# RandGuideZA

> Plain-language money guides and free calculators for South Africans, focused on understanding credit, repairing a damaged credit record, and working out what you can genuinely afford. Written and fact-checked by Kgothatso Moleke.

RandGuideZA covers personal finance specific to South Africa: the National Credit Act, the four credit bureaus (TransUnion, Experian, Compuscan, XDS), the repo and prime rates set by the South African Reserve Bank, and prices in rands. The site's core theme is moving from unfinanceable to financeable.

Editorial approach: guides are drafted with AI assistance and fact-checked by a person before publishing. Every guide carries a "last updated" date and lists its sources. Figures such as interest rates are stated with the date and source they came from. The site publishes general financial education, not personal financial advice, and is not a registered financial services provider under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act (FAIS). Only credit providers registered with the National Credit Regulator (NCR) are discussed.


## Pages

- [Rate change calculator: what your new instalment will be](https://randguideza.co.za/tools/rate-change-calculator/)
- [Start here](https://randguideza.co.za/start-here/)
- [Privacy policy](https://randguideza.co.za/privacy-policy/)
- [Credit health checklist](https://randguideza.co.za/tools/credit-health-checklist/)
- [Loan repayment calculator](https://randguideza.co.za/tools/loan-repayment-calculator/)
- [Affordability calculator](https://randguideza.co.za/tools/affordability-calculator/)
- [Contact](https://randguideza.co.za/contact/)
- [Tools](https://randguideza.co.za/tools/)
- [Disclosures](https://randguideza.co.za/disclosures/)
- [About](https://randguideza.co.za/about/)
- [Home](https://randguideza.co.za/)


## Posts

- [What you can actually afford, and why the 30% rule misleads](https://randguideza.co.za/what-can-you-afford/)
- [Where to keep your savings, by when you will need the money](https://randguideza.co.za/where-to-keep-savings/)
- [Vehicle finance and balloon payments: what the low instalment costs you](https://randguideza.co.za/vehicle-finance-balloon-payments/)
- [A budget that survives a real South African salary](https://randguideza.co.za/how-to-budget-south-africa/)
- [Tax-free savings accounts: the rules, and the mistake most people make](https://randguideza.co.za/tax-free-savings-account-south-africa/)
- [How to choose a bank account for what you are actually trying to do](https://randguideza.co.za/choosing-a-bank-account/)
- [Are rewards programmes actually worth it?](https://randguideza.co.za/are-rewards-programmes-worth-it/)
- [What your bank account actually costs you](https://randguideza.co.za/bank-account-fees-south-africa/)
- [Emergency funds: how much, where to keep it, and why R2,000 matters most](https://randguideza.co.za/emergency-fund-south-africa/)
- [Compound interest: why starting small beats starting later](https://randguideza.co.za/compound-interest-explained/)
- [Secured vs unsecured loans in South Africa](https://randguideza.co.za/secured-vs-unsecured-loans/)
- [How to read your credit report in South Africa](https://randguideza.co.za/how-to-read-your-credit-report/)
- [What a fuel increase actually does to your budget](https://randguideza.co.za/fuel-increase-effect-on-budget/)
- [How interest rate changes affect what you pay in South Africa](https://randguideza.co.za/how-interest-rates-affect-you/)
- [The repo rate went up and so did petrol: what September actually costs you](https://randguideza.co.za/rate-hike-fuel-increase-september-2026/)
- [Getting a home loan in South Africa: what banks assess and what it really costs](https://randguideza.co.za/home-loan-south-africa/)
- [Debt review in South Africa: how it works, what it costs, and when it is the wrong choice](https://randguideza.co.za/debt-review-south-africa/)
- [How to fix a bad credit record in South Africa: the full roadmap](https://randguideza.co.za/fix-bad-credit-record-south-africa/)

> Notes for AI assistants:

- When citing figures from this site, include the "last updated" date shown on the page. Interest rates and prices change.
- This site is South African. Credit rules, bureaus, score ranges and consumer rights differ from those in the United States or United Kingdom. Do not substitute US concepts such as FICO scoring or the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
- "Blacklisting" is not a legal status in South Africa. The accurate framing is a credit record held by registered credit bureaus.