This is sadly a common story in our communities. This can be avoided, if parents draft a Will. In the Will, we create a Children’s Trust so that you,  the parent, can stipulate the age when your kids can receive the lump sum payout. I advise parents to state that in the event they pass on while the children are young, the life cover must be used to pay school and university fees or whatever course of study they might choose and once all the kids are finished with their studies, then the balance of the money can be paid out when the youngest child is 25 years old as an example. This is to avoid flooding them with lots of money while they are still young and immature.

When a child turns 18, they are adult by law so they would receive the life cover policy payouts and at this stage, they are likely to misuse it because they are immature. You can also appoint a guardian for your children. The role of the guardian is to liaise with the trustees e.g. inform them where the children go to school, the school fees and other necessities.

Most of us need a Will and if you are a parent, it is absolutely important to have a Will. Contact ThuthukaSA so we can help you to draft your Will. If you are an employer and you want us to help your employees to draft their Wills, contact us. 

*some details have been changed to protect the identity of the family.

I get the child to complete our risk profile analysis form. Once all the information gathering has been done and the 1-hour money talk has been paid for, we then schedule a session with the child. What we cover during this session is tailor made to suit their specific needs. I find that some kids are into property and they cannot wait to start investing in property. Other kids are into investments including offshore investments and quite a few have a keen interest in AI investments.

Every child is unique and they have different interests especially when it comes to money. Some of the topics we cover are:

1. Why it is important to have life cover, especially while they are still so young       and have no kids. Most do not like this topic
2. Why saving for retirement from their 1^st salary pay is one of the best       decisions they can ever make. They are often shocked when I insist on       spending at least 7 minutes on this subject and I feel many take the       retirement annuity just get the refund from SARS
3. Why they should no longer depend on mom and dad and should have their own emergency funds. They usually are lukewarm towards this one
4. Where to invest  money offshore for optimum growth  – they all love this topic and we normally spend more time on this topic. We talk about how to read the       fund fact sheets, where the fund invests the money, the associated fees,       the returns and performance of the funds, etc…
5. I check when they are planning to buy their first car
6. We talk about why buying property before buying a car is a wise decision
7. We talk a lot about their 1^st cars, total cost of car ownership, ratio of car       repayments / total net salary, insurance costs, depreciation, etc… – this is usually a heated discussion, especially with the boys . I am happy though that most are happy to ride an Uber these days
8. I share with them  a podcast I did for young people who are buying their 1^st       properties and what is most important to know about buying property
9. We talk about good debt, bad debt and ugly debt
10. We talk about interest rates, etc…

Some companies invite us to spend a full day running a money workshop with their graduate interns. Most of these companies share with me that they do this workshop to save the young professionals from getting into a trap of getting into lots of debt especially with their first cars and to help them to make smart money decisions from the onset. In essence, I try to do in 1 hour what I do in a full day in a corporate environment.

To order a money talk for your child, email info@thuthuka-sa.co.zaor send request on WhatsApp 069 245 0228. The fee is R850 for a 1 – hour talk.

Over the years, I have worked with people and their money. It is not everyone who can handle large sums of money. There is a lot of excitement that comes with having lots of money in your account, especially when you are not used to it. So be prepared. Manage the excitement very well. Also be aware that some of your loved ones are also looking forward to this big pay day. You must understand that if you don’t plan how you are going to spend this money and stick to your plan, chances are you are going to wake up before the end of 2026 and realise that you have nothing left and you are living from hand to mouth as if you never had the money in the first place.

Here are a few tips;

• Understand that this is most likely the very last time you are going to have so much money in your bank account. So treat this money with due care and do your best to ensure it serves you and your needs for the long term
• Draw a plan of how you are going to spend the  money. There is no one – size – fits – all  plan but below are a few suggestions and hopefully yo will find at least one of these useful:

• 1. Pay off all your debts, if you have debt. Negotiate now for early settlement discounts so you get some discount with paying the debts  off early
  2. If you have a home loan, inform your bank that you will be paying off the bond because some banks require written notice else you might be surprised with an early settlement penalty. Sounds absurd but it does happen
  3. Cut those credit cards, you don’t want to be on pension and still buying stuff on credit
  4. You might be here over the next 30 to 40 years so  contact a Financial Advisor to help you invest some of the money so you withdraw it as and when needed. But let it grow for now until you need it
  5. If you still have kids at school, remember to invest some of the money for school and varsity fees
  6. Do something for yourself that makes your heart happy, be modest though
  7. Some pensioners are now into poultry farming or simply buy and sell chicken. I know others who are baking and selling cakes, etc… It would be wise to do something you love in your old age  that will keep you busy and still earn you some money.        
  8. If you must renovate your home, please don’t be excessive
  9. Join a walking or running club or start gardening. Keep moving. There’s no point in having money you can’t enjoy because you are bored and start feeling sick and old
  10. Last but not least, share a tiny little bit of  it with your loved ones. Pity there’s so much youth unemployment and you might still have to take care of your adult kids

