Avoid these mistakes when writing your will
As we mark National Wills Week, there's no better time to address the importance of having a properly drafted will. In the latest episode of our podcast, Maya Fisher-French sits down with Deenisha Nadesan (https://www.linkedin.com/in/deenisha-nadesan-61399435/) , Executive Director of Estates at Capital Legacy, to discuss the common pitfalls people encounter when drafting their wills and how t...
29m Sep 17, 2024
29m
Life behind the numbers: Unpacking the shared value insurance model
Welcome to Life Behind the Numbers, a Discovery Life podcast series where we delve into the trends driving insurance claims and explore how this data can help us improve health outcomes. In this episode of Life Behind the Numbers, host Maya Fisher-French speaks with Gareth Friedlander, Deputy Chief Executive of Discovery Life, and Daniel Stoch, Senior Manager of Market Analytics and R&D. They...
26m Sep 12, 2024
26m
Money Bootcamp: How to choose the right medical cover
Welcome to the Santam Insure Your Future Money Bootcamp with Maya Fisher-French (https://mayaonmoney.co.za/) and Mapalo Makhu (https://www.womanandfinance.co.za/) . This series is designed to guide you through essential financial topics, helping you make informed decisions for a secure future. In our last episode we spoke about life and risk cover – this is insurance that pays out if something...
42m Sep 05, 2024
42m
Don’t bet against the rand
In this podcast discussion Old Mutual Chief economist Johann Els explains why he believes we could see the rand strengthen to R14/R15 to the USD. He explains how a softer US dollar, combined with better growth prospects in emerging economies, could lead to a stronger rand. This is particularly relevant for investors looking to balance their portfolios. Els discusses his overall economic outloo...
19m Aug 29, 2024
19m
Money Bootcamp: The Foundation of Financial Security
Welcome to the Santam Insure Your Future Money Bootcamp with Maya Fisher-French and Mapalo Makhu. This series is designed to guide you through essential financial topics, helping you make informed decisions for a secure future. Risk cover can feel like a grudge purchase, especially when budgets are tight, it is also not as exciting as investing, yet it is one of the most important aspects of y...
37m Aug 22, 2024
37m
How health screenings affect claims
Welcome to Life Behind the Numbers, a Discovery Life podcast series where we delve into the trends driving insurance claims and explore how this data can help us improve health outcomes. While many risks are beyond our control, there are steps we can take to mitigate them. By adopting proactive and healthier lifestyles, we can reduce the incidence of severe diseases and even mortality. In this...
14m Aug 15, 2024
14m
Money Bootcamp: Smart strategies to pay off debt
Welcome to the Money Bootcamp with Maya Fisher-French and Mapalo Makhu. This is a series of podcasts that you can follow to help create your own money journey. We share our experiences in working with individuals who turned their finances around in just six months. In this episode, we tackle the issue of managing excessive debt, especially in the face of rising interest rates and inflation. Ma...
34m Aug 08, 2024
34m
Understanding Inflation: Why your bills might not match the official rate
Inflation is a term we hear often, especially when discussing the economy and our personal finances. But have you ever wondered how it's calculated and why it sometimes feels like your expenses are rising faster than the official inflation rate? In our latest podcast episode, I am joined by Sanisha Packirisamy (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanisha-packirisamy-8a1b52214/) , Economist at Momentum ...
24m Aug 01, 2024
24m
Money Bootcamp: Using credit responsibly
Welcome to the Santam Insure Your Future Money Bootcamp with Maya Fisher-French (http://mayaonmoney.co.za/) and Mapalo Makhu (https://womanandfinance.co.za/) . In previous episodes we have focused on budgeting and living within your means, but at some stage everyone will need to access credit. But how do you do that in a responsible and sustainable manner? We begin with a cautionary tale from ...
34m Jul 25, 2024
34m
Diversifying with dollar-based life cover
Welcome to Life Behind the Numbers, a Discovery Life podcast series where we delve into the latest claim statistics with experts from Discovery Life. In this episode, we explore the fascinating concept of insuring yourself in a hard currency like US dollars. Maya is joined by Discovery Life's Deputy Chief Executive Gareth Friedlander and Head of Market Analytics and R&D, Kashmeera Kanji, to di...
