A landmark ruling by the Constitutional Court on garnishee orders will not be applied retrospectively. Last month, the Constitutional Court issued its ruling relating to emolument attachment orders (known as garnishee orders) in a case that had...
You are Here >
Home > Financial Sense Home >
How to get a fibre connection in your neighbourhood
The recent launch of a new product provider that aims to bring a 5G network to the market has raised hope among those South Africans who make significant use of internet services. We take a look at what the new company will offer and what you need...
Liberty customers to get discount on new listing
If you are a Liberty customer you may want to take advantage of discounted shares in the new Liberty property listing. Towards the end of this year Liberty will be listing its premium property portfolio which includes the iconic Sandton City. The...
The importance of finding the right financial adviser
You don’t have to have a lot of money to invest in order to work with a financial planner. With changes to the way financial advisers are remunerated, some industry commentators believed that it would negatively affect younger investors who do not...
Acquiring a second passport via a residence or a citizenship programme
Worldwide, there is increasing interest in second citizenships, especially among business people and the wealthy, including many South Africans. The desire to hold the passport of another country is driven by various factors: you can select the...
Domestically focused sectors offer reasonable value on JSE
By Dave Mohr & Izak Odendaal, Old Mutual Multi-Managers The JSE All Share Index remains trapped within its two-year trading range of between 46 000 and 55 000 points, meaning that dividends and stock picking generated most of the returns for...
Ignore SARS questionnaires at your peril
by Nthati Khumalo, Tax Compliance Trainee at BDO South Africa The High Court recently held that Mr Julian Brown must submit a response to a SARS lifestyle questionnaire or suffer the consequences. SARS may in terms of the Tax Administration Act...
Is MiBiz too good to be true?
There is a big difference between knowingly investing in a high-risk technology business and being sold misinformation. I recently wrote about a group of companies: AllQuotes, BuyDirect and MiBiz, which fall under a parent company called FinGroup....
The truth about debt review
Debt review is not as simple as handing over your bills to a debt counsellor – you have to keep track of your credit provider statements Three years ago Linda (not her real name) and her husband went under debt review. Like so many young couples,...
Are you man enough to share your income?
Money is a big issue for many couples, so much so that it is the main cause of divorce. Yet finding an equitable way to manage the household finances is a bit like finding the holy grail. The main issues for couples around money are: a discrepancy...
Previous Articles
Should you use a foreign currency account to save for an overseas holiday?
We recently ran an article on the various options for offshore bank accounts and highlighted foreign currency accounts (FCA) which are effectively on-shore accounts that are linked to your local bank account and have low minimum deposit rates. These could be used, for...
Are blue chips a great investment?
Dr Andrew Dittberner, Chief Investment Officer at Cannon Asset Managers, warns of the danger of confusing “big” with “great”. Conventional wisdom tells us that large, established companies are a safer and better investment option than smaller companies. These “blue...
It’s almost time for Financial Planning Week
The financial services industry prepares to empower consumers through its annual Financial Planning Week initiative. The Financial services industry, led by the Financial Planning Institute (FPI), will once again be embarking on its annual Financial Planning Week...
Investors claim fraud in passive income scheme
Insiders raise the alarm over the business practices of AllQuotes and BuyDirect. When one receives anonymous tip-offs about unethical business practices, there is always the concern that the information is accurate and not just a disgruntled employee taking a dig. So...
Should you lease or buy a car?
South Africans are well known for treating their cars as status symbols. Car finance figures show that on average, South Africans who are financing their cars tend to buy a new car every three years. Simphiwe Nghona, executive head of Wesbank’s motor division says...
What your retirement fund value really means
It’s about the income, not the lump sum. I recently received an email from a reader who had taken early retirement and was concerned that the value of his final pension benefit was significantly lower than the amount indicated in his benefit statement six months...
Offshore bank accounts: not just for the rich and famous
You don’t have to be a high flier to have a foreign currency account or even an offshore bank account which have now become an easily available and relatively affordable option for South Africans who would like to hold some funds offshore. As exchange control has...
How to stretch your salary
Times are tough and even though the inflation rate might be slowing down, prices are still going up. This means your cost of living is only going to increase as the months go by. According to the latest BankservAfrica Disposable Salary (BDSI) data, the average South...
Why your coffee costs you more
Remember the days when you went to buy a coffee and the cup only came in one size? Now most coffee-shop chains offer you a choice of small, medium and large. This is not because research has found that people have very different consumption needs, but rather because...
Could advances in medical technology make risk cover unaffordable?
Last week I attended the Momentum Risk Summit and one of the things that struck me was the extent to which medical technology will be able to predict our future health outcomes. We know that if we have an existing illness such as diabetes, we will pay more if we apply...