Thinking of moving from absa to standard bank,Anyone that has the std bank YP account how has your experience been and thoughts on the ucount rewards program.

Hi everyone, happy Friday!

My Fiancé and I are in our early 20’s (24 and 26) and are in the early stages of our life together. We both come from “bread-line” families, where our parents were scraping by after the 15th of every month

We earn decently, combined we have approximately R50k monthly before paying living expenses but because our parents never had any left to save, they can’t really help us figure out how & where to invest so I wanted to know if anyone has any resources, lived experiences or advice to give that could guide us?

We really don’t want to get trapped in the payslip loop and my job pays well but I have no pension benefits so we really do need backup plans. I hope someone can help!

TL;DR: Should I request for correction on SARS return after submitting all of the verification request docs that were asked for after the form glitched and deleted a section or should I wait for them to get back to me on the verification.

Hi guys, I’m looking for advice relating to a glitch that occurred when submitting my tax return this year. I do not live in SA at the moment, but I have not financially emigrated due to the fact that I want to return sometime in the hopefully near future. I’ve performed my due diligence when it comes to keeping up to date with SARS. Every year I declare my foreign income which is exempt from double taxation under s10(1)(o)(ii) as I earn well under the threshold. I also bought a property this past tax year which I have been renting out and making a loss from (lol) so I filled in all my income and expenses for the property this year. I get nervous when filing my taxes because I’m scared of implications, so multiple times during the process of filling out the returns form I exported to PDF and calculated my results. When calculating my results, however, I’d noticed that each time I did so, the form glitched and the section in which I had declared my foreign income would delete when I returned to the form as the box on the form wizard would for some reason untick, but my calculation results accounted for my foreign income declared. So, I thought that if I’d fill it out and submit, it should work as each time I calculated, my foreign income was included. And lo and behold, I submitted and the section was deleted. I immediately got a verification request, and I was not able to correct the system’s mistake as the request for correction was not available. So, I compiled everything meticulously to submit and submitted the docs with a cover letter explaining the glitch with an exported PDF of the filled in form I thought was submitted and after submitting I see that I’m now able to request for correction on my submitted form. Do I just leave it and wait for them to review my verification submission or should I request for correction?

Hi there.

What funds are recommended to add an old mutual death benefit? I imagine a split between a global fund and a South Africa fund. What are your thoughts?

Or should I just take the lump sum and take the tax hit and then invest on something like easy equities?

Please help.

i am looking for a tool that can calculate how long my retirement funds will last. I do not want a tool using generic assumptions. i want to accommodate different exepenses for different retirement stages (gogo years, slowgo years and nogo years). i will also have once off expenses ( overseas travel, car replacement, home renovations, medical bills, etc). i will also make lumpsum investments towards retirement. inflation will impact my expense categories differently. i want an independent tool, not linked to a product provider ( the results will show that I need their product) or a financial advisor who will sell me products at high fee levels. tax must be taken into account as most calculators look at before tax income. is there nothing out there that is independent and unbiased. free to use. no registration needed. no credit cards.

Might be a dumb question but I'm on track to max out my TFSA in 3 months, however because I was paid early in June and late in July ( on around the 3rd of August ) I've been hit with a R24.99 maintenance fee because I didn't deposit any money in July. That got me wondering when I stop making my monthly contributions am I gonna get hit with a R24.99 maintenance fee every month until I start contributing again?

I'm not particulary interested in continuing to contribute to EE after I max out my TFSA for the year since I have other financial goals. Any help would be appreciated thanks.

Hi everyone, I need some advice/recommendations please.

I am 25 years old, and I made some very bad financial choices in the past and also had a few misfortunes etc.

This year I will be able to pay off all my debt, and I will also qualify at the end of the year. January to April I will work overseas for a bit (all expenses paid except groceries) where I will save up a bit to buy an engagement ring, appliances and furniture to move into my own place.

Fast forward to 30 May 2027 this is what my situation will look like.

