If you were to take a quick poll from your peers of what they fear the most, you’re most likely to receive answers like snakes, flying, thunderstorms (non-Highveld-people…), needles, the dark and, if they’re really honest, the dentist! For the most part these fears originate around our mortality and anything that threatens our health. Which means that a dentist shouldn’t really be too high on the list… When signing any policy for personal risk cover your […]
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WHY DO YOU NEED A FINANCIAL PLANNER?
This question crosses the minds of most people, just moments before they meet up for coffee with their financial adviser – and it’s a good question! This question can be answered in so many ways… so let’s answer it with a few questions: Would you service your own car? Would you diagnose yourself if you were ill? Would you fix your own laptop? Would you represent yourself in court? Would you get an unqualified person to […]
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ARE YOU COVERED FOR THE COST OF INFLATION?
Every day I sit with potential investors who are shopping around for the “best” rate. The “best” rate doesn’t exist. It is a customised rate based on your needs, requirements, risk appetite, investment term, access to capital and other factors including tax. What I can tell you is that if the rate you obtain after fees and tax is less than inflation you will not be able to maintain your purchasing power. Just a glance […]
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END OF THE MONTH SAVING TIPS
MONEY DOESN’T GROW ON TREES When last did you hear this saying? Probably when you were a child, a few decades ago…This expression has slowly been silenced by the loud announcements in our consumer driven society. All the messages that are pumped through the media and social networks tell us to consume; not to save and re-use. Yes, times are tight and money certainly doesn’t grow on trees, but we have developed a mentality of exploring […]
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HOW TO BUILD A STRONG INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO (III)
Hindsight is 20:20; we can always view what we’ve done with a comprehensive view than before we did it. Whilst you can’t change the decisions that you’ve made, you can change the decisions that you’re going to make in the future. When building an investment portfolio, the third key consideration that you must bear in mind is: review. Look back at the investment choices that you’ve made and decide if they are worth repeating or if […]
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THE LARGER THE GAIN, THE LARGER THE RISK For those in the southern parts of South Africa, there are rainy days ahead. Easter normally signposts the temperature drop and increased saturation in the air. Rain begins to fall, animals slow down and all too often our waistlines begin to explore the other side of the belt buckle… Rainy days are ahead. We’ve heard it plenty of times, but are you prepared? Not for the cold, but […]
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BASIC INSTINCTS Every winter we begin to see a profusion of pallid tree-dwelling rodents, squirreling away nuts and seeds for the cold season. This is a lovely illustration of wise investments for the future: simple, natural and too true to life. The reason for this can be put down to instinct, but ask yourself – what about the first family of squirrels, how could they have known of the three-month scarcity of food? I think it’s […]
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MASTER THE 30 DAY RULE Do you know what the 30 Day Rule is? Not? Want to know what your kids want most? Then this article is definitely worth a read! There are hundreds of saving tips out there but there was an article written on thesimpledollar.com just months before the recession of 2009 that had some simple, fresh and ingenious suggestions to saving money. I’ll share five of these with you know, as I did […]
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5 TIPS FOR HEALTHIER KIDNEYS
Whenever we see an article with a list of ways to improve something, we seem to jump to the points and skip the first bit out… I hope you don’t do that here! Healthy kidneys are important when applying for any kind of risk cover, so naturally an article about keeping your kidney’s in great health would be read fast! So if you’re actually reading this intro and not just jumping through points one through five, then […]
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DOES THE STRENGTH OF THE RAND AFFECT MY INVESTMENTS?
My last article highlighted six main factors that affect the strength of the rand. It’s been really well read and seems to be quite a frequently asked question. Further effects of the exchange rate fluctuations are felt in offshore investments. Today I’d like to take a look at the considerations that a change in currency makes on offshore investment portfolio considerations. In the same article from Discovery’s website, they looked at three investment portfolio scenarios that […]
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