Nedbank recently hosted The Money Roast, using laughter to start the difficult conversations about money South Africans often avoid. By putting the country's relationship with money in the hot seat, the event created a relatable space to examine the emotions, socialpressures, and learned behaviours that shape how people earn, spend, save, borrow, and support others.
South Africans talk about money every day – from the cost of living, salaries, and interest rates to school fees, debt, the cost of groceries, and the petrol price. Yet, the relationship beneath theseconversations is rarely explored: how money makes us feel and why we behave the way we do with it.
'The Money Roast was designed to bring the hidden dynamics of our money behaviours into the open in a way South Africans can relate to,' says Khensani Nobanda, Group Chief Marketing Officer at Nedbank. 'Money is part of our everyday conversation, but the feelings and behaviours behind it often remain unspoken. Humour has made it easier for people to recognise themselves in the conversation. When we can laugh at the habits and pressures that shape our money choices, we can begin talking about them more honestly.'
The event took the form of a genuine comedy roast, led by a toastmaster, and featured a panel of popular South African personalities who highlighted familiar money behaviours. The guest of honour was not a person, but South Africa's relationship with money. This format allowed uncomfortable truths about financial anxiety, family obligations, and social expectations to surface using candour and humour.
What's your hot take on this story?
Laughter opened the way for a deeper discussion grounded in Nedbank's Money Relationships Report. Drawing on the 2025 NedFinHealth Monitor, the report explores both the financial progress working South Africans are making and the emotions that continue to complicate their financial lives. Although 46% of the respondents feel financially better off than they did a year ago, money remains the biggest source of stress for 51%, while 37% still find it embarrassing to ask forfinancial help. The report also shows that practical habits matter: 71% of the respondents have a monthly household budget, and budgeters are more likely than non-budgeters to spend less than they earn and experience lower levels of financial stress.
The conversation also reflected the realities of earning and sharing money in South Africa. One in 4respondents (24%) said that financially helping others is a source of money stress, up from 16% in 2023, while 41% pointed to borrowing money from family or friends as their most common form of debt. These findings reinforced the event’s central message: financial well-being is shaped not only by income and knowledge, but also by relationships, expectations and emotion.
'The Money Roast was about making the invisible visible,' says Nobanda. 'The Money Relationships Report gives people the insight and language to understand what drives their financial behaviour, whilethe event showed that these conversations do not have to begin with judgement. They can begin with recognition, honesty and even laughter, and lead to practical action.'
To learn more about Nedbank’s Money Relationships Campaign and check your financial health, visit nedbank.co.za
