Money cents Archives - Just One Lap

Doing Christmas ethically

Donna Willan 26 Sep 2017 Latest, Money cents

Christmas is three months away. I think if we want to do Christmas ethically, it's probably wise to start now. It gives us time to slowly get the different pieces in place and avoid the December mayhem! I have written about this here, here and here. This year I’m trying to do it even better. ...

Managing a salary cut

Donna Willan 11 Apr 2017 Latest, Money cents

Help! My take home salary has just been cut by 10% - we have less money! This is not a completely terrible thing. Some of you may recall my dilemma a few columns back where I was pondering whether I should join our company pension scheme or purchase monthly EFTs. Well the discussion became moot ...

How much home maintenance?

Donna Willan 1 Nov 2016 Latest, 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 ...

Retirement blues again

Donna Willan 4 Oct 2016 Latest, 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 Sep 2016 Latest, 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 ...

Teaching children the value of money

Donna Willan 28 Jun 2016 Latest, Money cents

All of us with children (our own or nieces, nephews, godchildren) will know the feeling of anxiety about our children and money. How can we raise them to be sensible and generous with their money, and not to be misers? I discussed this earlier in the year when I talked about my children and money ...

Cost of home security

Donna Willan 17 May 2016 Latest, 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 2016 Latest, 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 Apr 2016 Latest, 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 does on holiday mean?

Donna Willan 22 Mar 2016 Latest, 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 ...