There is a myth that Ostriches, when faced with danger, bury their heads in the sand. Although it is not found to be true in nature, many of us tend to behave like this when faced with our monthly budget… Financial behaviourists actually call the avoidance of perceived risky financial situations by pretending they do not exist, the Ostrich Effect. This tendency to pretend that all is well or ‘bury our heads in the sand’ instead […]
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CHECK YOUR RETIREMENT PLAN TODAY
We’ve written several blogs on planning for retirement and this is yet another to add to the quiver. Why is this so important? Because financial planning and provision for retirement is often relegated to the bottom of the budget and is only seriously considered when it is seriously too late. Current reports tell us that only around 6% of South Africans can retire comfortably. That means that three out of every fifty are comfortable in their […]
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THE CURRENT REALITY OF RETIREMENT
One of the most difficult elements of any financial portfolio is saving for retirement. For most of us, retirement always feels so far away and we feel like we’ll either have plenty of time to save for it, or we simply have other priorities that are currently higher on our list. Products like short term insurance and health cover seem to take the priority in our financial plan. Currently, most South Africans are not ready to […]
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RECOVERY MONEY
Unless you’ve already had a debilitating illness, the last thing you think about is your health failing you for anything longer than your hospital stay. As a result, we tend to only include a hospital plan, and perhaps some GAP cover in our financial planning. But what happens if the accident means that you can’t work for six months? Your hospital and GAP cover may take care of most of your in-hospital expenses (costs incurred whilst […]
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2014 GOALS – BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
We’re almost at the middle of the year! Some will look forward and see the potential stashed away in the seven months that lie ahead, but others will look at the five months passed and be overwhelmed by how little they’ve accomplished. Perhaps you had such a motivated two weeks in January where you felt like 2014 was going to be your year: a year where you made the changes that you’ve been dreaming about. But […]
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CRITICAL ILLNESS | ARE YOU SUFFICIENTLY COVERED?
Women submit more critical illness claims than men. RISKSA published an online article that shed some light on an area of financial planning that appears to be largely overlooked, or at least, underestimated. A key consideration for every financial portfolio is to insure your most valuable asset – your ability to earn an income. Traditionally this lot has fallen to the ‘man of the house’ to earn an income. Although this notion is seriously outdated (by […]
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PLANNING FOR THE UNEXPECTED
How can you plan for the unexpected… and, if you’re expecting it, then how can it be unexpected? Well, those are good questions! Planning and arranging your spending plan to include the ‘unexpected’ is a wise approach to take. When we talk about unexpected costs we generally mean services or commodities that are over-and-above what you would normally expect, but might be able to find out with some deeper digging. UNEXPECTED ACCOMMODATION COSTS Electricity and municipal […]
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DON’T THROW YOUR MONEY AWAY
The number of people who are currently saving is declining, research shows. Last year MasterCard conducted a survey to discern consumer purchasing priorities and the research revealed that saving is a forgone priority in an increasing amount of household budgets. The biggest barrier-to-entry in any budget for savings is the belief that there is no ‘extra’ money to save, and as a result, the money is channelled into commodities, accommodation, groceries and other expense pockets. In […]
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BUY OR RENT?
In an article published on Fin24 earlier this year, it was said that homes are expected to become less affordable this year (2014). John Loos, household and property sector strategist at FNB Home Loans, said the following: “After six years of improving residential property affordability, 2014 could be a year in which this improving affordability trend is reversed mildly, and in which affordability becomes slightly more challenging,” said Loos. Now, I don’t sell Home Loans – […]
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MIND THE GAP
For those of you who have travelled on a tube in London, you’ll know the familiar sound of the lady saying “Mind the gap.” as you step on and off your tube. In fact, even if you haven’t travelled to the Big Smoke, you’ve probably heard about it. However, when people buy health cover they’re very seldom told to mind the gap. I always try to make it very clear to my clients that the gap […]
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