even mashonisas can fund the appearance of a lifestyle our income cannot comfortably support. Then, when our salaries increase, lifestyle inflation takes over: instead of putting more towards savings and investments, we simply upgrade the life we’re trying to keep up with.

This is why one of my simplest rules is this: if the content you consume regularly makes you feel inadequate or as though you are not doing enough with your life, it may be time to change your feed.

This year’s Momentum She Owns Her Success campaign reminds us that her success has a number. That number is personal. Your financial success has its own number and its own timeline; neither should be dictated by a stranger online.

So, how do you build a healthier financial feed?

1. Know who to unfollow

Pay close attention to how you feel after consuming someone’s content. If an account consistently makes your perfectly decent life feel inadequate, simply unfollow. That includes aspirational lifestyle accounts, not only questionable “finfluencers”.

Remember, social media platforms are designed to keep you scrolling – and plenty of the content filling that scroll is designed to make you want something. So, if every time you open TikTok leaves you wanting to buy something, upgrade something or keep up with someone, recognise how your feed is influencing your financial behaviour  – and control it, before it controls you.

2. Follow people who build financial confidence

Anybody can call themselves a finfluencer. However, when you’re looking for actual financial guidance, prioritise credible sources and certified financial advisers.

Good financial education allows you to understand concepts such as saving, compound interest, budgeting and debt. With more knowledge, you can ask more informed questions –  from qualified professionals – which will ultimately leave you better equipped to make decisions that suit your unique circumstances and goals.

3. Use your feed as a vision board, not a financial plan

There is nothing wrong with wanting the beautiful holiday, home, handbag or soft life. Let those things inspire you. But Instagram doesn’t know your salary, debt, dependants or priorities. Your feed can help you imagine what you want; your numbers must decide how and when you get there.

4. Put the missing context back in

When someone else’s success makes you question your own, ask yourself: What don’t I know? You are seeing an outcome, not their audited financial statement – in other words, you aren’t privy to what they earn, how long they saved, whether the trip was sponsored or the car borrowed. Never measure your complete financial life against somebody else’s edited moment.

5. Train your algorithm

Your algorithm learns from what holds your attention. Stop feeding it content that makes you spend, compare and panic. Mute it or hit “not interested”. Then actively engage with content about saving, investing, career growth, affordable experiences and building wealth sustainably, so that you start to train the algorithm to prioritise similar content.

The soft life itself isn’t the enemy. I want women to build lives that feel secure, joyful and abundant.

Just don’t finance the appearance of a soft life in a way that makes your real life harder.

ENDS