There’s a fridge magnet from Perth on her fridge. Her son sent it three Christmases ago, before he’d even found a flat. Her guest room still has the bed her granddaughter used to sleep in when they visited on weekends. Nobody sleeps in it now. She checked flight prices last week, just to see, and […]
One business owner turned down a week in Hermanus in December. A friend offered him a house, cash only, and he didn’t have the cash available. On paper, his business is worth somewhere north of eleven million rand. It’s a strange gap to sit with. The number on a balance sheet and the number that’s […]
The call usually starts politely. Someone from “the fraud department” says they’ve noticed unusual activity on your account, and they just need to confirm a one-time PIN to stop it. Or it’s your grandson, sounding upset, saying he’s been in an accident and needs money transferred before the police get involved. Or it’s SARS, apparently, […]
Your daughter needs new textbooks before term starts. Your father needs someone to sit with him three afternoons a week, ever since he fell in the kitchen in March and nobody wants to say out loud what could have happened if it had been near the stove. Both bills land in the same week. Neither […]
The Lessons You’re Not Aware You’re Teaching They weren’t in the room for the conversation. They were in the room next door. Children rarely hear the content of a financial discussion. They hear the tone. The tightness in a voice over a bill. The silence that follows a bank app being closed too quickly. The […]
What Financial Avoidance Is Actually Telling You There was a day you stopped opening the banking app. Stopped reading the investment statement that lands in your inbox each month. Stopped glancing at the balance before you closed your laptop. You probably couldn’t name the date. It wasn’t a decision. It was a slow drift. A […]
When Spending Becomes Identity The school fees went up again. The car needs replacing. The holiday’s already booked. None of it feels optional. It never does. But somewhere along the way, your spending stopped being a series of choices and became a description of who you are. The neighbourhood. The schools. The car. The standard […]
When Your Plan Meets Reality Everyone has a solid financial plan until real life decides otherwise. You did everything right. You built a strategy, stayed disciplined, made thoughtful choices. You’re on track. Everything is scheduled and sensible. Then your job disappears. Or your marriage ends. Or you get a diagnosis that changes everything. Or your […]
Working Through Your Uncertainties Your advisor presents a strategy. The numbers make sense. The logic is sound. But something in you remains uncertain. So you sit with it quietly. Hoping clarity will come. It won’t. Not alone. This isn’t about the advice being wrong. It’s about your uncertainties – the questions you haven’t asked, the […]
Moving From Receiver to Owner You’ve inherited money. The will has cleared. It’s in your account. And now you have to think about how to use it well. This is where the real work begins. Not the logistics. The decision-making. Because inheriting wealth isn’t just about receiving it. It’s about deciding what role it plays […]