Watch Episode 2 of the Change In your Pocket series for tips on how to draw up a budget. https://youtu.be/x8yK7_RgzyU - Video supplied by BrightRock So you’ve just landed the job of your dreams along with that salary bump that’s going to solve all...
There are several common mistakes around trusts, particularly when a trust has been set up for estate-planning purposes, to protect assets from creditors and for potential tax savings, writes Sumesh Somaroo, audit and assurance partner at BDO...
I have always had a cellphone contract. In fact, I am embarrassed to admit that I recently had to ask someone how to buy pre-paid data. The thing is, I got my first cellphone back in the dark ages when phones where the size and weight of a brick...
By Carl Roothman, Head of Retail Business at Sanlam Investments We are well aware that an adviser’s job is never done. No matter how thoroughly you explained to your clients what to expect from the equity market, when markets suddenly fall and...
So you’ve just got your first pay cheque and the temptation to go and blow the whole lot on a new wardrobe or a deposit on the car of your dreams will be huge. But you know that you also have to pay those boring expenses like rent, food and petrol....
Proposals contained in the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill of 2015 would dramatically decrease the amount of time in which the Commissioner is permitted to issue a reduced tax assessment, writes David Warneke, Director and Head of Tax...
If you have a will, you’ll have the last word on what should happen to the fruits of all your hard work when you are gone, right? Not quite, says Sanlam Trust legal adviser, Clive Hill. Wills have split up families, turned siblings into prime...
Chickens are coming home to roost for the credit insurance industry. Last month the National Credit Regulator (NCR) referred the financial services arm of JD Group to the National Consumer Tribunal for the mis-selling of credit life policies,...
Professor Matthew Lester weighs in on a wealth tax and whether it is a solution to South Africa's revenue needs. The Davis Tax Committee (DTC) believes that a wealth tax for South Africans is not the universal solution to South Africa’s revenue...
Around R20 billion of pension fund assets remains unclaimed by an estimated 3.5 million pension fund members or their beneficiaries. This is according to the Financial Services Board (FSB) which recently held a round-table discussion to address the...
Jules Galpin from The Sable Group’s Money Migrate service addresses some questions often asked about the grey area of financial emigration. What is the difference between emigration and financial emigration? If you emigrate without properly notifying the South African...
The One Rand Family project followed the experience of a relatively well-off family living on cash only ‒ in fact R1 coins ‒ for a month. If you haven’t followed the trials and tribulations of the One Rand Family aired on e.tv during July, it’s really worth catching...
Managing our finances involves a lot of tough decisions and we often put off making those decisions because they seem so overwhelming. But often, it's the procrastination that can end up costing more than making a non-optimal decision. So here are some tips to help...
If you haven’t contacted your insurer lately, you’re probably paying too much for your insurance. When I moved home I contacted my insurer, MiWay, to inform them of the change of address and that my car would no longer be in a locked garage. They informed me that my...
Cutting expenses isn't the only solution when it comes to balancing your budget; you can also try to find ways to boost your income. Here are three suggestions. With everything from interest rates to tax to electricity and petrol increasing faster than our salaries,...
Seed Academy has developed a free ebook to help South African entrepreneurs navigate the fundraising landscape. Donna Rachelson, chief catalyst at Seed Academy says that based on surveys and their training of hundreds of entrepreneurs, raising funds is the most common...
The dependency cycle is worsening, putting further pressure on those who have an income. I have to confess that the latest results from the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor made for sombre reading. We all know that households are starting to reel from...
By Clyde Rossouw and Sumesh Chetty, portfolio managers, Investec Asset Management Over the past few months we have seen markets start to retreat, and the most recent turmoil is a more violent expression of this. While this may come as a surprise to many, we have...
Since the relaxation of exchange control, and as the Rand continues its downward slide, many South Africans are investing offshore with important consequences for their estate planning. If you have invested offshore, consider whether you need a foreign will to deal...
When it comes to offers of credit, everyone is a target, regardless of where you're positioned on the income scale. Whether you're a CEO of a large corporate, an unskilled labourer, or taking your first step on the corporate ladder, the credit providers will...