Basetsana Kumalo bought her first property at age 21

Shortly after handing over her Miss South Africa crown, media mogul Basetsana Kumalo bought her first property at the tender age of 21.

This is according to a recent interview she had with 702 host Bruce Whitfield in which the pair were discussing all things money as part of Whitfield’s “Make Money Mondays, Personal Edition” feature.

Kumalo attributed her decision of making the purchase to what she calls “conscious parenting” and the financial advice her frugal parents gave her as she was still growing up during and after her reign as Miss SA.

“No Ivy League institution could have taught me what I learnt in my mother and father’s house,” began Kumalo.

“My parents, especially my mom, always encouraged us that ‘if you make a little bit of money in life, don’t buy a flashy car, buy property’ and so I started buying property … my first property [came] at the age of 21 just after I handed over my crown,” explained Kumalo before saying she went on to expand her property portfolio.

She also gave credit to her parents for teaching her how to budget by allocating different amounts from their entrepreneurial exploits when she was growing up to covering the various household expenses they had as a family.

“There’s a blueprint that I only know and that is ‘hard work pays.’ The hustler in me comes from the ‘hood, understanding that one has to chart a different trajectory for one’s life because of where we come from as black people.”

Kumalo went on to share the lessons that she and her husband Romeo Kumalo impart on their four children.

“We discuss stocks and options with them at the dinner table,” added Kumalo.

Though she highlighted all the wisdom her parents imparted to her, she did admit to making frivolous decisions with her money. She listed travel as her biggest vice, recalling a failed ski trip that saw her family leaving a certain country five hours after landing upon discovering that the experience they were sold was not what they were getting.

She touched on her life as Miss South Africa 1994 and how this introduced her to travel, which she got to do a lot of with her former mentor Nelson Mandela.

Kumalo expressed her gratitude at how her life as a Top Billing host allowed her to continue this and to experience things she believes she may not have experienced under different circumstances.

Listen to the full interview below:

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