The month of July is National Savings Month, a campaign founded by South African Savings Institute (SASI) in a bid to encourage South Africans to focus on alternative savings solutions. This year’s theme is #crazywaystosave, with the focus firmly on engaging the country’s youth.

Back in the days, when there were no bank accounts, people used to save their money under the mattress. Cash was the only way to do business and if it was lost it or you were robbed, well, that was just the risk you took having to carry it everywhere. Hippo.co.za takes a look at the different kinds of payment methods available to find out why cash is still king for many.

In South Africa, the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) deals with financial crimes like scams and money laundering. Each year, they release a report on the most common money scams in the country. Knowledge and awareness are your best defenses against these crimes, so here are the latest scams to watch out for.

For a lot of people, staying debt-free is nearly impossible. At some point in your life, you may need credit to buy something, like a house or a car. Debt isn’t necessarily a bad thing when used to your advantage. After all, paying off debts on time is the best way to improve or maintain your credit record.

If you’re like many other South Africans, graduating and getting your first job has required you to move to a new suburb, city, or even province. This time in your life is one of the most exciting and terrifying you’ll ever face.

Are you surprised to learn that according to Property24, the average age of first-time homebuyers in South Africa is 34 years old? If you’re one of them, you know just how difficult it can be to raise enough money to buy a home.

If you’re staying home and not travelling this Easter season, you might have a little FOMO if some of your loved ones are going away for the long weekend.

When planning to say your “I do’s”, it’s difficult not to get swept away in the moment and spend money on unnecessary items . Not budgeting and overspending could affect your financial wellbeing for years to come – not an ideal way to start any marriage.

Weddings are a personal reflection of the special couple. A wedding day is a memorable celebration with family and friends as the happy couple sets off on a new life journey. When planning your wedding day, it really is about having your dreams come alive, but that can be pricey. Luckily, hippo.co.za has some awesome money saving tips to help you plan and pay for a dream wedding! Wouldn’t it be awesome to have some money left in the bank for the honeymoon?

Tax season started on 1 July, and while many of us don’t enjoy the process, it’s something we just have to get done. Whether you run a business and need to submit a tax return based on your business transactions, or need to submit your tax return purely on an individual basis, there are in fact some ways to make the most of it.

According to a report which first appeared on Times Live, an unknown but large number of South Africans were scammed out of millions of rands in an illicit plan involving the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. The fraud was on a large enough scale for the Hawks to get involved in May 2018 and their investigation continues.

Teaching your children to be smart with money is a vital skill to impart on them. Being able to handle one’s money efficiently and effectively can help set you up for a lifetime of financial freedom. Starting your children’s financial education is then best started as soon as your children can count. The earlier you start, the more interested and confident they will be in managing their money correctly.

“Save for a rainy day” has become a common phrase associated with financial advisors. The reason for this is simple; the current economic climate provides little comfort for financial security, especially for those with basic financial understanding.

When you apply for a Personal Loan, credit card or retail account, some of the biggest factors that lenders take into consideration when calculating your creditworthiness are your previous payment behaviour and the number of accounts you have. What you may not be aware of is that not every financial activity will necessarily damage or improve your credit score.

Banks are just like other businesses – they charge a fee for their services called a ‘bank charge’ or ‘service fee.’ However, every bank has their own way of doing business and will charge different rates depending on the type of account you have and how and when you take money out.

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has been notified of over 5 000 alleged financial scams in South Africa over the past five years, and they advise South Africans to be extremely cautious when investing their hard-earned money. Financial scams are common in South Africa, and consumers are urged to be aware of schemes that promise high returns within a short space of time.

The average cost of education at a government school, from pre-primary to matric in South Africa can add up to around R1.5 million per child. This is a substantial amount of money parents would need to have access to during the course of their child’s educational career, yet according to Old Mutual’s Savings and Investment Monitor 2017, 56% of South Africans are currently not saving for their child's education.

Studying while working part-time is not an uncommon occurrence, studying while working full-time is a bit more of a challenge. Whether you’ve decided to upskill yourself and further your current career, change job paths completely, or begin your very first experience of tertiary education while getting work experience at the same time, it can be a daunting task to tackle.

Not only did living costs rise in 2017 but a lot of people battled with increasing debt, struggling to make it to the end of each month. If you’re among the many South Africans who found last year challenging when it came to finances, 2018 represents an opportunity for you to step into financial freedom.

The top ranking universities in South Africa were revealed in a new university ranking focusing on academic quality which was recently released. The University Ranking by Academic Performance (URAP) highlights the performance of 16 South African universities among 2 500 higher education institutes (HEI) across the world.

Tax season is here, and maybe you’re one of the many people who don’t know where to start with their tax return. If you can’t rely on your employer or a tax practitioner to help you with your tax returns, there are some useful online tools that can assist you with your tax filing, so that you’re not left scratching your head.

As government is busy making great effort to restore South Africa's investment grade rating, consumers must now deal with the consequences of Standard & Poor's junk rating. The economic outlook is even more uncertain as we await the announcement from Moody, which has placed South Africa under review for a downgrade and will only reveal its rating of South Africa's credit status around the July 3 deadline.

Car accidents are an everyday occurrence on South African highways. Our country has the 42nd highest road mortality rate in the world. If your car was involved in an accident what would you do? Below is a step-by-step guide on how to deal with a car accident.

The current drought has forced the city of Cape Town to enforce increasingly severe limitations on water usage. The Cape Town city council said it is now up to every resident to use water wisely, and urged Capetonians to bring down their water consumption even further than the 800 million litres daily target to 700 million litres, or the city may be in an even more critical water crisis.

