“My husband died without a will. We were married under customary law and I want to know what will happen to his money. We have two young children,” writes Nomsa. Maya replies: Having a will in place that provides instructions on how your money...
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Consumer Commission gone AWOL
“How can I get hold of the National Consumer Commission? Twice I called and both times was put on eternal hold. The last time I called it went straight to a voicemail facility. The fax line is not accepting faxes and the email address on the...
Profile of a reckless lending case
Without a proper record of credit, can a provider be responsible for reckless lending asks Maya Fisher-French How does someone get into the position where their debt levels reach 217% of their income and who is responsible? While a desperate...
Reckless lending charges are no deterrent
We are starting to see cases of reckless lending being brought before the courts, but the process will remain slow unless the National Credit Regulator provides support Despite many court rulings charging credit providers with reckless lending, the...
Why companies pay you to be healthy
Many medical schemes and life insurance companies offer wellness incentive programmes to their clients. Considering the monthly membership fee is usually less than R200 a month per family, it is insignificant compared to the value of the discounts...
Loyalty points in the afterlife
“What happens to your loyalty points when you die?” asks a reader Maya replies: This is an excellent question especially if you are someone who has built up significant loyalty rewards through your bank account or credit card as these rewards could...
Energy: new source of government revenue
Hemmed in from raising value-added tax (VAT), personal income and company taxes, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan played his trump card in introducing carbon tax to the South African fiscus, Rhodes Business School tax professor Matthew Lester said...
Test out your stock picking skills
Facebook fans can vote for their favourite stock picks over a nine-month period on The iTrade Fantasy League and have a chance to win a share of the profits generated from the R1-million share portfolio run by Sanlam iTrade using the top stocks...
Receiving a death benefit
A reader recently wrote to City Press to question how his late wife’s pension benefit had been distributed and whether it was in accordance with the law. It raises some interesting points about the provision of the law and the role of...
SARS to make money from penalties
Tax evaders could pay up to 200% of their taxable income in penalties warns Willem Oberholzer, tax partner at Grant Thornton Pretoria We are not expecting any huge surprises in terms of further taxation from this year’s Budget Speech; what we are...
Previous Articles
Get a Total Money Makeover
How the experience of editing the Total Money Makeover changed the way I view my finances Having written on personal finance for the last nine years and being a financially savvy person, I didn’t think there was much I would learn from working on the Total Money...
Marriott’s stock picks for 2013
Marriott believes that an investment strategy based on a bottom-up selection of companies that will be resilient to unexpected events, is likely to produce a more predictable outcome Selecting shares which generate reliable income streams and which are resilient to...
Debt collection: Know your rights
Nicky Campbell, consumer lawyer and author of the DIY Credit Repair toolkit says that harassment is common in the debt collection industry. Such harassment often leads to the consumer signing an acknowledgement of debt or making some sort of payment towards the...
The cost of Wonga.com’s low-value, one-month loan
I was on my way to present at a conference about the lack of savings culture in South Africa when I first received a press release about Wonga.com. According to their release you could borrow money in six minutes. Six minutes to get a loan! This was great content for...
What a first time homeowner needs to know
Buying a home is a financial plan not an emotional impulse. You need to have a strategy in place before taking on the commitment of homeownership Jana and her husband Bertie want to take the big step and buy their first home. This is a serious commitment for any...
Are you paying too much for funeral cover?
It is important to find a balance between insuring for the unexpected and paying off your debts. Make sure you are not overinsured at the expense of your savings The average government employee spends around eight percent of their salary on funeral, life and savings...
The top performing unit trusts
Coronation claimed the Raging Bull Award for the best domestic management company of 2012 after relinquishing the title in 2007. The award is based on the most consistent overall risk-adjusted performance of unit trust management companies across asset classes over...
Valuing your retirement
We should value our retirement funds as much as we do our homes Last week I received an email from a reader who was falling behind in her debt repayments. Her only solution, she believed, was to resign from her job in order to access her pension fund to settle her...
Pastel My Money launches money management tool
Pastel My Money is the latest online money management tool to hit South Africa. Following on from sites such as www.moneysmart.co.za, www.22seven.com and Nedbank’s My Financial Life, Pastel My Money is a free online money tool that tracks your finances. Its online...
Minister Gordhan has a fan page
Pointers for Pravin Not everyone is going to be a fan of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan after he announces the budget on 27 February. This year will be a tight budget with less money to go around and undoubtedly higher taxes whether directly through income tax or...