A green paper has just been published by the Department of Social Development which proposes to force all South Africans to pay 12% of earnings into a state managed fund. The new National Social Security Fund will aim to enlarge the country’s social safety...
So National Treasury are working out a way to access your retirement fund in an attempt to help those that are financially destitute in the aftermath of the COVID19 epidemic. The current position If you leave your employment you can cash in on your pension or...
There’s such a good feeling owning a new car. It has all the reasons why you should have it! With the new technologies and stylish designs and you in control what else is there? Well, there is a reality check which needs to be considered. Cars cost you a lot more than...
Your home loan application is probably the largest and longest loan you will make in your lifetime. We all aspire to having our own homes instead of renting from a landlord – (which pays off his property). There are some important considerations to...
The amazing performances of Bitcoin since 2010 have left many investors wishing they had got involved and others wondering if they should. The cyber currency performance has been nothing short of astounding, reaching around $20 000 in 2017 before crashing to $3 000 in...
What a tragic year 2020 has been? COVID19 will leave a deep scar in our global history having devastated lives and livelihoods. The world wide lockdown created records in the financial markets which in turn left some big questions for your personal finance. The Global...
Using your credit and debit cards more efficiently can save you a lot if you get to understand them a whole lot better. Debit Cards ...
Your life assurance policy, endowment, retirement annuity including your benefits provided by your company all have the facility to nominate a beneficiary. This is an import consideration in your financial planning as you want to ensure that the right person ends up...
A year end bonus, 13th cheque and or any other extra cash that you might be lucky enough to have at this time of the year creates opportunities if you are aware of them. What does money mean to you?Wealthy people have an understanding of how money makes money. They...
Retailers over decades have used discounts to incentivise sales. R99 sounds so much less than R100. Offering a 30% discount on Black Friday still gets you to spend 70%. Where did Black Friday start…… As the story goes, stores in the US operating at a loss (“in the...
Pink Tax is a phenomenon often attributed as a form of gender-based price discrimination, with the name stemming from the observation that there is a broad tendency for products marketed specifically toward women to be more expensive than those marketed for...
Gold has always been a storage of wealth. The lustre of gold has attracted investors for centuries. Over the best part of the last decade, however, it seems to have lost its shine. Peaking at levels around $1900 a few years ago down to $1100 and back up to R1900 of...
Many Matriculants will be considering loan options for next year to fund their varsity fees. Student loans come with T’s and C’s which you should be very aware of. Recently I came across a very disillusioned sponsor of a student loan who had been paying interest and...
We have just ended National Wills Week and hopefully achieved a much needed awareness of the importance of having a will in place. Even more importantly, to ensure that your will is valid…… An invalid will can lead to unnecessary delays and costs when it comes to...
New draft legislation aims to give SARS the power to put you in jail if you make a mistake with your tax return. The draft bill seeks to remove the concept of “intent” which in criminal law needs to be proven that you wilfully broke the law. Removing this from...
Filing Season for 2020 has opened so its time to prepare that tax return again. For the average salary earner in South Africa, there isn’t much left to deduct on your return. Car allowance and retirement annuities are just about all that is left to consider. Travel...
DebtBusters quarterly analysis for Q2 2020 clearly shows how consumers’ exposure to debt has significantly deteriorated over lock down with higher-income earners in particular under debt pressure. This is borne out by the increase in unsecured debt, which on average...
A linked investment service provider (LISP) is probably one of the lessor understood investment vehicles. Most investment houses have them and have been around for a while. What are they?They are investment platforms which offer access to a universe of investment...
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) cut interest rates by another ,25% on Thursday which is brings the total reduction in interest to 3% for 2020. The repo rate which is applied to banks is now 3,5% and prime lending rate applied to consumers is now 7%. The lowest...
In depressed economy returns on various investments are weak if not negative. The South African Stock Market year to date is -2,3% with a total return of 0,6%. Fees become more noticeable when returns are low as they appear to reduce your returns leaving less for...