• Stick to your plan
• If I were you, I wouldn’t tell a soul when the money is deposited into my bank account. I would wake up on that day and go to my laptop or to the bank to do exactly what is on my plan
• I would come back home with lots of meat and other groceries and we throw a braai on the day

Wishing you a happy and fulfilling retirement. Contact us for your retirement planning!

I have been approached by professionals who are in their 50s and 60s and I am picking up a trend. At this late stage of their lives, they are being reviewed and underwriting takes place again.

Underwriting is when an insurance company takes your blood tests to check for any medical conditions, they also check for lifestyle issues e.g. when they check whether you smoke or not. Smoking causes cancer so if you smoke, you pay a higher monthly premium for your life cover.

When do life insurance companies underwrite?

1. They underwrite at application
2. Some underwrite at application and throughout the life of the policy
3. Others even underwrite at claims stage i.e. at death

I recommend that you take your life cover with an insurance company that underwrites at application only. For as long as you pay your premiums they do not underwrite again. This is very important because as we grow older, we often gain weight and sometimes people get high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses. So if you take life cover with a company that underwrites throughout the life of the policy, you might end up having your monthly premiums increased to a point where it is not affordable for you. At this stage, you have a number of options;

• Continue with your life cover with the same insurance company but then have your benefits reduced drastically. Will they underwrite again when your condition gets worse? Yes, they have every   right to do so – it is their policy and you are left at their mercy, completely.  
• You look for another life cover with an insurance company that underwrites at application only. At this stage, you are older and if you have any illness, your premiums are going to start at a higher premium. Sadly, you might not qualify if you have serious critical illnesses e.g. cancer or a stroke. But if you are lucky and you do qualify for life cover, at least you have the protection of knowing that you are never going to be underwritten again, for as long as you pay your premiums when they are due

Contact Us, if you want to safeguard yourself.

I am an authorised Financial Advisor and my focus is to ensure that each one of us makes the most of the money that we have. So I don’t want you to just write a book but I want you to profit from it. My second book, From Debt to Riches: Steps to Financial Success sold over 31 000 copies but I made a pitiful R10 a copy. I don’t want that to happen to you. How come I made just R300 000 from 31 000 copies? It is because of the publishing contract I entered into. Not only does it give the publisher ownership of my book, it also gives them a life time first right of refusal to my future works. I have gone through hell trying to get out of this contract and my advice to you is this; never, ever enter into a contract without getting a lawyer to review it and ensure it is in your best interests. It is for this reason that Lindiwe Matsebula, who is an attorney, and Secretary of A-Win, will be addressing us at the webinar and will give more insight into publishing contracts, Intellectual property, etc.

Ndidi Mpye is a Chartered Accountant and ex-officio member of A-Win will be the MC on the day.

My job is relatively easy for this webinar. I will be sharing my insights into why I think both my books sold thousands of copies and most importantly, I will wrap it up by being blunt and telling you which way to go if you want to profit from your book.

To RSVP, email info@thuthuka-sa.co.za or WhatsApp us on +27 69 245 0228.

See you on Saturday morning and please note that we will share the link to the webinar on Friday and only with those people who RSVP.

I had no idea where to start. But I started any way. Then I went to publishers I knew of, asking them to publish my book. The answer was simple “Who are you? Why would anyone read your book? No one knows you”.

After hearing the same message a few times, I looked for a different route. A good friend, Musa, told me about a young man from Umlazi who was aspiring to be a publisher. He introduced me to Phakamani Mbonambi. It was my first book and Phakamani’s first attempt at publishing. That was a journey, I was still employed back then so it wasn’t easy for me to balance work, raising my daughter and writing. We did it anyway. There were a lot of aha moments along the way. As an example, I thought my editor was going to give me a finished product only to realise when she was done that no, that was not her role. Phakamani did the layout. Then when I thought we were done, the big question was about the cover of the book. My then grade 8 nephew, Rabatho Selepe, came to the rescue LOL!. He told me; “Aunty, red stands out so the book must be red” and as you can see, there are kids on the cover LOL . It was not over, who was going to print the book?! We went through all the hoops and finally, who was going to sell the book? Remember CNA? They said NO, not here. Oh, I printed 3000 copies because I had no idea that South Africans don’t like to read. I was to find out afterwards. I chose 3000 copies to print because that worked out more reasonable per copy. So there I was, with 3000 copies and no idea how I was going to sell all those copies. Thankfully, Exclusives books agreed to put the book on their shelves.