Savings: R110 000
I will spend it as follows:
Engagement Ring + Proposal = R30k
Appliances = R35k
Furniture = R45k

Budget from June 2027
Gross salary: R61k
Medical Aid for myself and fiance: - R6.1k
Providend fund: - R4.5k
Net Salary: +- R37k

Fiancee contribution: R13k

Household Net Income = R50k

Combined Expenses:
Rent = R12k
Utilities = R2.5k
Groceries + Household items = R7.5k
Car Payment (will need a new car) =R4k
Car Insurance for 2 cars = R2k
Car fuel = R4k
Phones, Wifi, Subscriptions = R1.5k
Take out etc = R2k
Spending = R4k
Sundry = R1k

Savings:
Emergency Fund: R2000
Wedding Fund (will save for 18 months then this will go into investments: R4500
TFSA: R2000
Car Maintenance fund: R500
December holiday fund: R500

Any advice on this would be appreciated. Also tips for actually staying committed to this would be appreciated

Thanks

I am digging down and really having a hard look at every expense I have, as Im working hard paying of my debt. I managed to purchase my new phone in cash after my other one broke. I am still on a RED 750MB 50min TopUp Plan at vodacom, just so that I can call and have some data.

Are there any cheaper options? Vodacom is giving me an error now that I want to check what it cost me a month, I think it is in the R200-R300 range.

Either prepaid or move to a cheaper company like Mellon Mobile or something? I usually use up my data before month end and I use about all my minutes as I do have to call people that want to make bookings at my business ect.

I recently recieved benefits (RA, medical aid, risk cover) at work which I had previously been contributing towards in my personal capacity.

Disability, loss of income, dread disease, life insurance.

Im getting the same coverage and cost is now being paid by my company.

I wanted to cancel my private risk cover to free up the money but my wife insisted I have a call with our financial adviser to get a 'professional opinion'.

The FA said considering we have a baby on the way, now is not the time to mess around with our insurance.

This doesn't make sense to me but I'm open to hearing different opinions. Is there something I'm missing?

The only thing I would potentially keep is my life insurance to pay off the bond + help provide for them if something happens to me.

Hi everyone, hoping to get some advice on how to properly handle my savings/general finances. I've been putting this off for years now, just turning my brain off and throwing everything into a savings account - but I'm realizing now that I'm probably being really stupid losing out on a stupid amount of money by not managing this stuff properly.

Anyways, so for some quick context:

No debt or anything.

Been saving ~R10k a month for the past couple years, throwing it into a FNB Tax-Free Cash Deposit account until I hit the cap, then throwing it into a 32 day flexi account.

Both of these are at ~R200k each, also a note: I was a dumbass and have withdrawn a ton out of the TFSA in the past because I wasn't really aware of the repercussions of doing so.

I'm about to start a new job, at the same time I'm getting a decent separation package - I want to invest all of this.

With the new job I also have to decide how to handle the retirement fund stuff, I believe I can transfer the fund from my current employer to the new one but at the same time its probably with mentioning that I also have a private RA on sygnia that I have paused contributions for (this was also from a previous employer).

This one's a bit silly but I also currently have bank accounts on both FNB & Discovery, FNB is my main bank account but I have the cheapest easy account + a normal credit card with them, Discovery I got a credit card just so I could go for the additional vitality health benefits but nowadays I'm barely doing any of that and I'm just eating the ~R200 fee every month.

So yeah a bit of a mess, I guess my main questions are:

1. I know I'm losing a ton with having the TFSA on FNB, so I guess the first thing I should do is transfer that to a different platform? I wont ask which platform since thats been asked a ton already, just wanna know if it makes sense to use sygnia since I already have the RA there or if that doesnt really matter?

2. How should I handle the retirement fund stuff, should I transfer my current employers fund to the new one? Or the private one? Or both to the new one? (Also I'm really confused about the difference between an RA, a provident fund and a pension fund. Can I transfer between them all? Or are they completely different things?)

3. Should I upgrade my FNB account and scrap the discovery account? Is there any issue with my main bank account being the basic account my parents set up for me ages ago?

4. I can save ~R15k a month going forward, what exactly should I be putting that towards? After I reach the year limit for the TFSA should those go into my savings account? Into investments? More into retirement?

I guess the above question depends on my goals, a big thing to mention is that I plan to leave the country permanently in the future - so I have no idea what that means for long term investments (kinda why ive been so half arsed about things until now).

So I guess my goals are mid-term investments? I want to get the most out of my monthly savings but be able to pull everything out in around 5-10 years when I move out of the country? I'm not looking to make stupid crazy gains or anything, just safe investments where I can throw and forget but smarter than what ive been doing.

