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Does an early or late slot keep its value?

The pot is your contribution times the number of members. You receive it after (your slot minus 1) months. Inflation reduces that pot in today's money. The same page covers susu, ajo, esusu, chama, stokvel, and tontine.

Pot in today's money$940

Pot when it is your turn

$1,000

You also pay in $1,000 over the cycle. Nominally that matches the pot.

That pot in today's money

$940

You wait 5 months. Inflation cuts about $60 of purchasing power.

Last slot, for comparison

$894

The last member waits 9 months. An early slot keeps more of the pot's value. A late slot is the one inflation hits.

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How this is calculated

Assumptions

  • The pot equals contribution times members. You pay that same total over the cycle, including your own round.
  • A cycle has one month per member. Slot 1 waits 0 months. Slot k waits k - 1 months.
  • Real value = pot / (1 + annual inflation / 12) ^ months waited.
  • This ignores organizer fees, missed payments, and interest you could have earned on early contributions.
  • It does not say whether to join. It only shows purchasing power.

Worked example

10 members, 500 GHS each, slot 8, inflation 20% a year. The pot is 5,000 GHS. You wait 7 months. In today's money that is about 4,454 GHS, roughly 546 GHS less than receiving it now. The last slot, waiting 9 months, is about 4,309 GHS.

Sources

  • The formula is compound discounting of a known future amount. It is not a central-bank series.
  • Regional names (susu, ajo, esusu, chama, stokvel, tontine) describe the same rotation. Rules differ by group. Use your actual contribution and member count.

Educational software only. This is not financial, tax, or investment advice. Markets, inflation, fees, and your spending can all miss the model.

Last reviewed October 20, 2026 by Francis Eshun, Founder of Iron Wealth. He built the on-device tracker these pages describe. Iron Labs.

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