Archive for Financial Advice

An Overview of Bank Charges

January 28, 2012 / terry / No comments

Find Out Which Bank Charges What in SA


• Your banking needs differ to everyone else’s making your banking wishes and requirements unique.
• Look for a bank that will charge you fees that will suit your individual specifications and  requirements best.
• Consider an account with a fixed monthly fee is you or your business performs more transactions than the average person or business.
• Changing banks is not difficult, and could benefit you if your bank charges are exorbitant.


Trade Union, Solidarity, compared costs of running personal banking accounts from various banking institutions.


• Absa charges the highest rates for their services.
• Standard Bank is a close second.
• Capitec charges the lowest rates; an average charge of R67, 35 is charged.
• Standard Bank charges an average of R133, 43.
• Nedbank’s average rates are R105, 04 and rose by 4, 3 % in 2011.
• The second least expensive bank is FNB which charges R73, 10 a month with an increase of 5, 1 % increase in 2011.


All these figures are rates charged in 2011, and could have had a price hike in 2012. It would therefore be advisable to contact the relevant banks to find out what is being charged at present this year.

An ombud for financial services sector

January 27, 2012 / Gillie / No comments

AN OMBUD FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR

Back on the agenda is the Governments proposed “twin peaks” approach to regulating the financial services industry. The proposal is a single statutory ombuds office in line with the government’s policy document “A safer financial sector to service SA better”. It has been confirmed that this has been commissioned by the National Treasury.  This is not the first time the government has considered creating such a body; it attempted to do so in 2003 and was met with dogged resistance by most of the financial services industry who wanted to retain the status quo.

Currently there are a number of dispute resolution structures in place, i.e.
•    Pension Funds Adjudicator
•    Ombud for financial service providers
•    Credit ombud
•    Ombudsmen for long-term and short-term insurance
•    Ombudsman for banking services

Both the statutory and non-statutory dispute resolution offices are supposed to hand down decisions that are based on ethical considerations and not only the strict letter of the law. There is no evidence on the table to suggest that consumers would be better served by a single complaints structure. Cas Coovadia, managing director of the Banking Association says the industry is not in favour of a single statutory ombud’s office; they cannot fathom the rationale behind such a concept since the various ombuds have performed very well to the benefit of consumers and in promoting sustainable sectors. These voluntary ombuds are funded by the sectors, while a statutory single ombud would have to be funded from the fiscus which would be a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The government in its twin peaks policy document says “international best practice requires the financial sector to provide consumers with speedy and affordable redress when resolving disputes”. The paper also states that “the SA financial services sector is characterized by high and opaque fees and, in some cases, the unfair treatment of customers”.

Your Financial Year Planner

January 26, 2012 / Theresa Anne / No comments

Your Month by Month Planner
Let this be the year to sort out anything to do with money by using a month by month planner.


January
• At the beginning of any year, make this the perfect time to get your paperwork and finances organized.
February
• February is the end of the financial tax year; let this be the year you get all your taxes in order and ensure that you are getting all the benefits due to you.
March
• March is a good month to draw up an accurate budget.
• Essentials have to be paid first.
• Start saving this year.
• The best way to save is to organise a debit order that will take a fixed amount off your salary every month.
• Budget for luxury items only after the essentials are paid off.
• When drawing up a budget remember that spending more than you earn will only get you into hot water.
April
• Consolidate debts in April
• Take out a second bond or loan to consolidate your debts; this way you will only pay one lot of interest.
• Something that should be taken into account is that the interest rate of the loan or the bond to consolidate these debts should be lower than that of the debts you are consolidating.
May
• Revisit your long-term insurance.
June
• Revisit any and all investments you have; these include taking an in-depth look and ensuring that you will get the best returns on your investments.
July
• Update your will, and if you do have dependents this is of paramount importance.
August
• Your children will hopefully go onto university after they have completed school; if you have not provided for them in this regard, then taking a long and hard look at how this can be done is essential.
September
• Plan for the end of year festivities; take a long and hard look to see where you can cut a few corners on your budget in order to make provision for those extras.
October, November and December
• Prepare in advance for the shock of January after the long festive period.


With this savvy financial guide you won’t have any more sleepless nights.




 

Debt Reduction Tips

December 5, 2011 / AlexS / No comments

These days there aren’t many people who haven’t found themselves at least a little bit in debt. The current economic downturn and hangover from the credit crisis has meant that there are a great many families currently struggling to get rid of debts they built up when credit was free flowing and times were good. However clearing debts is not always easy, regardless of your intentions. The following article outlines some suggestions as to how to get your debts under control:

Firstly, make sure you talk over your financial situation with either a friend, family or someone who can counsel you on debt. People who have been in your situation may be able to offer some tips on how they managed and what they did to get their debts under control.

Once you have done this it is time to get a full picture of the state of your finances and then an idea of what you owe and what you can afford to pay off each and every month. Set yourself a budget to pay all your monthly outgoings and to control your spending, and include in that budget your new repayment schedule.

Always make sure you cover the minimum payments at a bare minimum as this will keep your interest rates lower, avoid punitive charges and keep your credit score respectable. If possible however, try and clear more than the minimum each month as this will help you to clear the debts much more quickly.

Where possible, try and find a balance transfer deal to move all of your debts into one low interest lump sum. If you have credit card debts try to move them over to zero percent interest special offers.

Finally, try and build up an emergency fund – just a small donation every week from your salary – even $20 – is enough to cover you should something go wrong one month.

Follow these suggestions and stick to your budget and you will soon see those debts rapidly clearing.

 

Alex is a financial writer and blogger. He writes about everything from credit cards to mortgages to tax reduction.

 

 

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