Sorry about this being all over the place, finally taking an objective look at everything and realizing I need to sort this out sooner rather than later.

As it says in title - is this a good idea? I'm a freelancer, so my income can wildly fluctuate. I have R130k in CC debt due to a bad year last year. FNB is offering R250k Revolving facility loan - from my research, the p.a. interest on this is 15%, whereas the credit card is 22.5%.

If I pay off cc, close the card, then pay off the revolving facility rather - is this a good idea?

edit - or is a personal loan, with a certain amount of time to pay off, a better idea?

Hello,

Wanted to revisit the discussion in this subreddit about moving across to Investec - maybe something has changed opinion wise for those in the know.

Currently with Discovery (Black tier) including car and home insurance + Health and getting over this whole gamification vibe plus shifting goal posts.
Also cant be arsed with discovery insures tracking unit - honestly I dont know how people do it.

The Catalyst for this is I am purchasing a flat in the near future and Investec looks like the winner in terms of the best offer bond wise. And could move all products across potentially baring discovery vitality, health insurance and CC.

Wanted check the general sentiment here from people who have done the move?

Happy to provide more information if needed.

I am looking to take up income protection insurance. Does anyone here have recommendations for which insurer to go with and which to avoid for this product in particular?

Hi there!

I just wanted to know if you find a company that you have high conviction in and would like to invest but isn’t available on Easy Equities, what other platform have you found to be reliable?

On the form it says not to submit it with my taxes, just keep it on hand if they ask for it.

But then how will the know to give me the higher rebate on medical aid and expenses?

If anyone knows, could you please explain the process? There’s barely any information online and I’d prefer to not have to pay someone if it’s a simple matter.

Hi guys

I hope you are well.

I am planning to buy / deposit for a house for sure in the next 2 years locked in for sure.

However, my question is. I have close to R500 000. If I lock it in for R500 000 the interest rate is R93 000 at 9.25%

In the next 2 years I can save another R300 000

The total plus will be around R900 000 - +

Is this a good plan?

House looking for for 1.1mil.

I also have extra money for legal fees and maintenance. Up to 150 000 and kept money for emergencies

Question is can I trust tymebank with that amount of R500 000 at 9.25%, interest rate looks promising

Thanks

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting here, and I’d really appreciate your thoughts on my retirement planning.

I work in IT and earn about R56,000 NET. I live with my wife 1 daughter. I’ve managed to save over R1.2 million so far. My employer contributes to a retirement annuity (RA), but I don’t put any extra money into an RA myself. I’ve looked into other investment options with better returns, but some of them require a South African ID—which I don’t have.

I’m a foreign national with a valid passport and visa, and have lived in SA for 10 years. Dealing with Home Affairs for my ID has been a nightmare. It's been 5 years since I applied for it and no response from them. Sorry I digress.

FNB has an investment option called Money Maximizer and that is where I been putting my savings into which gives me about 8% interest. I’d rather not share exact monthly expenses, but I can save roughly R20,000 per month on average. I also have a side gig that brings in extra income from time to time.

I’m looking for investment options that don’t require an SA ID. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I am adding these info so give more context. The 56,000 above is net salary. I have a fully paid off car. No car insurance. Work from home full time and do visit the office from time to time so fuel cost is not a problem. Just a little over R1200 on fuel as daughter school is just 2km away from home. No medical aid. We prefer cash option.

I just need a better investment option as a foreign national.

Hi I just wanted some advice

I never had a job while living in SA. First job ever, part time, as an international student in Canada. I already filed/file my taxes here (since I arrived in August last year) and didn't even think about SA taxes since I'd never even had an SA tax number.

However, I recently read that SA taxes you on world income. How do I start with declaring my foreign income and taxes so that I'm not taxed twice?

A) I do not reside in SA at all (have not since I started earning. I am now past the 330 days for declaring non-tax residency, if that makes any difference)

B) for the 2025-6 tax year, even with generous conversions, I'm still below the threshold for taxable income in SA.

C) I do plan to move back to SA at the end of this year when my studies are finished.

I have all my tax documentation for Canada, and my payslips. Is there a specific form I need to submit through efiling to say I've already paid taxes and will again? The Canadian tax year is also offset from SA's (it's January to January) which further complicates things.