18m Jul 18, 2024
18m
Money Bootcamp: Budgeting as a homeowner
Welcome to the Santam Insure Your Future Money Bootcamp with Mapalo Makhu (https://womanandfinance.co.za/) and Maya Fisher-French. In this, the third episode in the series, we delve into the financial intricacies of making major purchases, specifically focusing on buying a home and a car. We are joined by Tshiamo, one of our mentees from last year, who shares her eye-opening experience of une...
27m Jul 11, 2024
27m
Navigating Tax Season 2024
With SARS announcing the opening of tax season on 15 July, it's crucial to understand the complexities of filing tax returns and how to maximise any tax breaks. Joining us to unpack this topic is tax expert Andre Bothma and Poobalan Govender, Acting Head of Old Mutual Rewards, who will explain how Old Mutual Rewards (https://secure.rewards.oldmutual.co.za/web/om/home) members qualify for disco...
17m Jul 09, 2024
17m
Money Bootcamp: Tell your money where to go
Are you ready to take control of your financial future? The Santam Insure Your Future Money Bootcamp is here to guide you through a transformative journey that will help you understand and master your finances. Hosted by Maya Fisher-French (https://mayaonmoney.co.za/) and Mapalo Makhu (https://womanandfinance.co.za/) , this podcast series is designed to help you build a solid financial foundati...
40m Jun 28, 2024
40m
Life behind the numbers: Safeguarding your child's education and health
Welcome to "Life behind the Numbers," a Discovery Life podcast series. Host, Maya Fisher-French, together with experts from Discovery Life, delve into the latest trends from Discovery Life claims research, highlighting the need for both physical and financial protection against various risks. In this episode, we tackle a topic often overlooked: the importance of child cover and the financial ...
17m Jun 20, 2024
17m
Money Bootcamp: Money and Emotions
Created by consumer financial journalist Maya Fisher-French and financial coach Mapalo Makhu, the Santam Insure your Future Money Bootcamp is a podcast designed to help you create your own financial money journey. In this special series, we bring you the transformative journey of financial education. Over the next six months, through 13 episodes, we will guide you step-by-step on how to take c...
25m Jun 13, 2024
25m
Bouncing back from divorce
In this episode of My Money My Lifestyle, host Maya Fisher-French delves into the financial complexities of divorce with financial planner Kirsten Smit (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsten-smit-51403247/) of Citadel Investments. They explore the alarming rise in divorces, particularly in the post-Covid era and among those over the age of 50. Kirsten shares insights on the financial upheaval tha...
25m May 30, 2024
25m
Eight principles for successful investing
Wondering how to navigate the chaos of today's economic climate? Dive into our latest podcast episode where host Maya Fisher French and investment expert Debra Slabber (https://www.linkedin.com/in/debra-slabber-cfa-0b215880/) from Morningstar South Africa explore the eight principles of successful investing. Discover why simplicity is your ally, how your savings rate impacts your financial futu...
32m May 16, 2024
32m
Are We Spending Too Much On Our Families?
In this episode of My Money My Lifestyle, host Maya Fisher-French is joined by financial advisor Munya Shumba (https://www.instagram.com/money_modern/) to address a critical yet often neglected aspect of financial planning: prioritising your own financial future over solely focusing on your family's needs. They explore the delicate balance between generosity and self-preservation, highlighting...
28m May 02, 2024
28m
Crunching the Numbers: The Real Cost of Independence for Young Graduates
In this episode of My Money My Lifestyle, host Maya Fisher-French and financial planner Kirsty Scully (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsty-scully-cfp%C2%AE-0870ba8/) tackle the daunting reality of expenses for young graduates entering the workforce. With salaries that seem substantial on paper, they break down the sobering truth of the cost of living, from rent and groceries to utilities and tr...
