budget Archives - Page 2 of 3

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 ...

Need a new car, plan early

Donna Willan 31 May 2016Latest, Money cents

So my car is the same age as my daughter, and she turns six next month – hmm how long can a car last, bearing in mind this is just a little Hyundai Atos. I guess I’ll be needing a new car in about four years. Now one of my basic money rules is ‘never ...

Short: How to buy a car

Kristia van Heerden 27 May 2016Latest, Periscope

When the Just One Lap team gets together on a cold Saturday morning, we like to solve each other's and the world's problems. Contributor Dineo Tsamela, better known as @DeeOnMoneyZA, is in the market for a car. With three "experts" in the house, what could possibly go wrong? Simon Brown, Petri Redelinghuys and Kristia van ...

Cost of home security

Donna Willan 17 May 2016Latest, Money cents

I’m feeling a little vulnerable right now, as two weeks back we had five incidents in our street in four days! Fortunately, we also had some arrests. So I have been thinking a lot about our home security – are we secure enough? Do we need to do more? Can I afford more? Can I ...

Being wise about my annual increase

Donna Willan 3 May 2016Latest, Money cents

Wow, a 7% annual increase is awesome! The challenge now is what to do with it. Of course on pay day the kids and I had a lovely pizza evening to celebrate, but there after it will be wise spending. So what is the wisest way to handle an annual increase? I went back and ...

Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSA)

Donna Willan 19 April 2016Latest, Money cents

There has been a lot of talk about the (relatively) new tax free savings accounts, so I thought I would reflect on how best to “seize this opportunity.” Each person can put a maximum of R30 000 a year into a tax free savings account. That means my children and I could each be doing this. ...

What are my big spends?

Donna Willan 5 April 2016Latest, Money cents

A few weeks back Simon challenged us to reflect on our big spends. He asked: “Do you spend more on your car than your kids’ education? See the problem?” It was a question that really spoke to me – and made me think about what my big spends are. Do I have the right priorities, ...

What does on holiday mean?

Donna Willan 22 March 2016Latest, Money cents

Wow here we are on holiday again, three long weekends over March and April, and two weeks of school holidays if you have children. Many of us are just paying off our credit cards from Christmas and back-to-school and there’s more holidays to break the bank! I’ve already shared my top tips on ‘inexpensive ways ...

Podcast: Moody Moody’s and investing for income

Simon Brown 10 March 2016JSE Direct, Latest

Moody Moodys and investing for income Simon Shares Moodys did not downgrade us, but they did put us on review for a downgrade that will put us one notch above junk status. Then we'll have all three rating agencies on the same level with Standard & Poor heading the pack as we're on a negative ...

Pets cost more than we think

Donna Willan 8 March 2016Latest, Money cents

As you know by now, I am always trying to work out why my monthly spend is more than my budget. This week I looked at another ‘silent spend’ and realized that our pets cost more than we think! How many of us have a line item in our budget for our pets? I certainly ...