What you can actually afford, and why the 30% rule misleads
What a bank will lend you and what you can afford are different numbers. A better test than 30%: does it survive a bad month?
Kgothatso Moleke
Where to keep your savings, by when you will need the money
The date you need it decides the product, not the interest rate. Why R100,000 left alone for ten years buys R65,000 worth of things.
Vehicle finance and balloon payments: what the low instalment costs you
A balloon saves R1,113 a month and costs R42,335 more, leaving R122,500 owing on a six-year-old car. Why it is how people end up underwater.
A budget that survives a real South African salary
Why 50/30/20 does not fit here, and the one missing line that kills nine out of ten budgets.
Tax-free savings accounts: the rules, and the mistake most people make
R46,000 a year, R500,000 for life, no tax on growth. Why withdrawals do not restore your allowance, and why holding it in cash wastes it.
How to choose a bank account for what you are actually trying to do
Most people have one account doing four jobs badly. Separating money by purpose beats any single product choice.
Are rewards programmes actually worth it?
Convert the points to rands, subtract what qualifying costs you, and the answer is usually smaller than expected. A five-question test.
What your bank account actually costs you
The monthly fee is the smallest part of it. Why the cheapest account depends entirely on how you bank, and how to work out your own number.
Emergency funds: how much, where to keep it, and why R2,000 matters most
Three to six months is the destination, not the starting point. A four-stage version that works on a real South African salary.
Compound interest: why starting small beats starting later
Why ten years of delay costs R1.4 million, why the minimum payment keeps you in debt for a decade, and why the first ten years feel like nothing is happening.
Secured vs unsecured loans in South Africa
Why one costs 10.75% and the other 27%, what the cheaper one actually risks, and why consolidating card debt into your bond can triple what you pay.
How to read your credit report in South Africa
Six sections, five errors worth hunting for, and the order to read them in. The score at the top is the least useful number on the page.