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.
Kgothatso Moleke
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.
What a fuel increase actually does to your budget
Your tank, your taxi fare and your groceries respond to a fuel increase very differently. The numbers on all three, and which one is actually your problem.
How interest rate changes affect what you pay in South Africa
Repo, prime and your instalment: which debts move when the Reserve Bank changes rates, how much a quarter-point actually costs, and what to do either way.
The repo rate went up and so did petrol: what September actually costs you
Petrol up R1.34 a litre, diesel up over R3, and the repo rate raised to 7.25%. What the combined hit looks like on a real household budget, and the four things that actually help.
Getting a home loan in South Africa: what banks assess and what it really costs
A bank lends what it thinks you can repay, at a rate set by your credit record. The transfer duty table, the cash costs you cannot bond, what a better record is worth, and the order that works.
Debt review in South Africa: how it works, what it costs, and when it is the wrong choice
Debt review restructures what you pay and stops creditors acting against you, in exchange for no new credit until it is finished. How the process runs, what it really costs, the termination risk, and how to exit with a Form 19.
How to fix a bad credit record in South Africa: the full roadmap
There is no blacklist in South Africa. There is a credit record, and it can be corrected. A step-by-step guide to reading your report, disputing errors, clearing paid judgments and rebuilding.