“As part of one’s personal financial plan, I believe in having 3-6 months living expenses saved up and easily accessible in case of an emergency. “My wife and I have saved extra funds into our mortgage bond and estimate that the value of the...
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RSA retail savings bonds as an investment
“Are RSA retail bonds still a good choice of investment over a 3 or 5 year period. And what interest rates are the offering at this stage?” writes Peter who is 65 years old. Maya replies: If you are simply comparing interest rates to a bank deposit...
RSA retail savings bonds as an investment
“Are RSA retail bonds still a good choice of investment over a 3 or 5 year period. And what interest rates are the offering at this stage?” writes Peter who is 65 years old. Maya replies: If you are simply comparing interest rates to a bank deposit...
RSA retail savings bonds as an investment
“Are RSA retail bonds still a good choice of investment over a 3 or 5 year period. And what interest rates are the offering at this stage?” writes Peter who is 65 years old. Maya replies: If you are simply comparing interest rates to a bank deposit...
RSA retail savings bonds as an investment
“Are RSA retail bonds still a good choice of investment over a 3 or 5 year period. And what interest rates are the offering at this stage?” writes Peter who is 65 years old. Maya replies: If you are simply comparing interest rates to a bank deposit...
How can I clear my debts?
“I want to clear my debt this year which I believe I can do if I focus. Should I consider debt consolidation where I use one loan to clear all my debts and then commit to paying off the one loan over 18 months? The debt is spread across SARS,...
Where should I invest each month?
“Where should I invest my R5000 per month? Should I save the extra cash for a deposit on a property? Distribute the money across my unit trusts? Save into an ETF (domestic or offshore), buy shares online or increase my monthly RA contribution,”...
How do I find the cash to save?
The bottom line is that saving is very difficult – if it was easy our savings rate would be far higher. Every age group has its specific expenses. Someone in their early twenties is most likely paying off student loans, possibly have parents to...
The power of compounding interest
"I recently read an article that stated that by investing R500 per month you can save R2.3-million. You said that this is the power of compound interest growth although one has only contributed R60 000, the rest is all growth from the investment...
Where do I save for my children?
Bank account: All the banks offer account for children but it depends what you are trying to achieve. If you want to give your teenager a bank account to teach them how to manage their money, these accounts are good options. Alternatively open an...
Previous Articles
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...
How to buy ETFs
It goes without saying that not all Top 40 exchange traded funds (ETFs) are alike. You need to consider what you expect from them before you include them in your portfolio. As with unit trusts, ETF managers use the Top-40 benchmark for their standard products, but not...
What is the cheapest bank account?
It really depends on your needs. Nedbank, Capitec and FNB seem to be the banks offering some of the best products. But you need to understand your banking profile first. Capitec can be cost effective if you do not do a lot of transactions in a month, but when I...
What should be in my financial plan?
Pay off debt: It is always best to pay off high interest debt like your credit card. If you want to use your credit card for convenience set up a debit order so that it is paid in full at the end of every month. Emergency fund: Everyone should have an emergency fund....
How do I start investing?
You need to take your personal circumstances into consideration but here are some points to consider: Beware of cash: Over time cash will not keep up with inflation so unless you are only saving for one or two years, it is best to invest in a growth asset like...
Deciding between a unit trust or an ETF
I recently wrote about how a R200 a month investment became worth R35 000 by just investing investing in Satrix 40, an index-tracking exchange traded fund. I mentioned that the returns could have been even better if I had selected one of the top performing unit-trust...