A lack of emergency savings left households vulnerable to the economic shock of Covid-19. The last five years have been tough for South African consumers as salaries failed to keep up with inflation, unemployment grew, and debt levels increased....
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Tips for a successful used car purchase
Ernest North, co-founder of AI-driven insurtech Naked, looks at some of the steps to follow before committing to a used car purchase. Numbers from TransUnion show that South Africans financed around 79 000 used vehicles in the first three months of...
Four signs that could predict a market crash
Pieter Hundersmarck, fund manager at Flagship Asset Management, wants us to learn from history when it comes to the factors that could trigger a market crash. While the future is unlikely to be an exact repeat of the past, history is full of...
Beware: fraudsters are everywhere
Ramesh Ramdeen, Head of Fraud at FNB Wealth and Investments and Ashburton Investments outlines some key things to look out for to avoid becoming the victim of fraudsters. Investment and financial fraud is on the rise across the world. Each day...
Listen: Transform your relationship with money
“So many of us are bonded to our idea of wealth even though it isn’t working for us or the planet, because of the very nature of our relationship with money,” says John Sanei (@iamjohnsanei), futures strategist and bestselling author. “We expect...
Why you should use virtual cards
Virtual cards offer more protection when you’re making purchases – especially online. Angelique Ruzicka finds out how they work. Shopping online has always come with risks, especially when it comes to fraud, but the introduction of virtual bank...
Removing the rand from the offshore investment equation
Kyle Wales, fund manager at Flagship Asset Management, says that we should consider offshore investment for the right reasons, not simply because we fear rand weakness. Many investors base their decisions to invest offshore purely on their...
Habits that set successful investors apart
When investing, sometimes the best course of action is to do nothing. Having the ability to block out the noise, and look through the cycle, are some of the cornerstones to investment success over the long term. Nomi Bodlani, head of strategic...
Pros and cons of a pension-backed home loan
If you're looking at taking out a home loan, it may be worth enquiring whether you can use your pension fund as a guarantee for the loan. A pension fund is permitted by the Pension Funds Act to lend a member an amount of money for the purposes of...
Listen: Why institutions are taking bitcoin seriously
If you want to understand bitcoin, blockchain and the related crypto-asset world, listen as Chris Becker, blockchain technologies specialist at Investec Private Bank, unpacks the world of blockchain technologies and explains why we are just at the...
Previous Articles
Move away from exchange control
South Africa is moving from a framework of exchange control to capital-flow management, but what does that mean for the ordinary South African investor? Over the last few years, exchange control for individuals has been incrementally lifted, making it easier for South...
What is a money market fund?
Absa has announced the closure of its 25-year-old Absa Money Market Fund. Saleh Jamodien, Research & Investment Analyst at Glacier by Sanlam, gives a comprehensive overview of what a money market fund is, and suggests some options for investors to consider. The...
Can students truly bank for free?
Angelique Ruzicka takes a look at the bank account offerings for students, as banks try to entice a younger crowd with reduced or zero fees in the hope of bagging a client for life. In March, Absa ditched fees for all of its student cheque accounts. Cowyk Fox,...
Listen: Tax tips for freelancers and side hustlers
Tax is one of the most important money matters, especially when you work for yourself or have a side hustle that earns you some extra cash. Navigating the tax maze when you don’t just have an IRP5 from an employer can be quite challenging. In this podcast, Maya...
Video: The true cost of a fancy car
The decision on how much to spend when purchasing your car is possibly one of your most important financial decisions. In fact, banks say that the main reason they turn down home loan applications is due to affordability, and the main culprit is usually car finance....
Inside a cryptocurrency scam
Social media networks are being used to lure people into a cryptocurrency scam. A sophisticated social media network is being used to con South Africans by claiming to generate huge returns through trading. The network is made up of 300 fake twitter accounts...
Working from home? You can claim from SARS
Elani van der Westhuizen, senior tax technical at TaxTim, explains what you can claim from SARS if you've been working from home. There's some good news for you if you’ve been working from home for the past year. You can claim a tax deduction if you worked from home...
Video: Set goals for money success
The key to achieving our money goals is to use psychology to set us up for success. When it comes to our money goals, behavioural economist Erik Vermeulen says we need to set specific long-term goals, but also have built-in intermediate success measures to make our...
Anger over high-cost investment products
A blame-game is starting with complaints about overpaid financial advisers and expensive product options. Readers have provided numerous examples of high-cost investment products sold by advisers working for large insurance firms. Clients are angry about high fees and...
Finding a more equitable credit model
The Save2Buy model is a hybrid between a lay-by and more traditional credit. In a world where credit has become a way of life, is it possible to find a system that allows someone to purchase an item and have use of it whilst paying it off, but without being fleeced by...