About a year ago I was having coffee with an acquaintance who works in the financial industry. He is knowledgeable and well informed, so I was surprised when he told me about this amazing forex fund that he had invested in which was making him a...
Sneakers or saving?
A few weeks ago, a young man named Kuhle asked me a very simple question: “If I got a R3 000 windfall should I use it to party, to buy sneakers or to save?” My automatic, gut response is: “Save it all!” But that answer is not going to resonate with...
DebiCheck: putting an end to illegal debit orders
One of the more frequent complaints we receive from readers is around illegal debit orders. This is when bogus companies run debit orders of around R100 off people’s bank accounts in the hope that either the bank account holder won’t notice the...
The knock-on effect of our squeezed pockets
As I have been travelling away from home a fair amount this month, I filled up my car for the first time since the two price increases. I am writing this column as therapy to recover from the shock! My tank now costs me in excess of R1 000 to fill....
Afraid to ask your adviser about fees? That’s weird.
By Emma Heap, Chief Growth Officer, 10X Investments Even if you feel a tinge of anxiety each time you see another news report about the damage high fees have done to someone’s retirement plans, you remind yourself that your financial adviser is an...
Can you get to eBucks Level 5 without debt?
FNB has updated their eBucks reward programme and depending on your type of account, it is worth finding out how these changes affect you or how to change your spending patterns in order to earn more eBucks. To get more “share of wallet”, Gold...
Are banks treating our children fairly?
Major South African banks (Absa, Nedbank, Standard Bank and FNB) appear to have made improvements in recent years in their accounts targeted at children. They’ve scrapped the monthly admin fees and lowered or gotten rid of some transaction charges....
Helping your children to manage their money
As a mom, my goal is to see my two children grow up to be independent and to stand on their own two feet. A big part of this journey is financial education. You can give your children the best academic education you can afford, but if they don’t...
Financial Emigration or Double Taxation Agreement?
By Jonty Leon, Attorney and Financial Emigration Legal Manager and Claudia Aires, Head of Financial Emigration at Financial Emigration. There is a lot of misinformation circulating in the South African expatriate community, perpetuated by service...
What are your rights if a business goes bust?
When the economy takes a knock it’s not only consumers who struggle ‒ businesses struggle too. During the tough times it’s not uncommon for businesses to go bust as they battle to make ends meet. But it’s not always the economy that puts a strain...
Previous Articles
eWallet eXtra: getting banked in minutes
First National Bank (FNB) has announced the launch of eWallet eXtra, a mobile bank account that allows unbanked and underbanked South Africans to use a feature-phone or smartphone to open a bank account without submitting paperwork at a branch. The solution will be...
The best bank account for a student
With my son starting his first student job, he needs to upgrade from his kid’s bank account to one that provides a few more transactions. Part of this exercise was to identify what a student, or any young person, needs from a bank account and then identify which...
Advice for provisional taxpayers who have missed the tax deadline
By Jeremy Burman of Private Client Holdings Are you a provisional taxpayer who recently awoke in the dead of night in a cold sweat with the realisation that you missed the 28 February 2018 provisional tax deadline? Or do you have a sinking feeling that you should have...
Bitcoin: the tax question
Christopher Renwick, Attorney at Tax Consulting SA investigates the tax implications of making money from cryptocurrency. Although usually behind the global curve, South Africa seems to be keeping pace with the current Bitcoin trend. This is positive, as we are living...
Swipe and save
We often complain that we don’t have enough money to save, but it is often the hassle of opening up a savings account and committing to the minimum investment amounts that is the major hurdle. This is especially true for the younger generation who are focused on work,...
Free trial offers: how to avoid getting burnt
Companies sometimes offer free trials in an attempt to entice customers to sign up to a service or to buy a product they’re not familiar with. Trials are prevalent in the services and cosmetics industry where customers are offered free access to test products or given...
We have no policy to delay refunds, says SARS
After publishing an article about increased tax audits and delays in refunds by SARS, and telling the story of a taxpayer who was hounded by SARS for 49c, City Press was inundated by responses from readers adding to the complaints against SARS. These complaints...
Remember its 40 days to the next paycheque!
Use an early salary to pay your bills ahead of time. If you were fortunate enough to get paid early this December, before you start spending that salary remember it needs to last until the next payday which can be up to 40 days away! Listen to Maya discussing this...
Beware the potential tax pitfalls of earnings through Airbnb
A brief search on Airbnb reveals over 10 000 property listings in Cape Town alone. If you're not already doing it yourself, you probably know of someone who has hit on the golden solution of renting out their property through this internationally recognised online...
How safe is our personal information?
Recently we wrote about what to do if you believe your data or personal information has been hacked. The question we now ask is whether or not companies are doing enough to secure our data, especially after an estimated 70 million identity numbers held by an estate...