If you have taken a debt payment holiday, make sure you catch it up. I have previously warned readers against taking the three-month payment holiday offered by the banks unless you had no option. This is because the interest is capitalized and like...
One of the main reasons we have a credit crisis in South Africa is that we never plan and save towards our goals, because it’s just easier to borrow. Change your dependency on credit by planning for those money moments and start saving for your...
By Jashwin Baijoo, Tax Attorney at Tax Consulting South Africa Everybody knows SARS is under collection pressure and they have grown rather fond of appointing third parties, such as banks, to recover outstanding tax debts directly, which leaves...
Credit bureau Experian has released figures confirming that South Africans are in deep financial trouble. The number of credit active South Africans who have missed a debt repayment for the first time ever is at a record high. This is based on the...
In this podcast Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) each discuss an event in their week that made them reflect on the way we engage with money. A negative experience with the way financial products are sold makes Mapalo question...
Have you been shocked at the rapid price increase of some of your regular food purchases? City Press/Absa Money Makeover candidate Peter has been keeping a close eye on his grocery bills and has seen certain items increase, such as tinned tuna,...
Our Money Makeover candidates are all parents, so estate planning is a particularly important part of their financial plan. Read this article to get tips on what to look for when drawing up your will and making sure you have tax-effective estate...
We’ve had significant cuts in the interest rate this year. On 1 January 2020, the prime interest rate was 10%, and as of 22 May, it had been reduced to 7.25%. The current repo rate of 3.75% is the lowest it's been for almost 47 years. So it's not...
In this, our fifth Money Makeover podcast, we chat to Elton Govender, senior enterprise development specialist at Absa, to provide some tips to those of us who are self employed or running our own businesses. Elton shares the guidance and tools he...
If you follow my articles, podcasts or videos, you will know that I talk a lot about emergency funds. The concept of an emergency fund was really drummed into me when I edited Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover for South African readers. I always...
Chris is about to retire and wrote to us asking what he should do with his provident fund. A provident fund (unlike a pension fund or retirement annuity) allows you to take the full lump sum at retirement; you are not forced to purchase an annuity. Chris asked whether...
Despite having credit shortfall insurance, many policyholders find themselves out of pocket when it comes to claiming because they don't properly understand how the cover works. In its 2019 annual report the Ombud for Short-Term Insurance (OSTI) found that 49% of...
Payment holidays are a lot like real holidays – they end up costing more than you realise. In this podcast, Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) look at the costs of debt-payment holidays and how to get back on track after taking one.
The debate around prescribed assets grabs headlines from time to time, but when you cut through the hysteria there is largely a consensus that pension funds could be used to boost infrastructural development in South Africa. The important question is about how this...
While Bellah is never short of new ideas, the problem has always been the financial management of her businesses and her cash flow. Last year her construction business had a turnover of R1.3 million, but she had no idea whether she was making a profit. Her business...
Over the last 20 years the National Lottery has paid out a total of R285 million in jackpot prizes. But as they say, the lottery is a tax on the mathematically challenged. The chances of winning are really, really small. You only have a one in 14 million chance of...
The days of having a beer after work and driving home will soon be over – and that’s not just because of the lockdown restrictions. Once South Africa’s strict new drunk-driving laws have been passed, drivers won’t be allowed to drink alcohol at all. Currently, it’s...
Have you ever thought about how much you will earn over the next five years? If you have just started working and are taking home R15 000 a month, over the next five years you will earn nearly R1 million – without any promotions or salary increases. What will you have...
One of the things to emerge from the COVID-19 crisis is that the financial industry needs to innovate in order to keep up with a rapidly changing workforce that is increasingly comprised of self-employed people. Most financial products remain rooted in the idea that...
Do you know that over a 20-year period, you could give away more than a quarter of your investment returns to the taxman? That is why tax-free investment accounts are becoming so popular and why they have a place in everybody’s investment plan. The growth on the fund...