Often with a new year comes fresh starts and new resolutions, and if you’re feeling unhappy at work, the beginning of the year might be the best time to make a job, or even a career, change happen. Whether you’ve just finished matric, need a fresh routine or are unhappy with your current salary and have been relying on a Personal Loan to make ends meet, the job hunting process can be rather daunting if you don’t know where to start. With the help of a career expert, we lay out a few top tips to help you through the process, and increase your chances of getting a new job this year.

Buying your morning cup of coffee. Filling up your car with fuel. Planning your weekly meals. From petrol to milk and bread, everything has gone up in price recently as both globally and locally, economies start to feel the pinch.

So you’ve bought a new home, successfully made the big jump to owning something a bit bigger, but inevitably this comes with some additional costs. Suddenly everything from your home improvement ideas, and even your entertainment, needs to be reassessed to account for the higher costs

The recent interest rate hikes, food price increases and generally tough economic times in South Africa right now mean that you’re probably feeling a little stretched financially. Personal Loans can help bridge the gap by providing financing in the short-term, which you can pay off in smaller amounts later.

Waiting for a Personal Loan to be approved is a bit like going on a first date. Your hands are sweaty and your stomach’s tied in knots, as you wonder whether this is your best option and worry over potential rejection.

With food prices expected to increase by 10% by the middle of this year, many South Africans will have to rely on a Personal Loan to make ends meet. But, even when money is tight and we've obtained some extra bucks to help us get through the month, we sometimes get tempted to spoil ourselves with luxury indulgences. There are many high-priced lifestyle options ordinary folk may desire such as a R2 000 pair of designer shoes or a meal worth R600 at an upscale restaurant. Then, there is a pair of headphones that is worth over R800 000.

The transition from high school to university is a remarkable event for young adults and their parents. Not only does it reward twelve years of hard work and dedication, but it's also a step closer to fulfilling a lifelong dream.

Your car suddenly won’t start. You lose your job unexpectedly. Your child needs urgent medical treatment. We don’t like to think about these things, but the reality is that life is unpredictable and you won’t always have enough savings to cover these unexpected expenses. That’s where emergency funds such as a Personal Loan can come in handy: they give you access to cash quickly in times when you need it most.

Let’s face it – credit has a bad reputation. When most of us think of short-term loans and credit cards, we think of high interest rates, huge monthly repayments and being stuck in an endless cycle of debt. But the truth is, having a credit facility can actually be really useful in managing your finances – as long as you know which product best suits your circumstances, and how to manage any resulting debt properly.

You may think of debt collectors as heavyset men with crowbars but the reality is that there may come a time where you are required to collect debt too. Maybe you lent your sister some cash to cover the cost of a new set of brake pads for her car? Maybe a friend needed to buy an engagement ring and you loaned him the money so he could marry the girl of his dreams?

Money. We all need it. We all want more of it. But sometimes, it can be difficult to get your head around how investments work with all the complex financial terms and concepts. Luckily, the team at Hippo.co.za is here to help. We went out and interviewed some of the brightest minds in the industry to get explanations on some financial and economic terms you may not understand.

“Netflix is finally here”. You might have seen this statement or others like it on your social media pages last week. This after Netflix announced that its service is now available in 130 new countries around the world, including South Africa. And, while most South Africans are eager to start streaming and argue the pros and cons of Netflix vs. ShowMax, some might have a few questions as to how video streaming actually works. Luckily Hippo.co.za is here to help. We’ve consulted various sources to ensure that you don’t experience any technical difficulties while binge-watching your favourite TV shows or movies.

He asked you to marry him and you said yes. Congratulations! So far you both have experienced a few weeks of post-engagement bliss, but now it's time to give the wedding some serious thought. When you get the preparations underway, some items on your checklist will be fun to execute while others, such as dealing with the cost of the wedding, can be overwhelming.

You’ve watched your home pregnancy test turn pink and perhaps you sat for a moment thereafter wondering how you felt about it. But, whether this is a planned pregnancy or not, you may experience more than just a moment of stress considering the financial implications

Whether you’re happy in your city, wanting to move, or needing to move, you’ve probably heard all the stories about the expenses of living in certain SA cities. Before you take out that personal loan, get the inside story from some experts and stats which compare our provinces.

As parents we often ask our children what they want to become when they grow up. The enthusiastic responses may vary from doctor and teacher to astronaut and lawyer.

With steadily increasing electricity costs and unstable service delivery, rampant price hikes are occurring across various industries in the country.

Personal loans have been a matter of some debate for a long time, both in South Africa and all across the world.

If you’re not one of the approximately five million South Africans currently battling debt then you most likely know someone who is among them.

If you haven’t been on top of your business economics news reading, the concept of switching economies may be news to you.

These days we are easily lured into the grips of an unhealthy lifestyle. Our bad eating habits can lead to chronic diseases such as diabetes or cardiovascular problems later in life.

Ever heard of gender tax? Is there such a thing? Unfortunately… yes. Thankfully we are living in a more modern world and things are bit less gender strained. In South Africa, though, research suggests that men are still earning a substantial amount more than women.

In November last year Antoinette Slabbert published an article on Moneyweb called Five million South Africans drowning in debt. Whilst it was informative, it highlighted just how many South Africans live on credit every month.

Managing your debt is a tricky task. For many people, living in debt is a way of life - but that doesn’t mean it has to be a part of your life. Going into the New Year with a determined financial battle plan will give you a feeling of empowerment