The Financial Couch

23/07/2025

NOT ENOUGH WOMEN KNOW

Most women leave Financial Planning for their husbands, even though they are probably FAR MORE CAPABLE than their husbands to deal with the Financial Planning.
In fact, women who don’t take a direct interest in the Household Financial Planning Process, will probably be financially destitute, if their husband disappears – whether by Divorce, Death, or Disability.

WHAT IS FINANCIAL PLANNING?

1) Knowing what the financial monthly needs, of a household, will be, should their husband pass away, become disabled, or suffer a severe illness.

2) Ensure there is sufficient cover to:

Settle Debt
Provide an Income for the Family
Provide for Education
Provide for Retirement

NB: If you don’t take ownership of the above, then you don’t have the right to complain, when things go wrong.

Many couples don’t know what their spouses actually earn, and even less know what risk cover and investments are in place.

In theory, people get married to spend the rest of their lives together, but don’t work with a joint retirement plan – HOW CAN THAT WORK?
That’s why 95% of South Africans can’t afford to retire, and maintain the same standard of living – 95%!

AND THEN COMES DIVORCE!

 Even well made plans get undone by divorce.

 Are you married:
In Community of Property?
Out of community of Property?
Out of Community of property, but with the Accrual?

 Are you aware of the implications of each?

If you want/need to find out more, contact Sharon on [email protected] or Kerry on [email protected]

13/09/2024

THE IMPORTANCE OF A WILL

“Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.” — Pablo Picasso.

Less than 15% of South Africans have a will in place when they pass away. Additionally, five out of six estates registered at the Master of the High Court in Pretoria aren't executable, leaving many estates in limbo.

Wills have to be original copies, otherwise the Late Estate, will be treated as intestate. This means that the surviving spouse, and the children share the spoils, and also leaves the door open, for others to contest the Will.

Just get a Will drawn up - there shouldn't be a cost involved.

Also remember that large institutions (banks, trust companies etc), usually charge the full 3.5% executor fee, and because they are Vat registered, you can add another 15%.

Keep your options open, and always consider appointing an executor, that only gets paid after the estate is wound up, which also motivates them to wind things up quickly.

Also consider having a Living Will as well.

Let me know if you have any questions, or need assistance in drawing up a Will.

[email protected]

16/10/2023

WHAT NOT TO DO AFTER AN ACCIDENT – an expensive mistake!

There are many things that one should do after being involved in an accident, involving another vehicle:

• Take a photo of the other vehicles License Disc
• Take a photo of the other vehicles registration number
• Take photos of the damage
• Take a photo of the other drivers id document and or driver’s license card

WHAT NOT TO DO

• Allow your car to be towed, without checking with your insurance company FIRST.

Here’s why:

A client of mine was involved in an accident, and pretty quickly a two truck arrived from SB 24 Hour Towing. The tow truck driver assured my client, who was understandably still in shock, that they had the relevant contract, signed with the insurance company that the client mentioned, and that the normal rates would be charged. These rates are negotiated by all insurers.
Unfortunately, the tow truck company DOES NOT have a contract with the insurance company, and after a 1 pager was signed, without being properly filled in, the tow truck driver took the car away, to their premises. When wanting to get the vehicle back the following morning, and taken to a contracted tow truck premises, the client was told he has to pay R 9 000 before the car can be removed.

The storage rates charged by these tow truck companies, are exorbitant, and the only reference on the 1 pager to costs, was “services will be charged at the abovementioned rates as it appears in the Authority clause” (even though no Authority clause is visible), and then below that “Storge fees will be charged daily”! Well R 9 000 for 12 hours seems excessive?

I’m not saying the Tow Truck Company is doing anything illegal, but I would like to warn everyone out there.

28/08/2023

IMPORTANT TO KNOW

Income Protection and Commission Earners

Many companies offer their staff Group Risk Cover. This is usually in the form of Life Cover (a multiple of your salary), and an Income Protection Cover. Some companies, yet in the minority, also offer a severe illness cover, and even fewer, a capital disability cover.

