Every financial plan should start with an emergency fund. Even if you have debt, before you start focusing on accelerating those repayments, you need to first build up an emergency fund. An emergency fund is what will stop you going back into debt....
On Friday 24 November, retailers will be offering discounts in a major sale ahead of the festive season. This “Black Friday” concept has been taken from the United States where the discounts are so enormous people queue overnight to be the first...
Last week a major South African domain service provider, Hetzner, was hacked, allegedly compromising personal information. My own website is hosted by Hetzner and on the same day I received an urgent email asking me to immediately pay and renew my...
By Daichi Hoang of bestforexbrokers.com. If you currently trade forex or have been thinking about it, the broker you choose to deal with will have a lasting impact on your experience. Pick the wrong one and you might be putting your entire capital...
The middle class is stressed out financially, but how much is a result of our lifestyle choices? Seven out of ten middle- and upper-income earners say that they are experiencing financial stress according to the annual retirement study conducted by...
An app is available that compares the cost of Uber to driving yourself. Upon returning to India after living in the UK for five years, Nishil Kohli noticed that Uber had made having a car redundant as its service is extremely cheap in India. He...
Receiving relevant financial information when you need it is the holy grail of financial education. If you can reach people at a time when they need to make important financial decisions, you can guide them to make the best decision for their...
The Financial Services Board has confirmed that Profit Trading, which continues to operate, never placed any trades. Since publishing a reader’s complaint about forex trading platform Profit Trading, City Press has been receiving complaints from...
When actuary Vinesh Maharaj was considering whether or not to change his DSTV subscription, he did what all maths nerds do – he drew up a spreadsheet to see how much DSTV would cost him over the next 40 years. He assumed an annual 8% price...
It may be tempting to take the keys of your hire car and drive off so that you can finally enjoy your holiday destination with your family. After all, you’ve waited a long time for this break and with all the political turmoil and work commitments...
If you want to draw down on the equity built up in your property, you may be in for a nasty surprise. Paragon Lending Solutions recently issued a press release warning investors and small business owners that if they try and access additional capital through their...
As access to banking services through digital channels continues to grow, so does the need to protect consumers against the prevalence of online banking fraud. Yolande Steyn, Head of Innovation at FNB says, “We view security as an integral part of a seamless online...
How women are navigating relationships as the breadwinner. After a talk I had given at a Women’s Day breakfast, a woman in her early 30s came to chat to me about an issue that faces many financially independent women. My talk had been about the “Cinderella Complex”...
By David Thomson, Sanlam legal adviser If you have a trust and have transferred some assets to it without being paid, you may soon have to start charging the trust interest, or be liable for donations tax. This change to the Income Tax Act came into effect on 1 March...
The experience of an 80-year-old widow turns into an important lesson on why every woman needs to have her own credit record. https://youtu.be/bDhwXXcJOiY Related: Women and money Should a wife have her own financial adviser? Why money is different for women Women and...
How much will you pay for advice once RDR comes into effect? It’s not too soon to engage your financial planner in a conversation about how much you will be charged for financial advice and for product-specific advice, says Jacques Coetzer, general manager of Broker...
A cap placed on how much a lender can charge for credit insurance could result in cheaper loans, but some warn it could also cut credit to higher-risk individuals. Last month the Department of Trade and Industry issued the final credit life insurance regulations which...
While we are getting our debts under control, we are not investing in wealth-creating assets. The recently released South African Household Wealth Index for the third quarter of 2016 identified some interesting trends around household wealth accumulation. The findings...
By Paul Leonard, CFP®, Regional Head, Citadel It is often said that there are no right or wrong investments but rather appropriate and inappropriate investments. Much has been written about tax-free savings and investment accounts (TFSAs) and there was considerable...
Modern medical advances have made it possible for more and more people to beat cancer. When it comes to breast cancer, early detection and diagnosis mean that survival rates have gone up dramatically. In fact, almost two out of every three women with breast cancer now...