Tips and insights for managing your personal finances
The money questions that sit around your budget are often the expensive ones: what is actually on your payslip, how a credit score is built, which medical cover you need, what a car finance deal really costs, and what happens to your money if you die without a will.
These articles explain each topic in plain language with South African rules and examples, so you can make the decision with the full picture instead of the salesperson's version.
From the first call to a court judgment: the Section 129 notice and its timelines, what to do with a summons, salary deductions, old debts and what collectors may not do.
Funeral costs range from about R13,000 to R211,000 on the FSCA own price list. Learn the R100,000 policy cap, how waiting periods and lapses work, who to cover, and the checks to make before you buy or renew.
What a mashonisa really charges, what the law allows a registered lender to charge, and what to try first. Includes how to get out of an unregistered loan and where to report threats or a lender holding your card or ID.
What SABRIC 2025 figures show, how safe account calls, OTP requests and remote-access scams work, five rules that stop most of them, what to do in the first hour after a scam, and where to complain.
What you are owed, how to claim UIF, how many months your money will last and what to do about debt, medical aid and your pension. A step-by-step plan with a worked rand example for South Africans who have just lost their job.
They sound like versions of the same thing. One is a legal process with court protection, the other is a new loan. Choosing wrong makes an over-indebted situation worse.
A balloon payment lowers your monthly instalment by pushing part of the debt to the end. Here is the arithmetic on what that convenience costs, what the September rate hike adds, and the fees to check.
Dying without a will does not mean your family sorts it out informally. It means a statute decides who gets what, and the process takes longer and costs more.
You have more than one credit score, they disagree with each other, and you are legally entitled to see them for free. Here is what they measure, what moves them and how long bad marks last.
Your payslip has more going on than most people ever read properly. Here is what PAYE, UIF and the credits on it actually do, and how to check your numbers are right.
A hospital plan and a comprehensive medical aid differ by more than R80,000 a year. Here is what each tier really costs in 2026, and how to choose before the January switch deadline.
Want to start investing but feel behind? This practical South African guide shows how to build your first investment plan from your current budget, automate consistency, and track progress with Budget Hub.