66% of people surveyed for the Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor said they feared losing their job. It is important to understand what benefits you have if you are retrenched. Accepting a voluntary retrenchment package provides the same...
Financial stress on the rise
Financial stress has soared as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, with savings dropping and debt levels rising. 58% of households across South Africa are facing high or overwhelming financial stress, according to the latest Old Mutual Savings &...
Video: How to prioritise those bills
Lockdown and the economic fallout will affect different people in different ways. Some are fortunate enough to still be receiving a salary but according to the recent Old Mutual Savings and Investment monitor, over 50% have experienced a pay cut....
Protect yourself from cyber criminals
Cyber criminals are taking advantage of the anxiety around lockdown. Manie van Schalkwyk, Executive Director of the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS) provides some insight into what scams to watch out for. The world is currently a...
Check before you press pay
If you accidently pay into the wrong account, there is no guarantee you will receive your money back. I recently received two complaints from readers who had accidently paid money into the wrong account, highlighting the risk of electronic fund...
How to save for your goals to avoid debt
One of the main reasons we have a credit crisis in South Africa is that we never plan and save towards our goals, because it’s just easier to borrow. Change your dependency on credit by planning for those money moments and start saving for your...
When SARS unlawfully help themselves to your bank balance
By Jashwin Baijoo, Tax Attorney at Tax Consulting South Africa Everybody knows SARS is under collection pressure and they have grown rather fond of appointing third parties, such as banks, to recover outstanding tax debts directly, which leaves...
Listen: How do you know if you are getting good advice?
In this podcast Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) each discuss an event in their week that made them reflect on the way we engage with money. A negative experience with the way financial products are sold makes Mapalo question...
Is the outrage over food prices justified?
Have you been shocked at the rapid price increase of some of your regular food purchases? City Press/Absa Money Makeover candidate Peter has been keeping a close eye on his grocery bills and has seen certain items increase, such as tinned tuna,...
How to start that emergency fund
If you follow my articles, podcasts or videos, you will know that I talk a lot about emergency funds. The concept of an emergency fund was really drummed into me when I edited Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover for South African readers. I always...
Previous Articles
Bounced debit orders will be very costly
Bank customers will have a nasty surprise if they allow their debit orders to bounce. When Anil contacted his medical scheme to cancel his premium as he knew he had no funds, he discovered it was too late. The debit order went off and Standard Bank charged a R61...
Video: Where to invest that extra cash
Busang wrote to say that he has no debt and R600 extra each month that he wants to start investing for the long term. He wanted to know which unit trust or exchange-traded fund would be the best option. For anyone who is starting to save or invest, you need to decide...
How your stokvel can make you money
While you are sitting in lockdown, now may be the time to turn that WhatsApp group into a stokvel. In her book Stokvels: How they can make your money work for you, author and financial educator Palesa Lengolo writes, “I have watched how some stokvels start...
Listen: Teaching your kids about money
Most parents make supreme sacrifices to provide for their children. Research shows that mothers in particular will put their children’s needs before their own. We want to offer our children the perfect world where they want for nothing, where they never feel shunned...
Raising your kids with values
This Mother’s Day I will have been a mom for 20 years, as my son celebrates his 20th birthday this week. Being under lockdown and living through COVID-19 has been a huge teaching and learning opportunity when it comes to raising our children to become responsible...
Listen: The interest rate cut and your money: 101
As a result of the unexpected 100bps cut in interest rates, we received many questions about interest rates, and the impact the rate cut has on both borrowers and savers. Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) unpack how interest rates work and do some...
Time to consider a fixed deposit?
With a cut in interest rates likely, now may be the time to lock into a fixed deposit. Over the last two years interest paid by financial institutions relative to inflation was the highest since the end of the credit crisis in 2010. Last year, unit trust money market...
Money Makeover: Tell your money where to go
The first challenge for our 2020 Money Makeover contestants was to get a get a handle on where their money goes each month and to make some decisions about what they were prepared to live without in order to reach their personal goals. For all of them it was a shock...
New laws for expats
By Carla Rossouw, tax lead, Allan Gray The laws around tax for South Africans who live and work abroad have changed and it's important to work out whether or not you are now expected to pay tax on income you earn outside of the country. As of 1 March 2020, South...
Video: Use your tax deductions before 29 Feb
As this is a leap year, 29 February marks the end of the financial year. All information up to this date will be included in your 2019/2020 tax return. This includes all tax deductions. Top-up your retirement fund You can invest up to 27.5% of your income, tax free,...