An age old question with no definite answer, it seems. Let us begin by answering this question in the same way in which one allegedly eats an elephant - Bit by bit.   1) What are you saving for? This could range from a nice pair of shoes to retirement to an emergency fund for [...]

As Laurence J. Peters once said “If you do not know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else”. In actual fact, that is what financial planning is all about. A crucial step in mapping out your financial future well-being by structuring your short and long term goals and arranging your financial [...]

First up, a famous quote credited to a man better known for his general theory of relativity, Albert Einstein:   “Compound Interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it… he who doesn’t … pays it.”   We all hear about compounding interest and how it is interest earned upon [...]

This may be one subject we try and avoid as it is not something anyone wants to think about. We all want to live longer but the reality is that at some stage we will die, we just never know when. This is why you need to ensure you have a proper Last Will and Testament [...]

And here we are in the middle of the 1st month into 2015. According to Statisticbrain.com, at this point in the month approximately 29% of people have already given up on their New Year’s Resolutions. At least they tried, right? It is a very interesting time of the year for most people, as an unofficial [...]

In recent weeks, the JSE has reminded investors that volatility is the name of the game when investing in equities over short periods of time. Investors who had invested new money over the last year (and expecting to see past returns replicated) would have been disappointed to see low, or even negative returns on their [...]

It’s a question 8 out of 10 people will be able to answer within a reasonable range. Why is that? Some folks might know someone who recently travelled and complained about how expensive things were “overseas”. Others might remember it from the 10 second financial news snippet at the end of the half-hourly radio news, [...]

“Economic growth outlook at record highs” “The economy has never been healthier“ “GDP growth to leap into never before seen numbers“ These are some of the headlines you haven’t seen lately in the news, and for good reason. We are currently in quite a “bad news” cycle, where good news about the economy is few [...]

There has been a lot of chatter the last week around African Bank (ABIL), and its sudden fall from grace. Now that the news has filtered through the wires, the main question is how this affects you? A lot of focus has been placed on Coronation Asset Managers, as they are listed as the biggest [...]

It depends on who you ask, really. An economic graduate will say: “It is the end result of too much money chasing too many goods. The Purchasing Power Parity of consumers reduces over time, reducing the relative value of Rands in your hands.” A dietitian will say: “Inflation is a lot like food. Too little [...]