Will higher interest rates do more harm than good? Rising interest rates appear to have had little impact on inflation, but higher interest rates are placing South Africans under significant financial pressure. The current interest rate cycle has...
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Listen: Has SARS made it harder to invest offshore?
On 24 April 2023, seemingly out of the blue, SARS updated its "Manage Your Compliance Status” webpage and announced a “new enhanced” Tax Compliance Status (TCS) application form. This new process might make things quite a bit more complicated for...
How much life cover do I really need?
When you have people who depend on you financially, life cover becomes a crucial part of your overall financial plan. But thinking about these issues at a young age can be a little overwhelming, and it's difficult to figure out the right level of...
Buy a home or replace my car?
Many people are wondering whether now is the right time to buy a home for the first time, given the high interest rates. It is a common question I receive from readers. One reader wrote: "I am looking to buy a home for the first time but am...
How to start an investment club
An investment club is a great way to learn about investing. You can give different members the responsibility to each research a different topic, and then educate the group on it at regular meetings. Members could even go to a seminar on behalf of...
Handle Black Tax Like a Pro
Black tax is not so much about money as it is about boundaries, says Ndumi Hadebe, author of Handle Black Tax like a Pro. In ten relatable stories that range from absent fathers to siblings’ expectations, self-leadership coach Hadebe explores the...
Listen: What makes a successful investor?
In the third episode of a six-part podcast series entitled “Emotions and Money”, Maya chats with Paul Nixon, head of behavioural finance at Momentum Investments, about the key behaviours that make a successful investor. They also look at the impact...
Where to stash your short-term savings
When we think about investing we typically think about our long-term goals such as retirement. But what are the options for short-term savings, where you will need the money in less than five years? This could be for a deposit on a home, saving for...
“Agreed value” for your car insurance?
It’s always a good idea to shop around for the best-value car insurance, but it’s important that you understand what you are paying for. One of the big differences in the cost of the premium is whether you are insured at retail value, market value,...
Teaching a student how to budget
If your kids ask you to increase their allowance, rather take the opportunity to teach them how to budget. My youngest started university this year and is living on campus. We gave him an allowance to cover his various expenses including additional...
Previous Articles
Is “cash stuffing” a good idea?
Many years ago, when I was trying to pay off my debts and get my finances under control, I used the technique of “cash stuffing” (in those days, we called it “the envelope method”). This was essentially a way of going back to cash and avoiding using my credit card or...
Listen: How your personality traits affect your relationship with money
In the second episode of a six-part podcast series entitled “Emotions and Money”, Maya chats with Paul Nixon, head of behavioural finance at Momentum Investments, about the different personality traits and how your personality could be affecting the way you manage...
How the Discovery WELLTH Fund works
Discovery Health is offering members a once-off additional benefit called the WELLTH Fund, to be used to cover additional costs incurred in preventative screening. Research by Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) found that general health checks were down 50% at the...
Understand the preventative screening benefits of your medical scheme
Most medical schemes will tell you that they ensure the health of their members by providing preventative screening benefits that are paid for from the risk portion of the scheme. What this means is that certain health tests are paid for not by your day-to-day...
Would you pay an honouring fee to avoid “embarrassment”?
Could your bank be charging you an “honouring fee” when you go over your credit limit, just to save you embarrassment at the till? Have you ever been in a situation where you are out shopping and happily using your credit card, thinking all is well, even though you...
PayShap can reduce cash payments
PayShap could be a game-changer in South African banking, effectively eliminating the need to make cash payments. From a banking customer perspective, PayShap is simply another payment channel to add to the various options already available. One can decide whether to...
Listen: What is behaviour tax and how can we avoid it?
In this first episode of a six-part podcast series entitled “Emotions and Money”, Maya chats with Paul Nixon, head of behavioural finance at Momentum Investments, about “behaviour tax” ‒ the true cost of our poor investment decisions. What is behaviour tax? Research...
Can debt counselling help your credit score?
Have you thought about applying for debt counselling but decided against it, because you weren't really sure of the benefits? One benefit you may not have considered is that successfully completing debt counselling could help your credit score. Debt management company...
How to fund your solar panels
In February’s budget speech, the government introduced some tax relief for households who wanted to get off grid by investing in solar panels. However, this relief won’t help to fund the entire installation cost, and with solar panels costing in the region of R5 000...
PayShap: instant payments with just a cellphone number
PayShap is a new payment technology available in South Africa that allows anyone to transfer money into someone's bank account using just a cellphone number. In order to be paid directly into your bank account, you no longer need to share your banking details with...