Buying a House: What Costs Will You Pay, and When?
It’s a really exciting time, buying a house, particularly if it’s your first! Don’t forget, however, that you will have to pay a variety of costs over and above the purchase price. What are those costs and when must you pay them? Do they impact your ability to afford the house you have your eye on?
We’ll address those questions with a checklist of costs you should budget for. It’s a good idea to work these into a cash flow forecast so you aren’t ambushed by any unpleasant financial surprises during the transfer process.
Beyond Your Will: Leaving a Legacy
Your will must always lie at the heart of your estate planning. But don’t concentrate solely on the financial wellbeing of your family after you are gone.
The personal legacy you leave them is also important. It focuses on your family’s values, history and heritage, supporting your heirs in living their lives to the fullest while preserving and enjoying the material wealth they inherit from you. But how do you create a personal legacy that will last for generations, and how does this fit into your overall estate planning? We share some practical suggestions on how to get started…
Geopolitical Tensions and Your Investments
Recent developments in the Middle East have once again brought global uncertainty into focus. With oil prices rising sharply, there is concern about the potential impact on inflation, interest rates and economic growth particularly for emerging markets such as South Africa, where foreign trade makes up more than 60% of our economy.
Choose Your Conveyancer with Care! A Cautionary Tale of “Fraud Unravels All”
Buying and selling a house is probably one of the most important financial transactions you will ever be involved in. Not to mention the emotional aspect of acquiring or letting go of your “home sweet home”.
This is why it’s vital to choose the right conveyancer. Case in point, a recent court battle which saw a couple losing ownership of what they had fondly believed to be their new house. A crooked attorney, in cahoots with her trustee husband, had defrauded both the original owner and the buyers at the end of the transfer chain. And in law, “fraud unravels all.”
The “Grey Zone”: It’s Time to Redefine Retirement
Retirement has long been seen as a binary switch: you worked until 60 or 65, and then shuffled off to live off your pension.
But so much has changed. Economic shifts, increased longevity, and the “fractionalisation” of the workplace have birthed a new era: The “grey zone”. In this article, we explore why it’s time to look at retirement in a completely different way.
Budget 2026: What it Means for You and Your Investments
Good news at last. Budget 2026 wasn’t just delivered on time, it also contained plenty to make South African investors smile.
It provides relief for taxpayers, assists small businesses and – very importantly – encourages savings by adjusting various tax brackets, caps and limits.
There is also real optimism about the country’s economic growth prospects. So much so that Budget 2026 has been called a fiscal turning point for SA, as important milestones are achieved. Read more good news from the Budget here…
Market Update: The Investor Costs of Living with Unending Tariff Uncertainty
On so-called Liberation Day last year, investors got a taste of the uncertainty to come from Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff decisions.
In February, the landmark Supreme Court ruling reining in the US President’s tariff powers was initially greeted with excitement. But Trump swiftly announced a global 10% tariff, before upping it to 15%. This highlights the nature of the perma-crisis we are living through: it’s the relentless uncertainty, not the tariffs themselves, that inflicts the most serious damage. Find out what that means for investors.
Your Year-End Tax Checklist: Smart Moves Before 28 February
“The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward. (John Maynard Keynes) 1. Boost your retirement savings Contributing to a Retirement Annuity (RA) before 28 February can reduce your taxable income and grow your long-term...
The 25x Rule: Busting the Myth of the Magic Number
“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is to act with yesterday’s logic.” (Peter Drucker) For a long time, South Africans have been told to use a simple formula to figure out how much money they will need in retirement: multiply their annual expenses by 25. The...
The Most Important Financial Concept Is …
“The power of compounding reflects the principle that small, consistent improvements yield disproportionately large results over time.” (Morgan Housel) In his book The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel makes a great observation about Warren Buffett: more than 97% of...
Love and the Law: Cohabiting? Get Your House in Order Now
“All you need is love… and a good lawyer.” (Anonymous) February, with its Valentine’s Day chocolates, roses and declarations of undying love, should be a month for romance, not legal niceties. But in the real world, love and the law are inextricably linked because any...
Electronic Wills Aren’t Valid: Stick to Pen and Paper
“Let’s choose executors and talk of wills.” (William Shakespeare in Richard II) You may have read one of the many online articles about an electronic will being validated recently by the High Court. Don’t be misled into thinking that electronic wills are now valid as...