Kgothatso Moleke One test separates good debt from bad: what are you left holding when it is paid off? Why a bond beats twenty years of rent by R1.5 million, and the three rules that decide which kind you are taking.
SEDA and SEFA merged into SEDFA in 2024. What government funding offers, what lenders ask for, and why personal surety is the clause to read twice.
NSFAS, the missing middle, bursaries and bank loans — which one you get depends almost entirely on household income. What each costs, and the question to ask before signing.
Disputing is free and the burden is on the bureau.
There is no single good number — each bureau scores differently and lenders set their own cut-offs. What matters is what the band costs you: R2,078 a month on a R1 million bond, top band to bottom.
Four bureaus, four free reports a year, no payment and no card details. What you need, why checking your own record cannot hurt it, and how to spot a fake credit-check site.
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?
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.
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.
Why 50/30/20 does not fit here, and the one missing line that kills nine out of ten budgets.
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.
Most people have one account doing four jobs badly. Separating money by purpose beats any single product choice.