When it comes to Corporate Income Protection benefits, there is normally a 3 month waiting period (i.e. if you are unable to work, due to an illness or injury, then you would only start getting paid, in the 4th month – 3 months waiting period), and few people can survive for that long without an income.

There is a further catch comes in for commission earners, who usually only have a small basic, and higher commission structures (e.g. sales people). The income protection is normally around 75% of your basic salary, which when you work it out, is really not enough to pay the bills.

SOLUTION

1) Know what you are covered for.

2) Proper planning.

3) Invest in your own Income Protection product – preferably one that will pay you for the rest of your life.

It’s not as expensive as you may think, and can definitely save you and your family from financial despair!

Let me know if you would like a quote.

[email protected]

28/08/2023

COMMON-LAW MARRIAGE

Need To Know

Contrary to dinner party and braai talk, common-law marriage, is not recognized in South African Law as legal – no rights or responsibilities on either party. Just because you have been living with someone, does not automatically provide you with any rights.
A common-law spouse, has not got the same rights as those of a spouse from a formal marriage. This is important is so many aspects of life – to name a few:

 Maintenance (death or break ups).

 Wills and Estate Planning if a common-law spouse is not named in a Will, they will not inherit naturally.

 Estate duties can be much higher if not correctly planned.

A Common-Law Marriage simply doesn't exist!

If you need a Estate Planning or a Will drawn up, please let me know.

24/08/2023

CORPORATE GIFTS
The Long Tong is an ideal corporate gift. Company names can be engraved on the steel of the Long Tong, and this beautiful gift will remind clients of your company for the rest of time.

11/08/2023

IMPORTANT TO KNOW

Social Media had a story that assets of R 40 million, were seized from Thabo Bester. There was a comment saying that he’ll be ok, because his insurance will pay him back. Now while many folks know that won’t/can’t happen, I wondered what other things some people, don’t know:

INSURANCE

1) Overclaiming is fraud. (i.e. if there is a burglary and you claim for more than what was stolen).
Insurers also want “proof of ownership” before they pay out – keep photos of things, and serial numbers of TV’s etc

2) If you damage something intentionally and put in a claim – also fraud.

RISK POLICIES

1) Many life policies have accelerated cover options, because it’s cheaper. That means that if you are paid out for a claim (e.g. disability or severe illness), your life cover reduces by the same amount.
2) Be sure to know what your premium increases are.
Insurance companies only guarantee the premium increases for a set number of years (normally 10), and can increase them drastically after that.
I recently checked into a policy where an insurer promises all of your premiums back, if you don’t claim, after 15 years. Unfortunately, the T’s and C’s make it very difficult to achieve, and there must be no claim against the policy, and the premium increases were over 17% p.a.
3) Another company offered a large payback, also after 15 years. When I ran a counter quote, it turned out that my quote was so much cheaper, that I would save almost double of what the payback would be, and that’s provided there is no claim.

INVESTMENTS

1) One insurer is offering huge bonuses paid into retirement annuities, after certain terms. I asked for a quote and did my own comparison, and then questioned the consultant who sent me the first quote. He agreed to my assumption that very high fees are taken, and it is part of these high fees, that are rebated back – so no meat to the bone. Rather pay lower fees, and get the same result.
2) When a retirement annuity matures, you can only draw 1/3 of the capital, and the 2/3’s has to be invested to provide an income. There are few exceptions if the value is less than R 247 500, but I have met a few investors who thought they could withdraw the full amount at retirement.

For any questions, please email me at [email protected] or via my webpage www.kerrybosch.co.za

The purpose of the book is to help and educate you, and to guide you along with the secret steps to take on your journey to financial independence. The aim is to help you get to that “Ordinary Millionaire” status and more importantly, to enjoy life as one of the few who cracked the secret to Fin...

19/07/2023

IMPORTANT TO KNOW

MARKET DOMINANT SHARES

The ALSI has shown some good growth, at face value, over the past 12 months, but look a little closer.