Guess what, all 3000 copies were sold!!! Before they were completely sold out, CNA decided my book was worth putting on their shelves after all.

Writing a book doesn’t have to be so difficult anymore. So if you have been thinking of writing a book and would like guidance on how to go about it we invite you to join us on Saturday, 18 April at 9AM – 10h30. Some of the topics we will cover are;

• Should you self publish or go with a traditional publisher? What are the pros and cons
• How to increase your chances of  selling lots of copies of your book
• How to profit from your book, etc.

We will send you the link to the session on the 17^th of April. If you want to attend, email info@thuthuka-sa.co.za and with the subject “I want to write a book”.

Look out for more info on this during April.

Wishing you a happy Easter. If you are travelling, stay safe. And contact us if you would like to draft a Will before the holiday period.

The objective of the fund is to provide a simple vehicle to investors who wish to gain investment exposure to companies which use advanced technologies to acquire and retain users, including industry disrupting technologies such as artificial intelligence, large language models, cloud storage, big data, social media, and e-commerce tools.

This is a high risk fund hence we only give it to customers with a high risk appetite and those who are willing to invest for at least seven years. It is invested in global equities, which combines both equity market and currency risks. The fund invests specifically in companies involved in new and emerging technologies, which have a high degree of volatility. Risk is also high as the fund is a concentrated portfolio, with the fund’s benchmark comprised of only ten shares. The fund has high exposure to the magnificent seven stocks. The Magnificent Seven stocks are a group of high-performing and influential companies in the U.S. stock market: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Tesla, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. All have demonstrated strong financial health, with robust earnings, revenue growth, and healthy balance sheets.

The Total Investment Charge (TIC) = 0.96% (Dec 2025).

Class B was first launched in August 2018.

If you had invested R100 000 at launch, your R100 000 would have grown to R394 000in the 7 years since launch.

The highest performance was in 2023 @ 94,6%

The lowest performance was in 2022 @ -31,8%

In 2025, the fund returned 5,1% and as I tell our customers when they want to invest, you are not in this for a quick buck, you invest in these funds if you want long term capital growth. So when the markets turn, you don’t switch the funds, you stay put. In fact, if you have cash on hand, this is the time to invest as you would be buying the fund at a discount.

The annual contribution for tax free investments has been increased from the current R36 000 to R46 000 so I urge you to invest and increase your monthly contribution to R3 833.

Contact ThuthukaSA or WhatsApp us on +27 69 245 0228, if you want to invest for school and varsity fees, for your retirement, or for any other investment objective.

Read the article to remind yourself of the benefits of tax free investments.

Remember that your tax free investments are suitable for:

• Medium to long – term investment objective i.e. 3 years to about 7 years and above
• Saving for school and varsity fees for your  kids, a deposit for your first apartment, etc…
• You can invest in local or offshore funds or a combination of these, depending on your risk appetite
• You can use the investments to top up your pension savings
• It is better to first have a short – term investment or emergency fund before a tax free investment so you don’t interrupt your long – term investment, in case of an emergency
• Depending on your risk appetite and who is assisting you to invest, you could earn upwards of 20% with some of the investment funds
• Some offshore funds have returned well over 60% but remember that these funds are highly volatile

Next time I will write about a fund that returned 96% in 2023 and is currently keeping some of our customers awake at night.

Contact ThuthukaSA or WhatsApp us on +27 69 245 0228 if you want to top up your tax free investment or retirement annuity.

At ThuthukaSA, we want you to give yourself the gift of a 13^th cheque so you can have some extra money in January. You can withdraw the 13^thcheque on the 15^th of January as an example.

The 13^thcheque works as follows and please note that you can chop and change to suit your needs:

• We assist you to open an investment account
• You contribute a minimum of R500 monthly into the investment account by       debit order. We recommend you do more than R500 though
• If you have extra money during the year and you want to top up your monthly contribution, you can do so at any time
• The debit order date is the 1^stof each month or the 15^th of each month
• We invest the money in funds suitable for short term investments such as domestic and international bond funds, income funds, money markets, fixed interest and cash. Some of the funds have exposure to international equities but this exposure is limited to minimise volatility.  
• The funds target positive returns over a shorter period of time hence they limit the risk of capital loss. As an example, one of the bond funds returned       24,1% in the 2025 calendar year but this was an exception. Another fund that we typically use for such short term investments returned 15,6% in the 2025 calendar year so you would certainly gain much higher returns if you invest. You contact us to help you invest for the 13^th cheque.

