Can the financial media replace the financial advisor A recent survey by financial services company acsis looked into the financial security of middle income South Africans. They were specifically interested in how secure people felt around their...
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Should you be paying provisional tax?
If you've checked the provisional tax status of your eFiling profile, you may have noticed that all taxpayers are now loaded as provisional taxpayers. Why is this? Technically, any person deriving income that's not remuneration is eligible for...
The lowdown on ‘deal of the day’ websites
Everyone loves a good deal or a discount. If you haven't already discovered sites like Zappon, Groupon, What-a-Deal, UbuntuDeal, Wicount or Twangoo (and there are more), you're missing out on some savings. You do need a credit card – though...
Working in a ‘hot zone’? How’s your insurance?
Companies with footprints in the Middle East and North Africa are probably more interested in political risk and insurance than in the markets right now. With Libya in chaos and with tensions in Bahrain and Yemen escalating, it's fair to say the...
Want to sort out savings? Get rid of FICA
hile National Treasury bemoans our low savings rates and looks at ways to encourage savings, it should first look in its own back yard. In South Africa’s desperate attempt not to look “third world”, our financial authorities have burdened the...
Should you fix your mortgage?
In some cases, the banks will only offer customers a fixed interest rate, in other words no matter what happens to the prime lending rate, your home loan repayments remain the same. This is usually for customers who have had a problem with their...
Retirement
Should you cash in your pension to settle your mortgage? Pension surveys show that around the age of 35 many people who change jobs will cash in their pension fund to settle their mortgage. The question is whether this makes financial sense. Let’s...
How to sell your car
"A friend of mine bought a car and now he can’t afford the installment. Is it wise to take it back to bank or to a dealer and will he get something back?" asks Thabang Maya replies: It is very important that your friend sells the car rather than...
Seven must-read fuel-saving tips
The Department of Energy's fuel-efficiency tips might just save you quite a bit each month. Close your windows when you drive. An open window creates drag, which increases fuel consumption by as much as 20%. Multigrade oil reduces drag, so consider...
The tax implications of donating to charity
What are the tax implications of donating to charity? Billy Joubert, tax director at Deloitte, says that donations are tax deductible if they’re made to certain types of non-profit organisations. To get the deduction, the donor would need to obtain...
Previous Articles
What a first-time art investor needs to know
Investing in art may seem like an arcane or dubious investment practice to the uninitiated, but we do know it can bear fruit. Art does have investment potential – it's considered an alternative investment that offers investors the chance to diversify out of equities...
Avoiding Repossession
Thabang asks: A friend of mine bought a car and now he can’t afford the installment. Is it wise to take it back to bank or to a dealer and will he get something back? Maya replies: It is very important that your friend sells the car rather than waiting until the bank...
Making strides in shariah-compliant investing
You don't need to be Muslim to invest in shariah-compliant investment products – as the credit-crunch and fall-out showed, Islamic banking and investment products fared well by avoiding interest-bearing assets and securities, focusing on commodities and...
Self-employed? Don’t give up on buying property
Self-employed applicants are considered 'high risk" by banks because they tend to have unstable incomes. So proving you can afford to pay off a home loan can be an exercise in frustration. Of course, if you are employed by a self-employed person, you will probably get...
What is a unit trust and how do I invest?
“I've freed up R500 per month and would like to invest this amount every month in a unit trust account, but I don't know anything about unit trusts, how they work or who to contact to do this,” writes Thami. Maya replies: This is an excellent question because you want...
Is an electronic will valid?
A recent Supreme Court of Appeal decision, which declared an email will to be valid, gave me pause for thought. Are "e-wills" the wills of the future? Jacinta Bassuday, manager of Legal, Standard Executors and Trustees Limited, set about explaining the situation to...
Jargon buster: outperformance
The best way to define outperformance when it comes to investing is by way of an example. In the investment world, a fund manager aims to outperform a specific benchmark that his or her fund's performance will be measured against. In that way, a fund manager's...
Is it time to find a new executor?
If the executor of your will is not especially dynamic or able to drive hard to finalise a testamentary process, it may be time to find a new one. This is because some estates now take more than two years to wind up and a diligent executor needs to push to have the...
How the ombudsman for long-term insurance can help you
The ombudsman for long-term insurance mediates in disputes between members of the long-term insurance industry and policyholders. The service is free and the ombudsman helps to resolve disputes quickly, through mediation and with cost-effectiveness in mind. When...
Divorce and pension fund benefits
If you're divorced, or in the process of getting divorced, the issue of pension fund benefits is one you may want to think about. Remember that pension interest forms part of your spouse's assets, so you may be entitled to a claim, depending on your marital regime. I...