The One Rand Family project followed the experience of a relatively well-off family living on cash only ‒ in fact R1 coins ‒ for a month. If you haven’t followed the trials and tribulations of the One Rand Family aired on e.tv during July, it’s...
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Heading for a club sandwich generation
The dependency cycle is worsening, putting further pressure on those who have an income. I have to confess that the latest results from the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor made for sombre reading. We all know that households are starting...
Savings: it’s about a change in mindset
Open up your bank statement and calculate how much of your monthly salary goes to repaying debt. Imagine if, apart from your mortgage, you had no debt repayments – think of all that money now available for savings. The reality is that we have...
Time to question that garnishee order
If you have an emolument attachment order (garnishee order), contact the Credit Ombud to find out whether or not it is legal. Recently, a landmark ruling raised questions about the legality of many emolument attachment orders (EAOs), commonly known...
Hundreds of South Africans fall victim to loan scam
It was only when Patricia received a call from Wonga’s head of communications that she realised she had been the unwitting victim of a phising scam that has so far conned over 200 people into parting with their money. Two weeks ago Patricia...
Court mediation available to over-indebted consumers
Consumers in Gauteng and the North West who are not able to pay their debts and who are being taken to court by credit providers can now request the magistrate to refer the matter to court mediation. Magistrates will also encourage parties to go...
What to do when you fall behind on repayments
Lindi wrote to me looking for advice regarding her car repayments. She had fallen behind on her repayments to BMW Finance as her business was in financial difficulty. She wanted to find out if she could hand back the car to the financial...
The high cost of death
Why death is killing us financially “Around 85% of people’s debt problems start with a death in the family,” says debt counsellor Deborah Solomon. Despite a relatively high penetration of funeral policies, Solomon says the cost of death in families...
The high cost of insuring your loan
Despite an investigation into the rates charged by credit providers for insurance, borrowers are still paying high rates for their credit insurance. If you were stuck for cash and needed to borrow R5 000 which you would pay back over just four...
Pay back that study loan!
Credit Ombud Manie van Schalkwyk explains why it's vital that students pay back their study loans. Thousands of students rely on study loans to see them through their years of studying at tertiary institutions. Without these loans, many would not...
Previous Articles
Why your education is worth paying for
While borrowing money is generally a bad idea, a student loan is an exception. For individuals who work hard, get their qualifications and manage their loan repayments, a student loan can lead to wealth creation. According to Advtech, within two years of gaining work...
Making sense of interest rates
Last week, consumers received good news from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) that the repo interest rate would be kept at 5.75%, which means that the retail rate at which consumers are offered credit, would stay at 9.25%. Absa provided this useful infographic...
Buying a car in December
By Nicholas Nkosi, Head of Vehicle and Asset Finance – Personal Markets, at Standard Bank It is natural to think about the joys of starting the New Year in your dream car when your bank account is filled with an end-of-year bonus. However, is it advisable to buy a...
How much would you spend on your wedding?
The costs of the wedding are just the tip of the money iceberg when it comes to getting married. In the past, according to tradition, a young couple could expect the bride’s parents to pay for their wedding with a contribution by the groom’s family to cover the drinks...
Clampdown on credit insurance abuse
Abuse within the credit insurance industry has led to an investigation by National Treasury into the practices of credit providers selling credit life to customers. If you have borrowed money, whether it be through a furniture retailer, micro-lender or a bank, you...
Peer-to-peer lending
Peer-to-peer lending is a growing global phenomenon which links borrowers and lenders directly, bypassing banks and their fees. It is a similar concept to crowdsourcing except that instead of a business proposal, a borrower lists needs for a personal loan and...
Free financial planning workshops in Cape Town
Financial Planning Week: 25-29 August CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® professionals Craig Torr, Paul Rossouw, Ian Beere and Laverne Slater will be giving four free financial planning workshops in Cape Town on 26, 27 and 28 August, as part of Financial Planning Week in...
Feeling the squeeze
I recently undertook an exercise to see how much my monthly bills had gone up over the last few years and was shocked to discover that our household was spending nearly double on groceries than we had four years ago. At first I was in denial – I thought I had simply...
Do you need to bank with the big four to get a home loan?
As banks become tighter about who they lend to, with preference going to their own client base, could banking with Capitec hurt your home loan application? This was a question posed by Akhona who has banked with Capitec for a long time. “I have been told that this...
Do you qualify for credit amnesty?
Credit Ombud Manie van Schalkwyk unpacks the credit amnesty, and separates out the myths from the facts. In the lead-up to 1 April, there have been many misconceptions regarding the credit amnesty: exactly who will benefit, what information will be removed and even...