33m Apr 04, 2024
33m
When Love Doesn't Pay the Bills: Dating outside your financial league
In this eye-opening episode of My Money My Lifestyle, host Maya Fisher-French delves into the often contentious intersection of love and finance. Maya is joined by Queen Malobane Provincial General Manager at Metropolitan to unpack the complexities of dating and maintaining relationships when partners are in different financial leagues. Queen's recent article on the subject serves as a springb...
33m Mar 21, 2024
33m
Exposing Hidden Costs: The Truth Behind Your Insurance Excess
In this practical episode of My Money My Lifestyle, host Maya Fisher-French tackles the often-overlooked details of short-term insurance contracts that can have a big impact on your wallet. Maya shares her personal discovery of significant hikes in her insurance policy when it came to excesses - prompting a deep dive into what policyholders can do to navigate these changes. Joined by insurance...
22m Mar 07, 2024
22m
Unpacking the 2024 National Budget: Where your taxes really go
In this insightful episode of My Money My Lifestyle, host Maya Fisher-French takes you behind the scenes of South Africa's national budget with the expertise of Mr. Edgar Sishi, Deputy Director General of National Treasury and Head of the Budget Office at National Treasury. As the nation grapples with the impact of financial decisions, Maya and Mr. Sishi dissect the complexities of a R2.37 tri...
40m Feb 23, 2024
40m
Tax 101 for Freelancers
In this comprehensive episode of My Money My Lifestyle, Maya Fisher-French, a seasoned freelancer herself, delves deep into the world of taxes with tax experts Kagiso Nonyane and Dumisa Sihawu (https://www.bdo.co.za/en-za/our-people/dumisa-sihawu) , from BDO South Africa. They tackle the complexities of tax for freelancers, from understanding why tax may be deducted from your earnings to the i...
44m Feb 08, 2024
44m
Can we trust the banking system?
Why do so many people feel that the financial system is rigged against the average person, that the system is built to benefit the elite at the expense of the average person? In this podcast Maya has a frank discussion with David Buckham (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-buckham-72b2b024/) , founder and CEO of Monocle Solutions (https://www.linkedin.com/company/monocle-solutions/) and author ...
41m Jan 25, 2024
41m
Women in Conversation: navigating money conversations in a relationship
Money is not about rands and cents – it is an emotional currency, which is why money conversations are so hard. Money means many different things. It encompasses power dynamics in a relationship, it can symbolise success and status. For some people it reflects care and for others it represents safety. Money and gifts are one of the five love languages. When two people in a relationship have a v...
32m Dec 12, 2023
32m
How I transformed my relationship with money
When her mother tragically passed away in car accident three years ago, the then 24-year-old Zihle found herself emotionally and financially responsible for her two younger sisters. To make ends meet Zihle turned to credit – what started off as “small loans” soon snowballed into larger and larger debts. The more the repayments ate into her disposable income, the more she relied on further credi...
23m Dec 11, 2023
23m
Financial freedom: How I paid off R85 000 of debt in six months
In this podcast Maya speaks to Johan the winner of the 2023 Absa/City Press Money Makeover Challenge about how he reduced his debt by over R85 000, built up an emergency fund of R42 000 and increased his retirement contributions – all in just six months. Joined by his financial adviser Takalani Badugela, Johan discusses how small day-to-day choices over time created a significant debt burden a...
19m Dec 05, 2023
19m
Women in Conversation: Protecting your family
When you get married or have a child there are so many exciting things to focus on like the wedding dress, invitations, the honeymoon and baby showers. The last thing we want to think about are the financial aspects. Yet it is the finances that will have the most lasting impact on our relationships. This is especially true when it comes to writing up a will. After your marriage contract, this i...
29m Nov 30, 2023
29m
Women in Conversation: Financial equality in a relationship
“Money conversations are hard. They are harder than talking about sex or the in-laws. How much money one earns versus how much a partner earns is linked somehow to our perceived value. The person who makes more money has more power unless there is a conscious approach in the relationship. The person who has more money has potential to dominate the conversation and control the flow of the money....
