August 2020 is a women’s month like no other. Covid-19 lockdown resulted in the increase of violence against women and children. Women of SA continue to earn an average of 25% less than men, simply because they are women. It is therefore absolutely essential that as women, we empower ourselves with as much knowledge as we can so that we make the most of our money and we do not stay in abusive relationships for lack of money. This August, I want to share the 18 most important facts that I believe every woman should know about money. We will be having a Zoom session for women on the 20^th and hopefully we will cover some of these. More details to follow on the webinar

1. Know what a bond protection policy is and do not waste your money paying for something that you might never claim from
2. Your emergency fund should not be in a 32-day notice account otherwise you will pay an early withdrawal penalty when you need it but should rather be in a high yield money market account
3. Shop around for the best interest rate when you buy a home; use a mortgage originator to do the shopping for you because the service is free to you
4. Once you have finished paying off your home loan, understand why it might not be in your best interests to close that bond and take your title deed
5. Sometimes it is better for you to use your home loan to buy a car than to use vehicle finance
6. It is better to take life cover while you are young & healthy as it will be cheaper
7. Some life covers will underwrite you throughout your life and if you become ill later on in life, they will increase your premiums & you might not afford to keep it. Get life cover that underwrites you at application stage only
8. Your personal loan is likely to make you personally poor
9. Know how to use debt to your advantage
10. To save yourself tax, make use of tax free investments and know that you can open tax free investments in the name of your children, if you can afford to invest more than the R36 000 per tax year

11. Be aware that education policies are a thing of the past; they come with lock-in periods, built-in tax and early withdrawal penalties / cancellation penalties
12. You cannot afford to leave your retirement savings until it is too late as you will lose out on compound growth. Start saving for retirement as soon as you can, even if you must start small
13. You must have a Will, especially if you are a parent
14. Get good legal advice before you say “I do” so that you enter into a marriage contract that is suitable for you. The cost of the advice is likely to save you a lot of money & pain in the long run
15. Know that some insurance products come to an end, they have an expiry date or are what is referred to as Term Insurance. I doubt that you would have these if you understood that they would come to an end at some point and whatever premiums you would have paid up to that point are a sunk cost
16. Being married to someone who does not have life cover is likely to result in you having financial problems one day
17. Funeral policies are expensive because they are not underwritten & it is possible to reduce the costs
18. Your car is not an asset, do not waste a lot of money on a car
19. Try and understand investments, they are not as complex as you think and are a necessary part of a successful financial plan
20. Do believe that you can be financially independent & comfortable, despite you being paid less than your male counterparts, because you can be

There are a lot more basic facts that I wish I could share but this list could end up being very long. Get a copy of my book From Debt to Riches: Steps to Financial Success if you want to understand most of these facts. You can buy the copy from here https://www.thuthuka-sa.co.za/thank-you-south-africa-over-26-000-copies-of-the-book-from-debt-to-riches-sold-meet-our-book-distributors/,

We will be hosting a Zoom session for Women on the 20^th of August. More details to follow