Budgeting and knowing where your money is going is all well and good, but how do you use this knowledge to reach the goal of being debt free? The whole point of budgeting and money management is to help you get in control of your finances, but it’s...
With interest rates rising and the economy slowing, is now the time to make the biggest investment of your life? There is one thing most economists agree on: our economy will continue to slow and we will see further interest rate hikes. Against...
By David Knott, fiduciary expert at Private Client Trust Buying insurance, and drafting and updating your Will, can be put next to each other on the list of things that we don’t really want to do, and often put off doing. For many of us insurance...
Mokgotla writes: I am 35 years old and I want to invest R700 a month in a retirement annuity. My company is also contributing to my pension fund. Is this a good idea and how do I invest? Maya replies: Since 1 March 2016 you are able to invest up to...
Over the last few weeks I have been working on the Show Your Money Who’s Boss campaign, a collaboration between Maya on Money, City Press and 22seven.com, which required me to test drive the money management app 22seven.com. I had tried out...
If a member of a retirement fund passes away leaving minor children, the trustees of the fund are required to determine whether or not to pay out the child’s portion of the fund directly to the surviving parent or guardian, or whether to transfer...
Geoff Blount, MD of BayHill Capital, finds that the underlying trend in the JSE has been negative since early 2015. Given that the South African economy has been limping along for at least three years, the strong stock market has confounded...
If you are a government employee, you need to be wary of advisers who recommend that you resign in order to access your pension before retirement. Many commentators have attributed the spate of government employee resignations, just before...
By David Knott, a fiduciary expert at Private Client Trust Many people are unaware of the concept of “domicile” and few understand its implications. Domicile relates to the country where you have a permanent home, where you lay down your head each...
Rebecca writes: I am a 36-year-old professional and single mother of two. I had planned that this would be the year that I would buy my own modest home. I have been listening to financial experts on TV saying that first-time home buyers must delay...
Trusts may be one way to protect your assets from creditors but it is not something you should enter into lightly as the negatives could outweigh the benefits of protection. Mpho wrote to me to argue the point that a trust would have been able to protect his assets...
Ridwan asks: I have been told that by splitting my monthly installment into two payments over the month, for example the 15th and the 30th of the month, I can save on interest as interest is calculated daily so the payment on the 15th reduces the capital outstanding...
A recent study by Sanlam done amongst mothers with children aged between 3 and 15 shows that some parents go as far as holding down two jobs to put their children through private schooling, which they perceive to be the best legacy they can give their children. “Our...
Nervous investors may be considering phasing-in their investments, but does it make sense? At the time of writing this article, the market was down around 15% from its high in April 2015, the rand continued to fall to the dollar at 35% weaker than a year ago and the...
By Ricardo Teixeira, COO of BDO Wealth Advisers With South Africa precariously placed on the cusp of a credit rating downgrade, being able to demonstrate to the global credit rating agencies that ‘SA Incorporated’ is solvent and growing has been a key focus of the...
By Kezia Talbot, Legal Advisor at BDO Wealth Advisers For those taxpayers with undisclosed foreign assets, time is running out. With the introduction of FATCA and a global standard for the automatic exchange of information between countries’ tax authorities, it is...
By Hedley Lamarque, Certified Financial Planner at BDO Wealth Advisers If you have been planning on cashing in an investment (such as shares or unit trusts) in the short term, then it would be better to do it before the end of February 2016, due to changes in capital...
A quick summary of some of the major points from finance minister Pravin Gordhan's 2016 budget speech. Future tax No increases to personal income tax or VAT this year but Minister Gordhan is looking for R15bn in new taxes next year and another R15bn the following...
In the final episode of Change in your Pocket, we highlight the importance of dealing with various admin issues before you get married. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6attRo6UGUQ&feature=youtu.be – Video supplied by BrightRock Welcome to the Change Exchange, where...
Lebo writes: My brother has suggested that I form a family trust and put my house, car and investments into it in order to protect them. Is this a good idea? Frank Magwegwe, head of Momentum Personal Adviser Services at Momentum Retail replies: Trusts are very...