When it comes to cutting expenses, there are small changes you can make in your spending behaviour that can add up to big savings. With at least 72 per cent of South Africans cutting down expenses in their budget, you too may be wondering how best...
If you cut out your monthly trip to the cinema and saved what you would have spent on your night out, you could significantly boost your retirement fund. “It is surprising what can be achieved by employing a bit of what I call movie magic'," says...
Karin Muller, head of Sanlam Growth Markets Solutions, suggests four empowering money moves you can make. South Africans are not very good when it comes to money management. In March this year, the total outstanding consumer credit balance for...
An emergency fund is your most important savings priority. Thanks to a collision with an uninsured driver and vet bills due to a dog with a penchant for swallowing bouncing balls, our household was faced with thousands of rands worth of unexpected...
More than three million South Africans are owed more than R45 billion in unpaid benefits from retirement funds they have left already, according to unclaimedbenefits.co.za. In many cases when leaving a company, employees may not be aware of funds...
Michael wonders whether it's legal for a bank to charge more than double the amount of his personal loan. “I recently applied for a personal loan of R79 000 to buy a car as I did not qualify for car finance due to a poor credit record. After costs,...
We need to recognise the significant social burden carried by young black working South Africans in today’s society. “If you really want to understand the reality of our high unemployment levels, speak to young black professionals,” says ...
The rapid turnaround in South African investors’ good fortunes highlights the need to have a longer-term investment plan rather than just reacting to short-term market movements. With the rand plummeting, the JSE down over 4% this month and...
Make sure you read your investment contract to ensure it’s what you signed up for. Do you know how much you are paying for your investment policy? Could you state exactly how much of your monthly contribution is paid in commission or product fees?...
When it comes to motor insurance, you and your insurer each have certain obligations that you have to meet in order to render the insurance contract valid. As a policyholder, if you don’t hold up your end of the contract, you could find yourself...
By Paulo Senatore and Franco Barnard, Ashburton Investments One hundred rand invested in 1995 would be worth R1 400 today, if dividends were reinvested. Where dividends were drawn and not reinvested, the same R100 would be worth only R855. Albert Einstein once said,...
If an overseas broker calls you out of the blue to sell you shares, you don’t need to ask - it is a scam. Two months ago Ross received a call from a trader supposedly working for a Shanghai-based stockbroking firm. Ross was told that he had been identified as a...
Nelson wants to cash in his pension in the hope that he can invest it for better returns. “I have been employed by the government for about 20 years. Recently the government sent a letter showing the amount I would receive if I retired, resigned, died or was...
The Consumer Protection Act provides significant protection for consumers; the Act does not, however, remove the obligations of consumers when undertaking an agreement. “A small business hired a hall for an event scheduled for 7pm on a Saturday night. The event was a...
Choosing to save for your child’s education ahead of your own retirement plan may be a risky strategy but it is understandable given the rising costs of education. According to the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor, 54% of South Africans believe that saving...
Sectional title is often the more affordable way to buy a home but it comes with its own challenges and you need to be a proactive resident to ensure your body corporate is run properly. A City Press reader was recently informed by her body corporate that she had to...
The launch of Itransact, a new index tracking retirement annuity, highlights the growth in passive investing but the costs are still too high. This week Itransact launched the first retirement annuity to invest in exchange traded funds (ETFs). Exchange Traded Funds...
Leave the buying of new cars to people who don’t understand maths, or to those for whom status is worth more than building wealth In the book The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy, authors Thomas J Stanley and William D Danko studied...
Think differently about what makes a great Mom The truest thing ever said about becoming a parent was by author Elizabeth Stone who said deciding to have a child was to “decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." Most parents make supreme...
A reader alerts us to a new scam “I was making some research on investments and come across the company called Zantech Trading. They say if I invest from R10 000 once off I will get 25% dividend of the capital back for 12 months. In other words I pay R10 000 once off...