Money cents Archives - Page 3 of 7

Pocket money increase time

Donna Willan 31 January 2017Latest, Money cents

Along with the pain of making my annual budget fit, the other January pressure is negotiating the annual pocket money increase. My children are six and eight years old, and it’s the first time it’s occurred to them to ask for a pocket money increase – the sweet years are gone, and now they negotiate ...

New year financial goals

Donna Willan 17 January 2017Latest, Money cents

Happy, happy, it’s a new year and time to plan and set my financial goals! It’s scary but it must be done – so let’s do it! Firstly, I plan to make my financial goals big but achievable. I have just done my budget for the new year and I’m very relieved that I managed ...

Did I achieve my financial goals for the year?

Donna Willan 13 December 2016Latest, Money cents

In January, I spent time setting my financial goals for the year. I was pleased with them at the time, but to be honest, right now, I can’t remember what they were. So I went back to the column. In summary, the financial goals I achieved were: to pay 10% extra every month on the ...

Cheap fun

Donna Willan 29 November 2016Latest, Money cents

It’s the end of a long year, its summer, we’re on leave and school holidays have kicked in… it’s so tempting to be doing all those fun, glitzy, end-of-year party type things. Living in Durban, we have an amazing offering of great restaurants, stunning pantomimes, live music, carols and dolphins by candle light and funky ...

Survive Christmas and remain solvent

Donna Willan 15 November 2016Latest, Money cents

How to survive Christmas and remain solvent Many of us will have a two or three week break at the end of the year, and for those who celebrate Christmas it is just seven weeks away. Yikes! I am assuming that most readers share my reality: financially, life is tougher than last Christmas even if ...

How much home maintenance?

Donna Willan 1 November 2016Latest, Money cents

Our house is the biggest investment we will ever own, so shouldn’t we look after it really well? I think so, but then you get the naysayers telling you not to over invest in your home. So how much home maintenance is the right amount? I want to get the right balance between caring for ...

Making tax returns less daunting

Donna Willan 18 October 2016Latest, Money cents

I am so tired of my tax return shadowing me for months - like a trip to the dentist, you know you are going to do it anyway and it will be fine when you get there. Just do it now and get it over with! Just like the dentist, when I get around to it, preparing ...

Retirement blues again

Donna Willan 4 October 2016Latest, Money cents

By coincidence, it’s been one year since I wrote my last blog on retirement after having written my third Money Cents column on retirement as well. It seems that I panic around this time of year. Could it be that my birthday is soon and it reminds me that I am getting old? So yes, I ...

Should children have bank accounts?

Donna Willan 20 September 2016Latest, Money cents

I still remember my first bank account; I was about six years old and my brother was eight. We went into our local Nedbank branch and opened an account. We felt so grown up AND we got a really great bank account activity book - every time we deposited money we did another activity in ...

How much pocket money is enough?

Donna Willan 6 September 2016Latest, Money cents

How much pocket money is enough? I guess this is an impossible question to answer as it depends on so many factors. Some of these include: Why do I give pocket money in the first place? What do I expect my children to do with their money? How much can I afford? I’ve also come ...