31m Nov 17, 2023
31m
Women in Conversation: Marriage Contracts
Why two attorneys need to be part of your wedding plan. In this series of conversations, Maya speaks to Andrea Carr about her experience of getting divorced which has led Andrea to question many of the decisions she made as a woman, as a mother, and as wife, when it came to her finances. It made her realise the importance of taking care of herself, and not only her family. Andrea’s experience...
34m Nov 02, 2023
34m
Understand your medical scheme
It is that time of year when our medical schemes inform us how much more we will be paying for our medical cover. With medical costs rising above inflation, the amount we spend on medical services takes a growing bite out of our budgets. It is important that we spend time understanding our medical plan to make the most of it. In this podcast I chat to Jillian Larkan, head of healthcare consul...
35m Oct 19, 2023
35m
Treasury Explains the Two-Pot Retirement System
On 1 March 2024 there will be a radical change affecting everyone who is a member of a retirement fund. This is known as the Two-Pot Retirement System and applies to any member of an employer pension/provident fund, a retirement annuity or a preservation fund as well as members of the Government Employees Pension Fund. There have been many questions and complaints about how the new system wil...
34m Oct 05, 2023
34m
Supporting your aging parents
Many South Africans are finding themselves supporting their aging parents, thanks to the combination of a tough economy and insufficient retirement funding. But it’s critical to plan this key transition carefully to ensure your own finances stay on track and to maintain a healthy relationship with your parents. In this podcast Maya speaks to Stian De Witt, Executive Head of Financial Planning ...
32m Sep 21, 2023
32m
How to use a will to protect your child
September is wills month and in this podcast we discuss how to use a will to protect your child’s legacy. Maya speaks to Alex Simeonides CEO of Capital Legacy to help parents navigate the complexity of estate planning. This podcast was sponsored by Capital Legacy.
24m Sep 07, 2023
24m
The link between mental and financial health
An important aspect of financial wellness is mental wellness. Financial stress can cause emotional stress, it impacts our relationships and our workplace. When it comes to managing money, we need to be aware of our money emotions -  what makes us spend, why does money make us so anxious? While financial pressure can impact our mental wellbeing, our mental wellbeing could be causing our financi...
22m Aug 24, 2023
22m
How bank scams work
As banks improve security around identification and biometrics are introduced, fraudsters are finding that the easiest way to get into your bank account is to get you to help them!  In this podcast Maya shares the story of how her husband nearly fell victim to a vishing attack. “I often write about these scams and we are all aware of them. We think it will never happen to us because we are sav...
28m Aug 10, 2023
28m
Opportunity to boost your retirement income
If you are about to retire, you need to start thinking about how to invest your lump sum to provide you with an income for life. According to an article by the Actuarial Society of SA, there is a window of opportunity for retirees to lock in some of the highest rates in 20 years. With inflation peaking and the cost of living rising, this is an opportunity not to be missed. In this podcast Maya ...
29m Jul 27, 2023
29m
Six months to financial freedom
The 2023 City Press/Absa Money Makeover Challenge has begun. This is the seventh year where Maya Fisher-French together with a team of Absa financial advisers work with six individuals to turn around their finances in just six months. In this podcast Maya chats to Sarah Nkwana of Absa about the candidates, why they were selected and the challenges they face. Everyone following the Money Makeo...
14m Jul 13, 2023
14m
Discover Your Unique Money Personality
Welcome to the finale of the Emotions and Money podcast series, where we explain concept of the Money Fingerprint. Join host Maya Fisher-French and Paul Nixon, head of Behavioral Finance at Momentum, as they take you on a journey of self-discovery and financial empowerment. The Money Fingerprint isn't just another run-of-the-mill personality test. It's a diagnostic tool, created in collaborat...
17m Jun 29, 2023
17m
Mastering Risk: Unraveling the Truth Behind Our Fear Biases
Are you aware that our ability to accurately assess risk is flawed? Think about those posters that surround the shark tanks at aquariums that compare the statistics of shark-related fatalities with seemingly innocuous household items like toasters or even the act of simply falling off a chair. Surprisingly, the numbers reveal that toasters and chairs pose a greater threat to our safety than sha...