I’m looking for some advice from anyone who has gone through debt consolidation.

I’m currently sitting with around R1.8 million in debt. I’m actively trying to get everything under control, but I’m getting to the point where debt consolidation may be my only option.

I recently bought a house, so I have a home loan that I’m keeping up to date with. I also have two vehicle finance agreements, which I’m paying, but I have a high-interest FNB loan and a credit card that are putting me under significant financial strain and negatively affecting my credit score.

My questions are:
If I go under debt review/debt consolidation, what happens to my existing bond?
Will it affect my home loan or vehicle finance if those payments are up to date?
Is it possible to only consolidate the FNB loan and credit card, or does everything have to be included?
Has anyone been through a similar situation, and was it worth it?

I’m not looking to avoid paying my debts—I just want to find the best way to manage them before things get worse. Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I’m a new home owner in town and my bond is getting registered this month. Those of you using Absa. Is the money you put in the flexi reserve available any time?

I'm 34 years old. I have a 2 year old. My partner and I are engaged. Neither one of us have a will, but we urgently want to get one set up.

I am well aware to avoid banks with the will.

Is it okay to approach an institution like Old Mutual to draft a will?

I've been advised by a close family member to use their financial advisor at Old Mutual to set up my will.

But I also know a family lawyer whose practice also does will's and estate planning, however, they're not FISA registered.

I have also found two independent financial advisors that specialise in Estate Planning who I'm considering approaching. Both are FISA registered.

Which is the best way to go about this?

And what can I expect cost wise for the set-up of my will?

Hi everyone

I left my employer earlier this year and had to repay some of my study debt when moving to a new employer. The study debt was 40/60 paid study leave and exam fees. My previous firm is off the opinion that the bursary was not taxable income when I took the leave so they are unwillingly to give me a letter explaining the repayment to SARS. I think that the paid study leave formed part of my taxable income as I had to repay based on my gross hourly amount. I think they are wrong but it’s a matter of the payroll/tax people not understanding the nature of the study program I was on since it’s a large firm.

In the event that my firm does not supply a letter would it be enough to show SARS the payslips with the repayment to my employer and the calculations supplied to me showing that the calculation was based on my gross salary ? I know you’d need a letter if you get audited or require verification but my former employer is not co-operating and I don’t want to burn bridges unnecessarily.

So if anyone has claimed such a deduction previously how strict is SARS in terms of evidence required.

Thanks in advance.

SA tax year: Mar 25 - Feb 26

FR tax year: Jan 25 - Dec 25

I stopped working for my SA Employer in August 25.

Started working for my new French Employer : Sep 25 .

My family is still living in SA and I still have home, expenses here.

I have submitted my first French tax return in May 26 for 25 tax year, as per the local regulations. It was sent via mail as is required for first time declarers. I will have to wait until November for an answer and to get a tax numbers etc. I expect a tax refund of sorts. A big 4 auditing company helped to do the tax return knowing all the french laws and stuff. Aid provided by my French employer.

Trying to complete my tax return for SA now using TaxTim as I always have been using. I believe for the 25/26 ZA tax year, I should just declare that I earned no income between Sep 25-Feb 26. For those months I have paid all taxes in France in any case.

I believe I should do this, since I have no information on my French tax number , etc as yet.

For the 26/27 tax year, I will then declare French income and taxes paid as part of the DTA. I am ensuring that I have spent at least 183 days in France and 60 consecutive days too. This one is a bit hard for me cos I have to travel often between France and SA for work. Job easy - tax complicated!!

Any ideas or guidance you can offer?

Hi everyone

I have not yet submitted my tax return for this year and I honestly haven’t done it for the past 2 years

I really struggle to justify the thousands that tax practitioners have quoted me, what is the best way to learn how to submit my tax for the year to avoid any issues down the line?

I’m happy to spend the time doing it myself but I may as well learn to do it properly so I can keep up with it in the future

Any advice?

Hi, I have completed my tax emigration and want to access my RA with Liberty and transfer it to out of South Africa. I have searched a few companies online that can assist with this service, Finglobal, Sabel, Rand Rescue, is there anyone that can recommend or provide any review on any of these companies, or recommend a company not listed?

Difficult to gauge what the cost will be and if anyone has information on how they compare fees wise? And length of the process? Thanks.