If you have taken out a mortgage recently you would have noticed on your statement that the interest charged each month is nearly equal to your monthly repayments. In the first few years of your mortgage repayment, interest makes up a very large...
A budget makes you spend less
My husband and I keep a household budget and have done so ever since 2004 when our finances went pear-shaped. It was only by creating a budget and learning to live within our means that we were able to survive when we hit financial Armageddon. Both...
Buying a home: understand your running costs
Episode 9 of the Change in your Pocket series focuses on the running costs associated with home-ownership. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx_jjJ5SutM – Video supplied by BrightRock Welcome to The Change Exchange where we are discussing the ins,...
How much tax will I pay on my investment?
Dihemo asks: I have R50 000 I want to invest but I want to understand how tax works on investments. Maya replies: Tax is an important part of investing. There are three taxes that are deducted when you invest. Income tax on interest Any interest...
Turning a 21st birthday into a legacy
Johanna writes: My daughter is turning 21 and she has asked that instead of organising a party for her she would love to invest the money for herself. What is the best investment to consider as currently we have unit trusts and a share account with...
Should you cash in your pension to pay off debt?
I was recently asked by a young woman if it would make sense for her to cash in her pension, settle her debts and start all over again. It sounds like a good idea: on the one hand you have debt with interest as high as 25% per annum and on the...
Financing your home
In a volatile interest-rate environment, it's important to keep your mortgage repayments stable. Episode 7 of our Change in your Pocket series looks at the financing of your home. https://youtu.be/QVhtGI_Zhcw – Video supplied by BrightRock Welcome...
Should you fix your mortgage?
As interest rates increase, many homeowners are starting to feel the squeeze on their monthly mortgage repayments and are understandably wondering whether or not to fix their mortgage repayments to provide more certainty around what their...
Emergency fund: your defence against financial slaughter
Debt is the only option if you don’t have an emergency fund. I have just had one of those months where I’m wondering which of my ancestors or gods I’ve offended. You know those months were anything and everything seems to go wrong and all of it...
Time to stress test your finances
Many households are already seeing the impact of rising interest rates on their budgets. With interest rates increasing 100 basis points over the last three years, the prime lending interest rate has risen from 8.5% to 9.5% since 2012. To put that...
Previous Articles
Setting up an emergency fund
Watch Episode 3 of the Change In your Pocket series for advice on setting up an emergency fund. https://youtu.be/zreJg6744II – Video supplied by BrightRock Welcome to The Change Exchange, where we're helping you find ways to make the most of out of your paycheque. The...
Tell your money where to go
Watch Episode 2 of the Change In your Pocket series for tips on how to draw up a budget. https://youtu.be/x8yK7_RgzyU - Video supplied by BrightRock So you’ve just landed the job of your dreams along with that salary bump that’s going to solve all your money problems....
Cellphones: to contract or not
I have always had a cellphone contract. In fact, I am embarrassed to admit that I recently had to ask someone how to buy pre-paid data. The thing is, I got my first cellphone back in the dark ages when phones where the size and weight of a brick and contracts were the...
How much should I be spending?
So you’ve just got your first pay cheque and the temptation to go and blow the whole lot on a new wardrobe or a deposit on the car of your dreams will be huge. But you know that you also have to pay those boring expenses like rent, food and petrol. So how should you...
Taxpayer-unfriendly changes to Tax Administration Act proposed
Proposals contained in the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill of 2015 would dramatically decrease the amount of time in which the Commissioner is permitted to issue a reduced tax assessment, writes David Warneke, Director and Head of Tax Technical at BDO South...
Is a wealth tax likely for South Africa?
Professor Matthew Lester weighs in on a wealth tax and whether it is a solution to South Africa's revenue needs. The Davis Tax Committee (DTC) believes that a wealth tax for South Africans is not the universal solution to South Africa’s revenue needs. This is the view...
The One Rand Family: lessons from a social experiment
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 really worth catching...
How to make some extra cash
Cutting expenses isn't the only solution when it comes to balancing your budget; you can also try to find ways to boost your income. Here are three suggestions. With everything from interest rates to tax to electricity and petrol increasing faster than our salaries,...
South African guide to fundraising for entrepreneurs
Seed Academy has developed a free ebook to help South African entrepreneurs navigate the fundraising landscape. Donna Rachelson, chief catalyst at Seed Academy says that based on surveys and their training of hundreds of entrepreneurs, raising funds is the most common...
A trick to start you saving
If you've been putting off opening a tax-free savings account, here's a trick to help you get going. Last week I completed the herculean task of opening tax-free savings accounts for my kids and myself. I have had the forms ready to fill out since April, but they just...