Our parents’ experiences can teach us a great deal about how we should be making plans for our own futures. My mother, who is now 75 years old and relies on a pension, has seen her food bill increase from R500 per month to R1 200 in just six years...
The first Tax Ombud report raises important concerns with SARS processes and has already made a difference to ordinary taxpayers in resolving outstanding issues. In its first six months of operation, from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2014, the Tax...
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...
One of my greatest frustrations with the financial industry is the lack of simple, cost effective, flexible savings products for people who want to start saving, but have only R100 to R200 per month to put away. While R200 may not seem like a lot...
We set ourselves a challenge to try and find medical cover for one of our readers. Our findings show that medical cover is expensive for many middle-income earners and that a comprehensive hospital plan is possibly the best option. Elizabeth has...
When I was in grade one at a government school in 1984, my school fees for the year were 25 cents. I have the receipt to prove it! When my son started grade one last year though, we had to fork out just under R30 000 for the year. Ouch. We’re...
by Kagisho Mahura, investment and retirement planning specialist at Gradidge-Mahura Investments. The sandwich generation refers to those people who find themselves supporting both their parents and kids financially. The growth of the sandwich...
In response to complaints about unauthorised cash withdrawals at PicknPay till points, PicknPay has announced upgrades to their till points. A shopper had complained that on two separate occasions, PicknPay tellers had made unauthorised cash...
Wikus Olivier, debt counsellor at DebtSafe, highlights a number of common financial mistakes that individuals often make, resulting in debt. However, these can be mitigated if discipline is practised and changes are made in spending behaviour....
Ensure that the “sandwich generation” is only a one-generation phenomenon, writes Kagisho Mahura In 1974, sociologist Dr Edward Banfield of Harvard University wrote a book entitled The Unheavenly City. In it he described one of the most profound...
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...
For most South Africans, their domestic worker is part of the family. As such and as a responsible employer, you should consider providing additional benefits similar to those that an employee in any other working environment would enjoy – for example, health care and...
Even if you have a natural saver on your hands, you still need to teach your child about budgeting and investing, as well as how to shop mindfully by comparing prices and understanding the value of what they are buying. Whenever I meet people whose finances are in...
With tax filing season upon us, the annual tax-related cyber-fraud feeding frenzy has begun, warns Jonas Thulin, Security Consultant at Fortinet. "The Receiver of Revenue, financial institutions and security firms have been issuing the same warnings every tax season...
By Oliver Charles Phipps, FISA member and Solicitor in England with Lester Aldridge It is quite common for an individual in South Africa to own a bank account which is registered in the British Isles. This may be because he or she originated from the British Isles or...
When selecting a bank account for your child, first consider what they will be using it for and then look for one with the best pricing structure. A young child who is mostly saving will want an account with a high interest rate, while an older child who may be doing...
According to World Wide Worx, which monitors the local e-commerce landscape on an annual basis, in conjunction with MasterCard, online shopping has stayed in line with forecasts over the past few years – slightly surpassing last year’s expectations. A report by the...
A recent survey in the UK found that young adults are increasingly relying on their parents to help them pay for a deposit for their first home. The survey conducted by mortgage lender Halifax found that the majority of parents believed they would have to help their...
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...
Last weekend, I spent my time searching for elusive pieces of paper and trawling my inbox for financial statements. It was a partly frustrating, partly liberating experience as the aim was to get all our family’s financial paperwork together so our financial planner...