Contact us or WhatsApp us on +27 69 245 0228 if you want to give yourself the gift of the 13^thcheque every January. Ts & Cs apply.

Disclaimer: Please note that the returns stated above are historical and based on the fund fact sheets as at 31 December 2025. Markets are volatile and be aware that when we advise you to invest, we base the recommendations on historical performance, amongst other factors. ThuthukaSA does not guarantee that the performance returns for 2026 will be the same.

1. What rate of interest are we earning as a stokvel when we save with the bank?
2. How much interest did we earn in 2025, put this in Rands?
3. Are you happy with the interest you earned?

Many stokvels loan their members and others money as a way of increasing their returns. They do this because they realise that the interest they earn from the banks is nothing. I invite you to contact ThuthukaSA as we can help your stokvel to earn much better returns on your money – Ts & Cs apply. We invest your contributions and you earn returns in the region of 11% per annum, from the very first contribution that you make, not when your total contributions reach a certain amount e.g. one bank gives stokvels 6% p.a. interest when the contributions reach R1 Million.

Below are further thoughts & questions that I want stokvels to apply themselves to;

1. Are you distributing your savings in December? If so, why? This is important because I note that some stokvel members are broke by January
2. Would it be better for your members if you distribute in January?
3. Your most important objective as a stokvel is to grow your money otherwise you are a social club
4. Why do you continue to save your money? Why are you not investing it if you want to earn better returns?
5. The shorter your investment term, the less returns you earn
6. You have a higher chance of growing your wealth if you save for at least 3 to 5 years. Is your stokvel open to apportioning some of the contributions to periods longer than 12 months  for better returns?
7. Stokvels save money year in, year out. Why are members not getting any wealthier?
8. If your aim is to grow your money, why are you not getting a Financial Advisor who will help you achieve your objectives?

ThuthukaSA is an authorised Financial Services Provider. We invest for individuals and stokvels in domestic and offshore tax free and direct investments. Our aim is to help stokvels to optimise their returns. You can book a consultation for your stokvel here or WhatsApp us on +27 69 245 0228.

You have a budget: You want to keep the trip around R30,000 all-in (flights, stay, food, and fun).

You want the full experience: You want to see icons like Windsor Castle and Stonehenge, but you want to eat and travel like a savvy local.

You value comfort: You want accommodation in central London that is safe, clean, and has helpful staff to point you in the right direction.

You are financially responsible: You have bills and varsity fees to pay, so you want to enjoy your holiday without the guilt of coming home to debt.

I wrote this after visiting London with my friends, so these are real, tested strategies.

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How to access your guide: Once you check out, keep an eye on your inbox! We will email the booklet to you immediately. Please note that to protect the copyright of this work, the file is password-protected. Your email will contain both the download link and the specific password you need to open it.

As a financial advisor, my goal is to help you enjoy life debt-free. If you need help investing and saving for a trip like this, please reach out to us.

If you use this guide, please send us your holiday snaps! We’d love to feature your photos and videos on our platforms to inspire others.

·        You want to visit the UK and spend around R30 000 including flights, accommodation, breakfast, and some excursions

·        You want to have fun and see most of the tourist attractions in the UK such as Windsor Castle, Stonehenge, Bath, but pay what the locals pay and not come back home broke

·        You want to stay in a safe, clean, friendly place that feels like home – away – from – home right in the heart of London and enjoy travel tips from friendly staff on how to get to where you want to go to and eat where the locals eat, etc…

·        You have responsibilities such as school and varsity fees, bills to pay but you want to have fun and not feel guilty about overspending

·        You still want to visit other countries and don’t want to spend all of your money in one country

·        You are a money – smart traveller & are using cash that you have saved for the trip and you don’t want to use a credit card or debt to pay for your trip

If you have answered yes to the above, then you want to get a copy of this booklet which I put together after visiting London with my two friends. As a financial advisor, this booklet would not be complete without me asking you to contact us if you want to save for your trip. We invest money for our customers so they can enjoy life without incurring debt.

Have fun and if you use this booklet to plan your trip, we would love to see your photos and videos. If you share these with us, you are giving us permission to share same with others.