The huge surge in the oil price has sent the price of fuel into the stratosphere with petrol reaching a record high of over R21 per litre. During my last drive to Natal I noticed hundreds of trucks transporting goods up and down from the Highveld. Each one driven on...
Generally speaking, when you make a financial decision the outcome is only realised some time in the future.Your advice should not be taken in isolation and as a once off decision. You need to keep in touch with the advice given by reviewing frequently to ensure it is...
The Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) announced on Thursday another interest rate hike of 25 basis points. This extends to the banks prime lending rate of 7.5%. Inflation The Reserve Bank has a mandate to protect the future value of our purchasing power...
2021 has been another year dominated by COVID19? It’s left a deep scar in our global history having devastated lives and livelihoods. Yet as life goes on there are some questions which were raised in the year affecting our personal financial planning which need to be...
Research into the average British household shows that it costs on average around GB 7 000 per year to raise a child from birth to 5 years old. That’s around R140 000 per annum. South African middle income households show that it costs around R90 000 a year to raise a...
What is inflation? The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the measurement of the average increase in prices of...
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...