GENERATIONS – The Legacy’s Getty Diyale, is a character viewers tend to love, but sometimes she could use a piece of advice on how to handle the financial demands her family throws at her. The reality of what Getty is experiencing with her family is known as the ‘Black Tax’ problem. Andisiwe Dweba (29), who portrays Getty on the popular soapie, tells Move! that she is reliving her own past financial issues because of bad decisions she made to please her family. She talks about lessons she learnt about managing money and the power of saying no, even to the people she loves, to get out of debt.
BLACK TAX REALITY
She says very often in our society when one family member secures a job come month-end automatically their salary becomes the whole family’s pie to dig from. The Eastern Cape-born star says watching her character drowning in debt brings back those bad memories which she had to overcome in her own life. “What Getty is going through on screen is very personal to me,” she explains to Move!. “It hits home and I know it happens to many black people out there. Black Tax is so real. It has been such a privilege to be able to portray a storyline so profound and one that people relate to so deeply. Even though we experience money issues differently, we all see ourselves in Getty.” She says as a freelance artist it can be hard to stick to a budget because one doesn’t know when the next job will come. “I love my family to bits and there were times when I couldn’t say no to them even though I knew I was living on my last cent,” recalls the former Khululeka Siyavota actress. “I had to learn first-hand what it is like to help out and remain penniless in the process. Sometimes I didn’t know where my next meal would come from all because of over-spending on a pair of shoes that I didn’t really need.”
UNDER PRESSURE
Andisiwe also says that because of the nature of the industry, there is always pressure to live a certain lifestyle and to own a particular property but the reality is money doesn’t grow on trees, even for the celebrities we watch on TV. Refusing yourself the pleasure of what you really want to buy can be difficult but it can be more difficult to say no to your sibling whom you know might require your help and you cannot afford it.
FINANCIAL LESSONS LEARNT
Andisiwe says she had to teach herself to say no more than once to her own family members. She worked hard to stand her ground and got used to telling the truth whenever she cannot afford to help financially. “Of course, I didn’t get it all figured out the first time round. It actually took a long time to see the results,” she says. “I started investing in good books and read all magazines which gave tips on budgeting. It is still not easy to master it every time but there’s progress. I have also learnt to save which is something I used to struggle with a lot.” Andisiwe says sometimes she wishes she could smack Getty and tell her to wake up and smell the coffee. She adds there are lots .
