Your #bonus can be your catalyst that makes your dreams come true

You have worked hard and earned that bonus, but now the internal dialogue between the head and the heart starts.

Should you pay down that personal loan, put it towards next year's school fees – or upgrade your holiday accommodation and double up on gifts during this festive season?

It is in fact possible to achieve all of these, at least in part. It is simply a matter of prioritising and adding in time. In this way you can both enjoy the fruits of your labour, reduce the pressure on your income in the coming months as well as create a base and departure point for actually achieving your full potential and maximum financial well-being.

The best place to start is to take your current financial position into account – where you are with what you have and what you want. Take three simple steps:

* Indulge guilt-free: Limit what you spend to the first 10percent of your bonus.

* Set your top five priorities: What do you want to do with the remaining 90percent balance of your bonus over the next 12 months?

* Choose the correct financial vehicle for your prioritised outcomes: Get professional advice to establish the correct strategy.

Establishing priorities is a good way to make the right choices:

* Priority One – Emergencies: This is the first secret to maximise financial well-being. You should have between three and six months' salary saved in an interest-bearing structure where you can access your money within 48 hours. A basic money market fund would be a good vehicle to achieve this objective.

Putting money into debt for emergencies means you pay off debt but you then go back into debt to pay for emergencies. You thus end back where you started – no savings and debt to pay.

* Priority Two – Debt: When paying down debt the objective should be to settle it permanently. You only start to grow your wealth when you save in structures that grow your money.

Start your journey to earning interest and investment growth rather than just paying interest endlessly. If you are able to settle one debt permanently and remove it from your monthly debit orders, you set your next 12 months up to be doubly successful.

* Priority Three – Retirement: Currently 27.5 percent of taxable income can be contributed to any retirement fund and you can claim this as a tax deduction. If you have not yet exhausted this contribution rate, you can take advantage of contribution to a retirement annuity fund or your employers group retirement fund (if the rules allow) for the balance of the tax deduction. In this way you can give yourself an additional bonus during the next year.

* Priority Four – The reasons you tell yourself you can't save: People often blame life circumstances for not saving. These are exactly the reasons that you should be saving for. Generally, disposable income (after tax) would be used for this project. Ideal savings and investment vehicles for consideration therefore would be tax-free savings accounts or unit trusts.

Essentially, the trick is to start saving. Set your sights on your best life, with maximum financial well-being and go for it.

To get started and keep you on target, a professional financial adviser should be used in putting together and implementing the correct investment vehicles for your financial well-being strategy.

Ultimately, your bonus can and should be the catalyst that gets you moving towards your dreams as well as creating some short-term reward.

Mark Hawes is an Alexander Forbes financial planning consultant.

PERSONAL FINANCE

Find out what inspired Beyonce's #GlobalCitizenFestivalSA's outfits #GirlTalkZA

She came. She slayed. She conquered. Our hearts, that is.

Yes, there were many other celebs performing, speaking and presenting at the Global Citizen Festival, but to be honest, Beyoncé owned the day. She and husband Jay-Z were the most-anticipated performers of the night, a fact reflected in the length of their performance, the many outfit changes, the stage design and, of course, how loud people screamed.

Bey didn't dance as much as she typically would have during a concert performance, but what she lacked in the moves, she more than made up for with her styling and vocals. She let her outfits speak for her, and what they said was: "This is all about Africa."

Her proud mother, Tina Lawson, took to Instagram to share some of the unknown facts about her daughter's outfit choices, which proved that each one had been carefully considered.

While fans were excited to see her performance, this wasn't the first time Queen B has performed in South Africa. Before she became Mrs Carter, she performed at the first 46664 concert in Cape Town in November 2003.

Her love affair with African-inspired fashion began there and has continued for 15 years.

#Total SA continues to inspire #entrepreneurs

We've all heard the idiom "iron sharpens iron", but many run from the type of positive friction that develops us. How boring would life be without a little healthy competition? Beyond the thrill and rush of your team winning, competing respectfully has inspired some of the world's greatest innovations and it's time entrepreneurs gear their minds for the role competition has in innovating.

Imagine how complacent Apple Inc would be without Samsung breathing down its neck. Apple's CEO Tim Cook is on record speaking of competition this way: "The reality is that we love competition, at Apple. We think it makes us all better." Cook is right, but since taking over from his pioneering predecessor Steve Jobs, he's learnt that the key is "healthy competition".

From the beginning of time, survival has depended on the fittest going head-to-head, selecting, choosing and evolving into the next day. One of my favourite examples of the power of healthy competition occurred between two iconic artists – Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti, known simply as Michelangelo. Just over 500 years ago, Da Vinci, then in his late forties, returned to Florence from Milan to learn of a 25-year-old celebrity artist named Michelangelo.  Michelangelo had already carved the now famous Statue of David, the world-renowned sculpture every man is measured against. The aging da Vinci wasn't impressed as he believed his art of painting was superior to that of carving statues.