19m Jun 15, 2023
19m
Discover the Surprising Link Between Tears, Trust, and Investing!
Did you know that shedding tears isn't just an emotional release, but also a fascinating biological phenomenon? Emotional tears actually flush out cortisol, the stress hormone, while containing traces of oxytocin, the powerful trust and bonding hormone. Join us on the captivating Emotions and Money podcast as we delve into the connection between our emotions and financial decisions. Tune in as...
15m Jun 01, 2023
15m
Is it harder to invest money offshore?
On 24 April 2023, seemingly out of the blue, SARS updated its "Manage Your Compliance Status” webpage and announced a “new enhanced” TCS application form. This meant that a South African who was wishing to invest more than R1 million offshore would have to follow the same financial audit process as a person applying for a tax non-resident status. In this podcast Maya speaks to Thomas Lobbin, he...
18m May 18, 2023
18m
The behaviour of traits of a successful investor
Emotions and Money is a six-part podcast series where we unpack the psychology behind our investment decisions and how our emotions could be sabotaging our financial outcomes. What makes a good investor? In discussion with Maya Fisher-French, Paul Nixon, head of behavioural finance at Momentum Investments identifies the key behaviours that lead to successful financial outcomes and the impact C...
22m May 04, 2023
22m
How your personality affects your relationship with money
Emotions and Money is a six-part podcast series where we unpack the psychology behind our investment decisions and how our emotions could be sabotaging our financial outcomes. In this episode Maya Fisher-French and Paul Nixon, head of behavioural finance at Momentum Investments discuss the different personality types and how your personality could be affecting the way you manage your money. E...
21m Apr 20, 2023
21m
Why we make bad investment decisions
Emotions and Money is a six-part podcast series where we unpack the psychology behind our investment decisions and how our emotions could be sabotaging our financial outcomes. In this episode Maya Fisher-French and Paul Nixon, head of behavioural finance at Momentum Investments look at the true cost of our poor investment decision. In 2020 South Africans paid 6.5% in behaviour tax and around ...
23m Apr 06, 2023
23m
Money moves for newlyweds
In this podcast discussion Maya and Moroka Modiba, author of Think yourself Rich, discuss how a newly married couple should start managing their finances together. Why a household budget is important along with a discussion around shared goals. Moroka unpacks at the various investments that the couple should consider based on their investment horizon.
32m Mar 09, 2023
32m
What to make of the 2023 National Budget
There have been mixed reactions to Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana’s annual Budget Speech this week. The general feeling is that while the financial manoeuvrings by National Treasury are commendable, there appears very little faith in government’s ability to execute what needs to be done to bring the country back on track. In this podcast Maya and Thomas Lobban from Tax Consulting South ...
24m Feb 23, 2023
24m
When do you no longer pay tax in South Africa?
Since March 2001, all South Africans have been legally required to declare and pay tax on their annual worldwide income, irrespective of where they live. So even if you have been living abroad for a few years, you are still considered a resident for tax purposes, unless you can objectively prove to SARS your intention to remain outside the country permanently. With the introduction of a formal ...
25m Feb 09, 2023
25m
Are Retirement Annuities Tax Efficient?
What is the best blend of investment products that will provide you with a sustainable, tax-efficient income in retirement? While there is no question that the pre-retirement tax benefit from investing in a retirement annuity is significant, to what extent is an RA tax efficient over the full course of your financial plan which includes the 20-odd years you will be drawing a retirement income?...
22m Jan 26, 2023
22m
Find the courage to change your financial situation
“I needed to be braver” is how 2022 Money Makeover runner-up Zinzy described her financial situation when she entered the money bootcamp six months ago. In this open and frank conversation, Zinzy talks about the courage it took to have difficult discussions with people who owed her money and taking her head out the sand to tackle conversations with creditors including SARS. “I was an ignorer of...
33m Dec 08, 2022
33m