Introducing the Santam Insure Your Future Money Bootcamp podcast series. Are you ready to take control of your financial future? The Santam Insure Your Future Money Bootcamp podcast series is here to guide you through a transformative journey that...
True wealth requires patience
Maya Fisher-FrenchJan 23, 2020
One of the greatest sources of wealth is getting your money to work harder than you do. This is achieved through the power of compounding. The problem with compounding is that it only works with time – there is no get-rich-quick scheme involved....
Listen: Is your adviser earning their commission?
Maya Fisher-FrenchAug 30, 2019
If you have an investment policy, chances are someone is earning commission on it. When did you last speak to your adviser and do you even know who they are? Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) discuss commissions, fees, advice as...
Video: Plan for money moments and avoid debt
Maya Fisher-FrenchAug 22, 2019
Most short-term debt is simply a lack of planning. So, this year, instead of taking on more credit, plan for those money moments by starting a contingency fund in a high interest savings account. If you are planning a holiday this year, create a...
How to give your child the retirement you wish you had
Maya Fisher-FrenchAug 5, 2019
Most parents want to leave their children a legacy, but what if you could leave your children a secure retirement? A retirement that they never have to save a cent towards and that is completely tax free? According to Nic Andrew, executive head of...
Listen: Does your will reflect your wishes?
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 12, 2019
Who should you select as an executor and what happens to your retirement funds when you die? Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) unpack what you need to consider when writing up your will. Further reading: What should you...
Your retirement benefits may not end up where you plan
Guest AuthorApr 22, 2019
If you are formally employed you might have been required to join your company’s contracted retirement scheme, and they would have asked you to nominate a beneficiary for the proceeds in case you die before retirement. However, if you chose a...
Beware of your financial adviser asking you to move your investments
Mapalo MakhuMar 18, 2019
It is not uncommon for investors to move their investments from one insurer or asset manager to another. Whether it is because of the promise of better returns, to lower costs or just not being happy with the current company, investors do move...
Sticking to those financial resolutions in the New Year
Angelique RuzickaDec 31, 2018
On New Year’s eve, particularly after a few drinks, we make promises to ourselves that we have every intention of keeping. But time and again we fall short of sticking to these resolutions and just a few short weeks later, they’re forgotten. This...
Robo-advice drives down investment costs
Maya Fisher-FrenchNov 26, 2018
I recently came across the Nedgroup ‘robo-advice’ site, called Extraordinary Life. This new functionality from the Nedgroup investment house has not been widely advertised, and I suspect they are doing a ‘soft’ launch to test the channel first. The...
Previous Articles
Afraid to ask your adviser about fees? That’s weird.
Jul 26, 2018
By Emma Heap, Chief Growth Officer, 10X Investments Even if you feel a tinge of anxiety each time you see another news report about the damage high fees have done to someone’s retirement plans, you remind yourself that your financial adviser is an old family friend...
Is free retirement counselling really free?
Jul 19, 2018
What Retirement Benefits Counselling would mean to retirement fund members and the financial advice industry. For years I have been calling on the retirement fund industry to provide financial education to their members. This is a multi-trillion-rand sector that has...
Godparent vs Guardian: debunking the myths
Jun 21, 2018
By David Thomson, Senior Legal Adviser at Sanlam Trust Whether you are a godparent or you’ve asked someone else to be your child’s godparent, do you have clarity on what the term actually means? There is a critical difference between a godparent and a legal guardian...
Millennials: it’s time to wake up
Jun 7, 2018
Forget retirement and start thinking out of the box! The latest Sanlam Benchmark Survey on retirement reveals that the average retirement savings balance for a person of the age of 37 is only R90 000, and the average for millennials (people between the ages of 22 and...
Student loan or home loan?
Mar 29, 2018
A reader recently wrote in, asking whether it would be better to pay for her child's university education from her access bond, or to take out a student loan. A student loan can be very cost effective and in most cases, you would be paying around the prime interest...
Is retirement even possible?
Mar 26, 2018
I recently had a very interesting conversation with Lourens Coetzee of investment company Marriott, who said that the industry is coming to the realisation that retirement, in the way that we currently understand the concept, is no longer feasible. As we start to live...
Six key take-aways from Warren Buffett’s 2017 annual letter to shareholders
Mar 9, 2018
There is always a frenzy to devour and dissect Warren Buffett’s shareholder letter and extract the freshest pearls of wisdom. This year was no exception, even though the pickings seemed a bit slim. On more leisurely reading, says Steven Nathan, 10X Investment chief...
Your 12-month financial plan
Feb 5, 2018
If you’ve decided that 2018 is the time to get your finances under control, try this month-by-month plan so that your finances and admin are all up-to-date by the end of the year. January: Update your budget and plan for expenses Write up a budget. Don’t just guess...
Divorcing from the breadwinner
Feb 1, 2018
Sunel Veldtman, financial planner and founder of Foundation Family Wealth shares her advice to ex-spouses who have made career sacrifices for their family. Too many times I’ve sat across the table from a sobbing woman going through a divorce. Divorce is always...
Is university still relevant to generation Z?
Jan 22, 2018
How do we prepare our children, and our finances, for the fourth industrial revolution? I was chatting to a couple of financial planners about how clients save for their children’s tertiary education. It was no surprise to discover that most people are completely...