In the 2011 Budget address Finance Minister Gordhan announced that National Treasury was considering a R200 000 cap on the tax deductibility for retirement savings. It is widely expected that this will be addressed in his budget speech on 22...
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When debt consolidation is not the solution
Debt consolidation is often seen as an easy way to get out of debt. Theoretically debt consolidation is a good solution if you are struggling to meet your many repayments. You are able to consolidate all your debts by taking out one single loan and...
How can I clear my debts?
“I want to clear my debt this year which I believe I can do if I focus. Should I consider debt consolidation where I use one loan to clear all my debts and then commit to paying off the one loan over 18 months? The debt is spread across SARS,...
Where should I invest each month?
“Where should I invest my R5000 per month? Should I save the extra cash for a deposit on a property? Distribute the money across my unit trusts? Save into an ETF (domestic or offshore), buy shares online or increase my monthly RA contribution,”...
Build up a property portfolio or diversify into other assets?
“My primary residence is fully paid off and I recently purchased a second property which I would like to pay off in the next 5 years. I have an extra R100 000 in a money market account, should I put that into the rental property plus an extra R2000...
Top stock picks for 2012
Alwyn van der Merwe, director of investments at Sanlam Private Investments (SPI) puts his head on a block and gives his top shares for 2012. Anglo American is our top pick for 2012, with the company on the road to recovery, a balance sheet once...
Buy a house or save for lobola?
"I have just paid off my car and now I must decide whether to buy a property or start saving for lobola and buy the house after I am married. The problem is that I cannot afford both and I need to do one of the two. I am currently renting a flat at...
How to learn to trade without losing money
Fin24’s new product, Dashboard (www.fin24.com) is perfect for the novice who wants to know how to pick shares, how to interpret the figures in a portfolio and when to buy or sell, all using virtual money. So you can have the experience of exposure...
How to trade forex for free
So many people have been caught out by the “get rich quick” advertising of foreign currency trading platforms and have failed to do their homework properly. If you really want to get into foreign currency trading, you can do it for a faction of the...
SA investment managers go shopping abroad
The unresolved European crisis may have markets reeling but it is creating an opportunity for South African investment managers to bulk up on cheap assets in developed markets. In the last few months major South African investment managers have...
Previous Articles
What to expect from your financial adviser
If one of your New Year's resolutions is meet with a financial adviser and put a financial plan in place, you need to know exactly what you can expect from your adviser. Financial adviser Warren Ingram who was nominated as the FPI 2011 Financial Planner of the Year...
The best way for your money to travel
Whenever I land overseas I withdraw some cash at the airport ATM using my credit card. However on my last overseas trip I discovered that my Mastercard was not accepted at the airport’s ATM’s which were all on the Cirrus network. It was a good reminder of the...
How to keep your MTN roaming costs under control
If you use your cellphone when travelling abroad you usually return to a phone bill that makes your credit card bill look tame. Here are some cost cutting tips from MTN: Use SMS roaming only, while abroad - simply dial *111*14# to activate SMS roaming. Once activated,...
Time to fix your mortgage
Six months ago Barclays Wealth predicted that South African interest rates would increase by 200 basis points by the end of 2012. At that time banks were charging around 115 basis points above their existing rate for clients to fix their mortgage for two years. Today...
Five safety tips for shopping online
Online shopping is making our lives a lot easier and saving time fighting queues at shopping malls, but it has its own set of risks. Brian McGrory, Head, Consumer Debit Products at Visa identifies ways to keep your shopping safe. Christmas is almost here but are you...
Four shares for the Christmas stocking
Adrian Saville, CIO of Cannon Asset Managers, suggests shares to buy with your December bonus I have been using the Samsung I9000 Galaxy for the past year and I am hooked. Given the incredible agility and resilience of this device, together with its affordability, it...
Is your favourite brand shrinking?
Your favourite brand of toothpaste, chocolate, chips, rice or tomato sauce may be costing you the same, but are you getting the same amount of product for your money? As consumers watch their pennies some manufacturers are shrinking the amount of product they put into...
What people are buying online this holiday
If you are looking for gift ideas here are some interesting stats from kalahari.com on what people are buying this festive season. Also a big increase in the number of people shopping online. Kalahari.com expects online sales growth of up to 30% over the holiday...
Are we shopping ’til we drop?
This week I was in Johannesburg and was amazed at how busy the shops were. I was told, although I have not confirmed this, that when fashion store Zara opened in Sandton City recently it did a turnover of R2 million in one day. Admittedly Sandton City is patronised by...
Credit crunch II – coming to a bank near you?
Jeremy Gardiner, director, Investec Asset Management looks at the risks of another credit crisis and what it means for SA What a difference a year makes. Back in November 2010, South Africans were still basking in the glory of a world-class World Cup, summer was on...