I remember as a teenager buying on lay-by. Jet stores had a red and orange jersey that I had fallen in love with. I didn’t have the money to buy it, and in those days store cards were uncommon ‒ and certainly not available to a teenager. I bought...
Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) speak to independent financial adviser Markus Bauriedl on what to look out for when selecting life insurance to make sure it pays out as promised. Not all cover is equal, and some products work...
Most agreements to suspend debt repayments or monthly premiums have come to an end. Make sure you understand how this will affect your finances. In the initial stages of lockdown, most banks, insurers and retirement product providers offered...
We often believe that the only way to pay off debt is with a windfall like a big bonus or winning the lotto. But this thinking gets us caught in an anti-wealth trap. We spend on our credit cards all year and use our bonus or 13th cheque to settle...
With criminals constantly trying to access our personal information, we should behave as if our identity is compromised and act accordingly. In late August, credit bureau Experian notified the public that there had been an incident involving a...
If you had R1 million right now and a five-year time horizon, what would you do with the money? This was one of the questions posed to a panel of investment experts at the recently held Allan Gray Offshore Exchange. The two-day offshore investing...
We should be in the habit of regularly reviewing our insurance cover, but if you haven’t done so for a while, COVID-19 lockdown is the perfect opportunity to make sure you have the correct cover in place and even save on premiums. You may find that...
The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud recently released its annual report. Over the past year, it resolved over 8Â 600 complaints of which 65% resulted in a favourable outcome for consumers. The average turnaround time was 42 days. The CGSO is not...
Is there such a thing as good credit? What forms of credit should you avoid at all cost? In this podcast, Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) discuss the good and dark side of credit and whether the concept of the lay-by will come...
A salary advance could be an attractive alternative to a traditional payday loan. A few years ago, I came across an article about how Walmart in the US allowed its workers to access a portion of their already-earned salary before month end. For...
Most of us know that we should have some emergency cash stashed away for a rainy day, but how many of us actually do it? With the COVID-19 pandemic came job losses and salary cuts for many South Africans, and this in turn is shining a very bright light on how critical...
Many South Africans believe that their retirement funds are under attack. Financial planners are inundated with queries from concerned clients and some are even stopping their retirement contributions. Is this fear well founded or an over-reaction to media headlines?...
By Elmarie Samuel, Senior Technical Marketing Specialist at life insurer FMI (a Division of Bidvest Life Ltd) South Africa’s gig economy is booming. More people than ever before are earning a living as so-called ‘gig workers’ - working as independent contractors,...
There are many money mistakes we all make that prevent us from reaching our financial goals and we could all learn better money habits. However, there are specific money issues that relate directly to women. To chat to us about the key money mistakes women need to...
By Elmien Pols, Private Client Trust In these interesting times in which we find ourselves, it is not unusual for people to live together, have children, buy properties and run a business together without formalising their relationship, either through marriage or a...
Whether you are saving for your child’s education or investing for their future, it's tough to know where and when to invest. When is a tax-free investment appropriate? Should you invest in your child’s name? And where should you save for those school fees? Maya...
In the hope of assisting investors to make better sense of the current financial climate, Debra Slabber, Business Development Manager of Morningstar Investment Management South Africa, explains some of the financial jargon that is often used during market downturns....
We've seen many financial institutions offer their customers a debt payment holiday during these trying times. And while it may seem like a welcome relief, be careful because it might end up costing you a lot more than you realize. According to the Old Mutual Savings...
If you get COVID-19, will your income protection or life insurance cover you? And what can you do if you can’t pay your premiums because the pandemic has affected your income? These questions are top of mind right now as the lockdown affects millions of South...
Payment holidays offered during the three-month period from April to June 2020 will cost an additional R20.7Â billion in debt for the estimated 1.6 million South African consumers who participated. This is according to calculations by DebtBusters, South Africa's...