By Michael Franze, managing director at Citiq Prepaid New electricity rates kicked in on 1 July, with municipal electricity tariffs increasing by around 13% to 16%. Understanding how electricity tariffs work is the first step towards taking charge...
As part of the launch for Savings Month in July, the South African Savings Institute asked South Africans to share the crazy ways they save. Here are some great ideas. Kgomotso uses the Standard Bank Stash app to save into a tax-free savings...
Customers benefit as banks launch cost-effective banking solutions. The banking industry is certainly seeing an increase in competition, with the launch of TymeBank earlier this year and with the imminent launch of Discovery Bank. As part of the...
This year, to celebrate 180 years of banking, FNB has created an exhibition which is currently at Portside in Cape Town. In addition to documenting the history of FNB, it is a fascinating history lesson on the evolution of banking in South Africa....
Unpacking the costs and benefits of various power options to alleviate the effects of loadshedding After losing five hours a day of productive time during loadshedding, I thought it was time to find a solution for my home office. This led to a...
Why has it taken banks so long to take action against illegal debit orders? FNB recently issued a press release stating that it would reverse all debit orders and refund customers who have been victims of ProCall and Mzansi illegal debit orders....
TymeBank recently had its official launch, and has already signed up over 80 000 customers. As South Africa’s first fully digital bank, it is what the industry calls a “digital disruptor”. Its only physical presence is at kiosks at PicknPay and...
Investors in cash have had better real returns in the last two years than any time since the end of the credit crisis fallout in 2010. A real return is the difference between the interest you earn and the inflation rate. The normal rule of thumb is...
Our family got into the habit of keeping a household budget after our own personal financial crisis 14 years ago. I have no doubt that without budgeting every month and maintaining strict financial discipline, we would simply have got deeper and...
By Claudia Aires Apicella, Head of Financial Emigration at Tax Consulting SA The announcement by National Treasury and SARS in 2017 that the tax exemption on South African expatriates is set to change, has resulted in the lifestyle of many South...
The Entertainer is an app that typically gives discounts on spa days and offers 2-for-1 deals on meals, but some consumers are complaining about the service, which demands an annual upfront payment to access these deals. Complaints centre around deals not being upheld...
Have you ever wondered how much your debt is actually costing you? By the time you’ve included all the interest and fees payable, it’s probably a lot more than you realise. You will find that in most cases you can easily save enough to take care of those “money...
'Tis the season for overindulgence ‒ and overspending ‒ so avoid the pitfalls of debt and credit shortfalls by calling 'BINGO' instead. Sanlam Personal Finance has created a Budget Bingo game which you can share with your friends and family and start a challenge to...
By Jean du Toit, attorney at Tax Consulting SA Despite the promising initiatives implemented under the South African Revenue Service's (SARS) acting Commissioner Mark Kingon, its tribulations in meeting its collection targets have not yet waned, with payroll audits...
Shopping online is a perfectly acceptable way of getting what you want. But should you be doing that for your financial and risk products? Financial price comparison websites have changed the way in which consumers evaluate, apply for and consume financial products....
“If you want to send your child to the UK in 2019 for tertiary education, you will need around R2.5 million. If you have a young child, you will need upwards of R9 million by the time they are ready to go and you will need to start saving about R17 000 a month...
A reminder that the tax season deadlines have been brought forward by a month this year so your efiling returns are due by 31 October – it’s Halloween! This is what you need to know If you earn above R350 000 a year you will need to submit a tax return. If you earn...
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. Ideally you should...
The current draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill, 2018, contains a number of changes to the administrative processes required of SARS and taxpayers. While there are certain proposals that have garnered quite a lot of attention, there are some small, but...
South African households appear to have a better handle on debt levels, but this could be at the expense of savings, especially for emergencies. Despite headlines about the deteriorating state of consumer finances, the latest Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor...