We’ve written several blogs on planning for retirement and this is yet another to add to the quiver. Why is this so important? Because financial planning and provision for retirement is often relegated to the bottom of the budget and is only seriously considered when it is seriously too late. Current reports tell us that only around 6% of South Africans can retire comfortably. That means that three out of every fifty are comfortable in their […]
Continue readingMore Tag
6 TIPS FOR TAX FILING
When it comes to listing our fears, many people might cite spiders, thunderstorms and clowns as their top three. But for many of us we have to deal with SARS more frequently than clowns, however ironic that may sound, and dealing with SARS can be quite a scary thought! During the next tax season, which started at the beginning of this month, The South African Revenue Service intends on collecting nearly R1trn. Dealing with SARS does […]
Continue readingMore Tag
END OF THE MONTH SAVING TIPS
Saving money doesn’t have to be difficult. It also doesn’t have to be a specific amount of money that you stash away in a protected account that you can only access when you’re 120. Saving money can be a creative behaviour that forms part of your daily spending habits. Truly a penny saved is a penny earned. When you have made wiser choices in how you spend your money, you will have a larger amount left […]
Continue readingMore Tag
THE CURRENT REALITY OF RETIREMENT
One of the most difficult elements of any financial portfolio is saving for retirement. For most of us, retirement always feels so far away and we feel like we’ll either have plenty of time to save for it, or we simply have other priorities that are currently higher on our list. Products like short term insurance and health cover seem to take the priority in our financial plan. Currently, most South Africans are not ready to […]
Continue readingMore Tag
IS WINTER BURNING A HOLE IN YOUR POCKET?
Winter makes saving money and keeping to your financial plan a little more difficult! All around the country temperature gauges are plummeting about as fast as the electricity meters are lighting up. If you, like many South Africans, have an electricity box that you recharge, you’ll be acutely aware of how much faster the usage light starts to flash during the icy winter days ahead. If you’re billed after the month, you’re probably anticipating a hefty […]
Continue readingMore Tag
LOVE YOUR HEART (II)
Last week I wrote about the importance of managing your blood pressure in order to keep your heart and vital organs healthy. One of the biggest dangers of hypertension is that it often goes unnoticed until it is too late and serious problems arise. These could include heart failure, a heart attack or kidney failure. As with my previous blog, I’d like to share some fantastic information that I recently read on Dischem’s website as it […]
Continue readingMore TagLOVE YOUR HEART (I)
If you’ve ever owned a pool you’ll be keenly aware of what happens when your pump and filter breaks; the water flow stops, dirt builds up, algae blooms and you have a big problem on your hands. Most car owners are also vividly attune to the costs, complications and annoyance of their petrol pump breaking and their filters being dirty. How about fish tank enthusiasts? They’ll quickly tell you how important their pump and filtration systems […]
Continue readingMore TagFRESH SAVING TIPS FOR THE END OF THE MONTH
We all want to save more, right? But then why aren’t we? I have found that one of the biggest secrets to saving is to be creative in the way that you spend, or don’t spend as the case may be. Saving is often hard to do because it’s not an immediate gratification. We are conditioned from a young age that saving involves putting your money in a ceramic piggy bank that only gets smashed when […]
Continue readingMore Tag
RECOVERY MONEY
Unless you’ve already had a debilitating illness, the last thing you think about is your health failing you for anything longer than your hospital stay. As a result, we tend to only include a hospital plan, and perhaps some GAP cover in our financial planning. But what happens if the accident means that you can’t work for six months? Your hospital and GAP cover may take care of most of your in-hospital expenses (costs incurred whilst […]
Continue readingMore Tag
2014 GOALS – BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
We’re almost at the middle of the year! Some will look forward and see the potential stashed away in the seven months that lie ahead, but others will look at the five months passed and be overwhelmed by how little they’ve accomplished. Perhaps you had such a motivated two weeks in January where you felt like 2014 was going to be your year: a year where you made the changes that you’ve been dreaming about. But […]
Continue readingMore Tag