I’ve wanted to do an Easy Equities review for a while now since they won the Intellidex Top Stockbroker award. When I started investing, I knew about Easy Equities and their affordable offering, but I still chose to go with a trading platform offered by a bank. It is strange how the mind works sometimes. …
When we invest money in cash products at a bank, the bank loans 8 to 13 times that amount to other people. This is either as home loans, car loans, business loans or short-term debt, like credit cards. They simply produce this money out of thin air. This is called fractional reserve banking, which sounds …
With the end of the financial year approaching fast, it is time to start optimising your income tax. One way of doing this is by investing in Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) that I discussed in the article should I even bother with a TFSA? This option is geared towards middle to low income households. …
The only necessary background information you need to have regarding Tax Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs) is the TFSA limits. You can contribute R33 000 per year and R500 000 over your lifetime. When people hear these amounts they have one of two reactions, “Where am I supposed to find that kind of money?” or “Why …
I recently read an article which stated that the best indicator for future performance is the Price to Earning (PE) ratio of a market. I tried finding it again, but to no avail. However, the gist of it is that when the PE ratio is low, the return on investment in the near future is …
It is easy to over-complicate your investment strategy. It is tempting to invest in each new Initial Public Offering (IPO) because it feels like you are getting in on the ground floor. On top of that you do not have to pay the transaction cost for buying the shares. So, because it is new and …
The 4% rule Retiring is easy, all you have to do is save 300 times your monthly expenses. This is until you do the math and see that this isn’t walking around money. The 300-times-your-monthly-salary rule and the 4% rule is one and the same thing. Whip out those calculators if you must. The 4% …
How we save Remember when you were young and really wanted that radio-controlled car? Your parents wanted to teach you the value of saving. They offered to pay for half, if you saved the rest. So diligently you put away your monthly pocket money until three months later, you saved enough to contribute your half. …
Alternative investments Often it can feel like everyone giving you investment advice is only promoting share portfolios, dropping the microphone and walking off stage. This remains brilliant advice but does not mean we should ignore the merits of alternative investments. The big hype around the campfire these days are alternative investments in bees, blueberries and …
There is a lot of hype around retirement annuities (RA’s) and the ridiculous tax advantage you get when using your discretionary allowance. By now everyone should be aware of the 27.5% tax free allowance you get when you contribute to an RA. This means that you can subtract your retirement contributions from your taxable income. …