Practical money guides for South Africans
N N In short: Funeral cover pays a smaller amount quickly, usually within days, to pay for a funeral. Life cover pays a much larger amount to replace your income and settle debts for the people who depend on you. By law, a funeral policy’s benefit is capped at R100,000 per person insured per policy (escalating yearly … Read more
In short: Building insurance (also called homeowner’s insurance) covers the structure of your home: walls, roof, fixed fittings, geysers and permanent outbuildings. Contents insurance (household insurance) covers what you would take with you if you moved: furniture, appliances, clothes and electronics. Owners usually need both. Renters only need contents cover, because the landlord insures the … Read more
In short: Your car insurance excess is the part of a claim you pay yourself before the insurer pays the rest. Most policies have a basic excess, and many add extra excesses, for example for young or newly licensed drivers, for claims in the first months of the policy, or for theft and windscreen claims. … Read more
In short: Credit life insurance pays off or pays your loan if you die, become disabled or lose your job. A lender can require you to have it, but by law you may use your own policy instead of the lender’s, as long as it gives at least the minimum benefits. The National Credit Regulations … Read more
In short: For R20,000, a credit card is often cheaper than a personal loan if you can pay it off within about two years, because the legal maximum interest rate on credit cards (21.25% a year) is lower than on unsecured personal loans (28.25% a year), based on the 7.25% repo rate. A personal loan … Read more
In short: If you earn money that has no PAYE taken off it, such as freelance fees, side hustle income or rent, you are probably a provisional taxpayer. You must submit an IRP6 estimate and pay tax twice a year. For the 2027 tax year (1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027), the first payment … Read more
In short: On monthly fees alone, GoTyme Bank (formerly TymeBank) charges nothing, Capitec Global One and Absa Transact charge R7.50, FNB Easy PAYU charges R8, and Discovery Bank’s Gold Transaction Account costs R35 (pay as you transact) or R170 (bundled). The monthly fee is only part of the story, though. What you pay in a … Read more
In short: If you pay income tax and will not need the money before retirement, a retirement annuity (RA) usually gives your next R1,000 the biggest boost, because SARS gives you back tax at your marginal rate. If you want access to the money, or you pay little or no tax, a tax-free savings account … Read more
In short: Most big open medical schemes have announced 2027 increases of roughly 7% to 9%, effective 1 January 2027. That is about double the 3.8% the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) recommended. Discovery Health Medical Scheme averages 8.2%, Bonitas 8.7%, Momentum Medical Scheme 7.9% and Medshield 7.9%, KeyHealth 8.5%, Profmed 7.9% and Sizwe Hosmed … Read more
In short: SARS taxes a bonus or 13th cheque as an annual payment. Your employer works out your yearly salary, adds the bonus, and deducts the extra tax that the bonus causes. That means the bonus is taxed at your highest (marginal) tax rate, not at your average rate. So it feels heavily taxed, but … Read more