The ALSI has offered a return of 19.5% over the last 12 months, which is excellent, however, the following shares contributed mostly to the 19.5% return:
Naspers & Prosus 3.9%
Gold Fields & AngloGold 2.3%
Rest of the Market 3.8%

So the rest of the market only contributed 3.8% to the growth of 19.5%!

Let’s take a look at the Year to Date, growth of 5.7% growth, and take a look at what the same shares contributed over the same period:
Naspers & Prosus 5.0%
Gold Fields & AngloGold 1.3%
Rest of the Market -2.7%

There’s no wonder that many portfolios and investment funds have “under-performed” expectation.

Question: Would a lower risk, steady return fund, have outperformed the ALSI over the past 5 years?

IMPORTANTLY:

1. Choose the correct strategy for investment.
2. Choose the correct vehicle for the investment.

For more info: [email protected]

11/07/2023

Important to know – Get Fuel Rewards

Vitality Drive 3.0

 Vitality Drive insurance members, get fuel rewards every month, based on their driving behaviour and fuel spend.
 If you divert the rewards into an excess funder account, then Discovery match the amount rand for rand – so R 500 enables you to use R 1 000.
 Vitality Drive members get certain discounts when they purchase certain things from Tiger Wheel and Tyre, by using their excess funder account.
 Diamond members, who have an excess funder account, can not only use the funds to pay their excesses, but also to purchase certain items from Tiger Wheel and Tyre, by using their excess funder account – no additional payment, so basically a 50% discount.

How do you get to diamond status?

• You need to earn 2 500 points in a month, to qualify for diamond status.
• Before the change to Vitality drive 3.0, it was fairly easy to achieve diamond status, by driving well, however, the changes have made it impossible for many.
• You need to achieve 2 500 points per month.
• You can get up to 60 points per day – so 1 800 in a 30 day month.
• You get 300 points if you vehicle inspection is done – this only needs to be done once a year.
• You get up to 300 points for not driving between 11:30 pm ad 4:00 am – if you do, you lose points.
• You get up to 300 points for not driving far – driving less than 150 km per month will earn you the full 300. Do you really need a car then? If you drive 1 500 km per month, you only get 100 points.

So let’s add up:

• 1 800 points for not making 1 driving error (or not having someone cut you off forcing you to brake).
• 300 points for the annual driving check.
• 300 points for not driving during 11:30 pm and 4:00 am
• Normal drivers will only get around 100 points because of the distance they travel.
• Total of 2 500, but realistically, nobody is ever going to get full points for driving behaviour!

Upside:

 The fuel rewards have been increased from a max of R 800 p.m. to R 1 500 p.m., but limited to your motor vehicle premium.
 This provides much higher paybacks, even for drivers who can’t achieve diamond status anymore.

Downside:

 There are going to be far fewer drivers who qualify for diamond status, but they won’t necessarily get less fuel rewards (this is where Discovery will pay more), BUT, they will get less discount at Tiger Wheel and Tyre (this is where Discovery will save money.)

For any questions or quotes: [email protected]

30/05/2023

IMPORTANT TO KNOW

Monthly Medical Aid premiums can be loaded, if a member hasn't been a member of a registered medical aid, in South Africa, for a period of time. The Late Joiner Penalties (LJP's) vary from 5% to 75%, and are in place for life.
Membership of medical "insurance" is not recognized to prevent LJP's from being applied.

The Council of Medical Schemes launched the LJP loadings, to protect schemes nd existing members, from people who have not been on medical aids and contributing premiums, suddenly joining when they are older, and more likely to claim.

Medical inflation is higher than normal inflation and medical aid premium increases tend to reflect that every year. Another huge impact on medical aid increases is fraud, which costs the industry millions every year.

And for those who thought medical aid commissions had something to do with increase, you're wrong. Commission is paid to the advisor at a rate of 3% per premium (R 30 per R 1 000 of premium), and this is capped at R 69 p.m.

1 phone call to a call center can take over an hour, to deal with queries, plus all other business costs, doesn't really leave anything of the R 69.

Medical aid plans do have co-payments and upfront payments, to help keep costs down, and therefore it is wise to consider Gap Cover as well, which could save you thousands of rand.

Stay Healthy!