Real Sou Sou Explained

In my last blog post, the topic was about a new pyramid scheme - Ponzi scheme that is going around these days called Friends And Family Share (it is also known by other names).  So in this post I decided to explain the operations of a real Sou Sou (also known as a Box Hand in the Caribbean).

The real sou sou is a system where close family and friends, a group of employees get together and save money together as a group.  Out of the group one person is the treasurer.  Most times this person is the one who starts up the Sou Sou.  From my experience, the only time I joined a Sou Sou is when I get feedback from either a family member or friend that there was a Sou Sou and was operated excellently.

All the members in the sou sou are trustworthy people and invest their monies either weekly, every two weeks or every month.  Each member is informed of the amount of money that has to be invested each pay period and the amount of money they will receive when they do a 'withdrawal' (that is when each member is suppose to receive their money).    

How it works:  Example:  There are six people in the sou sou and each person is required to invest one hundred dollars each month.  The sou sou will run for a period of six months and each month a different person in the group will receive six hundred dollars. 

At the end of the first month, each person is required to give their investment to the treasurer.  When all the monies are collected, it is given to the person who requested to make the first 'withdrawal'. 

At the end of the second month the same thing happens but a different member of the group makes a 'withdrawal'.

The duties of the treasurer are as follows:

• obtain members for the upcoming sou sou
• identify the amount each person has to invest.  The length of the sou sou will depend on the number of people in the group.
• before the start of the sou sou, the treasurer takes note of when each person wants to 'withdraw' their investment.  

My mother invested in sou sous on numerous occasions with a group of her friends at work.  Most times she would use the money to purchase my schools books, make a lumpsum mortgage payment or go on a vacation overseas.  The last time I was in one, when I withdrew my investment, I was able to use the money to purchase a new computer as the one I had crashed.

With the real sou sou, you are NOT required to bring in anyone else to the group.  However if you want to invite someone, it is welcomed but it is understood that whoever you invite, the person must be trust worthy.  As a matter of fact, the smaller the group the better.  That way the sou sou will finish faster.

This is a great way to save money because most times many people have difficulty saving under normal situations.