Criminals are now using AI to create sophisticated phishing emails, build hacking tools and uncover weaknesses in IT systems. While the world marvelled last year at the ease with which artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT completed tasks for...
Investment opportunities punted via social media are scams
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 11, 2024
Reputable and regulated financial services providers will never sell investments via a WhatsApp group, Telegram, a social media platform, email, or an unsolicited random phone call, so you can be sure that investment opportunities punted via social...
Make your first paycheque count
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 4, 2024
If you can start to manage your money responsibly as a student or new job entrant, you will be able to start to build long-term wealth. The key to wealth is not how much you earn, but how much you spend. Brenda wanted some advice on how to manage...
Financially stressed out
Maya Fisher-FrenchSep 19, 2023
Financially stressed out, drowning in debt and struggling to buy the basics, were the overwhelming results of two separate financial consumer surveys recently released. DebtBusters’ second annual Money-Stress Tracker, which surveyed 35 000...
Scams masquerading as stokvels
Maya Fisher-FrenchAug 31, 2023
Several scams have claimed to be stokvels in an attempt to gain legitimacy. The word stokvel tends to be used very loosely by people who are trying to legitimise a scam. At no point did United African Stokvel (UAS) ever operate as a stokvel. It was...
How did United African Stokvel con so many people?
Maya Fisher-FrenchAug 29, 2023
There has been a great deal of media coverage regarding the investigation into United African Stokvel (UAS) by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). Thousands of investors claim to have lost money, with losses estimated to be around...
Cybercrime syndicates running rampant in SA
Guest AuthorAug 17, 2023
Recent data from TCG Forensics shows that South Africa is being overrun by cybercrime syndicates, with the country rapidly emerging as the ‘cybercrime capital’ of Africa. South Africa is poised to surpass Nigeria and its notorious ‘Nigerian Prince’...
Allegations of corruption around tax refunds
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 25, 2023
Rumours are circulating about corruption around tax refunds, though it's unclear exactly how this is possible within the current tax administration system. Administrative delays and poor service delivery in any organisation create fertile grounds...
Tax refund delays causing frustration
Maya Fisher-FrenchJul 20, 2023
Tax practitioners have been raising concerns about tax refund delays, while SARS says it is dealing with the challenges. While 90% of tax returns are processed without further verification by SARS, those taxpayers who are identified for further...
Why the NHI Bill is unworkable
Guest AuthorJul 11, 2023
Jacqui Nel of Aon South Africa looks at some of the issues surrounding the implementation of the NHI Bill. On 12 June 2023, Parliament passed the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, and many stakeholders in the healthcare industry are concerned...
Previous Articles
A financial plan for raising a special-needs child
May 31, 2023
How do you provide for a special-needs child who might be dependent on you not only for the rest of your life, but for the rest of theirs as well? My son was diagnosed with high functioning autism at the age of six. The condition has an impact on his ability to...
Counting the cost of loadshedding
May 30, 2023
Earlier this year the Reserve Bank estimated that the cost of loadshedding to the economy is as high as R900 million a day. Apart from the impact that loadshedding is having on the economy's ability to grow, the cost of loadshedding is being felt directly through...
When the cure kills
May 23, 2023
Will higher interest rates do more harm than good? Rising interest rates appear to have had little impact on inflation, but higher interest rates are placing South Africans under significant financial pressure. The current interest rate cycle has been more aggressive...
Teaching a student how to budget
Apr 27, 2023
If your kids ask you to increase their allowance, rather take the opportunity to teach them how to budget. My youngest started university this year and is living on campus. We gave him an allowance to cover his various expenses including additional food (18-year-old...
Is “cash stuffing” a good idea?
Apr 25, 2023
Many years ago, when I was trying to pay off my debts and get my finances under control, I used the technique of “cash stuffing” (in those days, we called it “the envelope method”). This was essentially a way of going back to cash and avoiding using my credit card or...
How the Discovery WELLTH Fund works
Apr 19, 2023
Discovery Health is offering members a once-off additional benefit called the WELLTH Fund, to be used to cover additional costs incurred in preventative screening. Research by Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) found that general health checks were down 50% at the...
Understand the preventative screening benefits of your medical scheme
Apr 18, 2023
Most medical schemes will tell you that they ensure the health of their members by providing preventative screening benefits that are paid for from the risk portion of the scheme. What this means is that certain health tests are paid for not by your day-to-day...
PayShap can reduce cash payments
Apr 11, 2023
PayShap could be a game-changer in South African banking, effectively eliminating the need to make cash payments. From a banking customer perspective, PayShap is simply another payment channel to add to the various options already available. One can decide whether to...
Do you have money regrets?
Mar 22, 2023
Young people just starting out on their financial journey can learn a lot from the money regrets of older people. Research commissioned by Sanlam that interviewed more than 5 000 South Africans, found that more than half would advise their young selves to think of...
Time to analyse your banking fees
Mar 17, 2023
If you feel your banking fees are too high, you may need to review your banking behaviour. The recent Solidarity Bank Charge Report rates FNB as one of the best value-for-money banks, with the average middle-class customer able to bank for less than R100 a month....