January may begin with resolutions for the year ahead – but March begins with Tax Resolutions for the next tax year. We promise ourselves to be a little more organised, a little more prudent and try to minimise our contributions the next time around. BusinessTech recently said that with the many challenges small business owners face every day, being tax compliant is often not at the top of the list and tax deadlines often come and […]
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Budget 2017 – A quick precis
The Budget for 2017 has been presented to parliament and is awaiting final approval, but if all goes through as planned, here are some key issues that may affect your financial planning for the year – as well as your investment portfolio. Significant announcements New 45% tax rate for those earning more than R1.5 million per annum. (Around 100 000 taxpayers are affected) Dividend withholding tax increased from 15% to 20% (this will have an impact […]
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Organize your life – Part 1
Some people are amazingly good at bringing order to chaos and organizing their lives in such a way that makes the rest of us simply stand and gawk, thinking ‘How do they do it?’. Finding just the right amount of order in your life will not only help you minimise waste – but it will also help you reduce stress! When you can find what you’re looking for, quickly and easily, you will have more time […]
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Should you have a tax free savings account?
In an article recently published on Moneyweb Today (by Paul Leonard, CFP, Regional Head, Citadel), several points were made that succinctly provided useful insight for those considering the options about investing in a TFSA, and deciding whether or not it would be the most appropriate savings vehicle. Before making any final decisions, it’s always best for us to meet and assess your investment plan based on your financial needs analysis – but these pointers should help […]
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Valentine’s Gift Ideas
The best gifts are the one’s that show deep consideration for the recipient. That means that Valentine’s Day is not just about flowers, chocolate, biltong and a cute travel mug… it’s about knowing your partner and buying them something that they would truly love! So here are some pointers for this Valentine’s day for expressing your appreciation! EXPERIENCE OVER EXPENSE The best gifts are memories, not expensive trinkets. If you plan it right, your entire Valentine’s […]
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The Cost of Living in South Africa
Every year we see an internal migration of individuals and families between the major cities of South Africa – mostly for work reasons. These decisions are sometimes thrust upon us due to simple economics, but other times we are able to explore the opportunities and the pros-and-cons of living in a new city. But how exactly can you make informed decisions without relying mostly on hearsay or the perceptions of friends and colleagues. Which cities are […]
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Medical Aid vs Dread Disease Cover
If you are paying for both Medical Cover and Dread Disease Cover… you may ask yourself why? The cost of living keeps rising and in the year ahead we can expect more increases that will put pressure on our hard-earned and diligently saved resources. This doesn’t have to be bad news – it can encourage us to improve and tailor our financial planning to meet the changes and test our flexibility! That means going back to […]
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Lessons Learnt from Investing in 2016
Having recently read a report from the CEO of PSG Asset Management, Anet Ahern, here are a few key pointers that our top minds in the investment sector will be carrying with them as we start 2017. 1. The best investment decisions aren’t always the most comfortable During the first two weeks of 2016, a few of the top investment vehicles were down between 8% and 10% – the worst start to a year ever. All […]
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Slow Down. Appreciate.
If you’re anything like me, you may find that after you’ve had a holiday… you feel like you need a holiday! Our pace of life is currently so fast that even when we’re on holiday, or trying to take things a little slower, we don’t actually get to relax or rest as much as we would like. As a result, we find ourselves making decisions and choosing to speed life up so that we can simply […]
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New Year Spending Tips
If you want to change the way you’re doing something, if you want to improve or adjust or if you simply want to bring about a new direction – changing the way you think about something is the first step! Many of us begin our new-year-financials with a hope to saving more money – and as the year progresses, we find that we haven’t achieved this goal as well as we would have liked. Whilst there […]
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