When the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance (OSTI) released its annual report recently, it was unsurprising that complaints around motor vehicle insurance are the most common, at over 48%. Of these complaints, 18% of motor vehicle insurance...
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How to get an ‘excellent’ credit score
When it comes to buying a house or car, a bank would consider both your affordability as well as your credit score. Your affordability will determine how much the bank will lend you, but your credit score determines your interest rate, or whether...
No more pension “debt” on divorce
The long-awaited amendment to the Government Employees Pension Law dealing with divorce debt has been signed into law. With very little fanfare, a very important piece of legislation was put into effect regarding the calculation of divorce benefits...
Listen: Why a blood test could save you money
By having a blood test you can significantly reduce your life cover premium. So why are people so reluctant to do so? Maya Fisher-French (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo Makhu (@womanandfinance) chat to Liberty expert Lisa Gibbon to understand what risk...
Is gold “God’s money”?
About two weeks before reading Fake by Robert Kiyosaki, who also wrote Rich Dad, Poor Dad, I had sold my KrugerRands to pay for the installation of solar panels for my home and office. I had reason to question my decision as the first section of...
Listen: Why do insurers turn claims down?
Media coverage around disallowed claims by life insurers has tarnished the industry. In this podcast, Maya Fisher-French and Mapalo Makhu chat to Dr Thabani Nkwanyana, lead specialist medical officer at Liberty on why a claim would be turned down –...
Listen: From over-indebted to debt free in six months
Money Makeover winner Samke chats to Maya and Mapalo about her experience of struggling with debt from her first paycheque and how she achieved her goal of being debt free by the age of 27. Ahead of Youth Day, Samke’s story highlights the...
Massive ID fraud syndicate exposed
Between 2015 and 2018, over 84 000 consumer profiles were compromised as part of a massive ID fraud syndicate. This came to light when 15 men appeared in the Nigel Regional Court on 6 May on charges of fraud, theft, forgery and contravention of the...
How much are you paying for credit life insurance?
If you have any credit facility or a loan, there is a good change you have credit life insurance. This is an insurance which settles the loan should you die or become disabled, and in some cases covers your repayments for a period of time if you...
Listen: Does it make sense to switch your life cover?
Does your life policy have a surrender value and what happens to all those premiums you paid if you switch to another provider? If you are considering switching, what questions should you be asking? In this week's My Money, My Lifestyle Podcast,...
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SA’s Khula makes global competition final
Angelique Ruzicka spoke to the co-founder of Khula, a start-up that is disrupting South Africa’s farm-to-table supply chain, reaching the Chivas Venture final in Amsterdam. South African startup Khula was the only South African company that made it to the top 15...
Beware loan scams
I recently received an unsolicited email from a company called Yes Money Loans. They claimed to be offering loans to blacklisted people at an interest rate of just 3.5% per annum. Considering they were marketing to desperate people who had been “blacklisted” and given...
Listen: Jargon busting life insurance
Life insurance is the easy part – you die, you get paid. But what about all those other insurances that we are told we need, like income protection, disability lump sum insurance and critical illness? What do they mean and when do we need them? Maya (@mayaonmoney) and...
GEPF benefits are guaranteed
I recently attended a briefing by Abel Sithole, the Principle Executive Officer of the Government Employees’ Pension Fund (GEPF), on the state of the fund's finances. What occurred to me during the discussion was how much better off GEPF pensioners (and those GEPF...
African Bank launches new transaction account
Customers benefit as banks launch cost-effective banking solutions. The banking industry is certainly seeing an increase in competition, with the launch of TymeBank earlier this year and with the imminent launch of Discovery Bank. As part of the increased competition...
Listen: Read your car insurance fine print
Given the technicalities around car insurance, it is not surprising that most complaints received by the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance relate to vehicle insurance and warranties. Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) discuss what fine print to check...
Your retirement income options
There are two main options when it comes to purchasing an annuity income: a guaranteed life annuity or a living annuity. If you are a member of a pension fund or have a retirement annuity, two-thirds of your final retirement amount must be used to purchase an annuity...
Is now the time to start investing?
The worst type of investing is trying to time the market. According to research done by investment research house Morningstar, more than half of the money that flowed into South African investment funds last year went to low-risk fixed-income funds. This is no doubt...
Listen: Have you been a victim of a loan scam?
In this week's My Money, My Lifestyle podcast, Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) discuss the modus operandi of loan scams and also unpack the details of the Barlowworld Kula Zizwe BEE offering. To join the conversation send us a WhatsApp voice note to...
The stubborn home loan debt
The first few years of paying off your home loan can be a very disheartening experience. Despite paying in thousands, if not tens of thousands of rands each month, the amount you still owe hardly budges. In the first few years interest makes up a very large part of...