The noise of growing disdain for each other spread and the governing leadership commissioned them to go head-to-head, constructing their version of a battle scene. Like much art during the Renaissance period, neither of them finished the artworks. But, deeply inspired and motivated to outdo the other, they went on to complete projects we now know to be two of the most famous artworks the world has ever seen. Leonardo completed the Mona Lisa and Michelangelo the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Is it possible that they would have produced these fine works without each other – maybe – but it's folly to underestimate just how much the competition moved them to the next level.

When rallying your team around a common goal where teamwork and cooperation are encouraged, people will surprise you. It's critical when setting the stage that it's clear that everyone will benefit, including the loser. The entrepreneurial landscape finds itself in a chapter of history similar to that of Leonardo and Michelangelo where innovation is lacking and we're in dire need of bold competitors to go head-to-head.

Many spiritual gurus argue that you should only be competing with yourself, and on many levels we agree, but on some level this is a form of Utopia because we live in a period in which society is horribly unequal and we can't afford complacency. We want you to look in the mirror and decide that you want to be the best. When you grow, we all grow. When your business thrives – the economy expands, jobs are created and we all benefit. Its Ubuntu for Business.  Follow the Total Startupper Campaign as we continue to inspire entrepreneurs to develop themselves while rolling out their businesses startupper.total.com

Amplify your vision with the new #Huawei MediaPad

While the South African tablet market has become saturated by scores of tech companies attempting to outdo one another, finding a tablet that encompasses high-end features at an affordable cost is a challenge.

As the tablet remains a niche market in the country, many affordable tablets lack features that allow the device to offer a premium entertainment offering, while still being a productive tool.

To further this, tablets have become synonymous with younger users, who make use of it for entertainment apps and YouTube videos, as well as for pupils leaving high school to university, as an educational device to assist in studies.

Huawei's solution to a tablet that is able to perform as an entertainment device for children and adults, out-performing other devices as a workhorse, while fitting in a comfortable price bracket - is the soon-to-be-released Huawei MediaPad T5 10.

The device is set to reshape the way users consume entertainment on their tablet, while offering unparalleled performance with a unique audio and entertainment experience. What's more is that with its robust design the tablet is well-suited for children and offers child-friendly features.

With a vivid Full HD 10.1-inch display with a slim aluminium body - the Huawei MediaPad T5 10 makes for a durable device for work or play.

The Huawei MediaPad T5 10 allows its user to immerse themselves into a distinctive entertainment experience through powerful speakers and crystal clear display, making the device perfect for enjoying movies and videos, offering loads of fun for the festive season.

A great addition to the family, the Huawei MediaPad T5 10 features Huawei's Kids Corner feature, offering parents the opportunity to give their children a jump start with educational apps, to give them the edge when heading back to school, next year.

Backed by the power of the Android operating system, the Huawei MediaPad T5 10, enhances the learning experience for students. With its large display, the device will bring apps to life and increase productivity for daily use and a great companion to watch content off, when the working day is done.

The Huawei MediaPad T5 10 performs just as well as a tablet for everyday use. Through a variety of applications and potent processing power, the Huawei MediaPad T5 10 is able to handle a multitude of tasks simultaneously.

The Media Pad T5 10 is expected in South Africa next month.

Naomi Campbell creates a new term at #GlobalCitizenFestivalSA - #Amandela

We love Naomi Campbell. She's a huge global icon who has slayed the fashion industry for the last two decades. However, she might just need a little more practice with some South African words.

Campbell gave an electrifying speech about rising up and taking the opportunity to make a difference in society – her cries of "if not now, when?" to the Global Citizenaudience were particularly hair-raising. Her spirited address was one of the most engaging of the day, as Campbell's special connection with Mzansi was apparent from her reception.

But in the spirit of good fun, it was her final rallying call that gained a lot of attention. She sort of tripped over a word that caused her a fair bit of difficulty.

Hey, if Naomi Campbell says it's "Amandela" now, then it's "Amandela". We aren't going to argue with her. In fact, it's a pretty amazing fusion with Madiba's surname. We're genuinely here for it.

Campbell's hiccup was far from a disaster, though. She felt a lot of love from the crowd, in a country she frequently visits and campaigns for. We sort of feel bad for pulling this one up, but no-one gets special treatment, we're afraid.

It's been a wonderful day in Soweto, with electrifying performances and life-changing sums of money being donated to charities all across Africa. Anticipation reached fever pitch on Sunday evening, as the performance of Beyonce and Jay-Z drew ever closer.

Let's hope the venue isn't hit by load shedding and the "Amandela" doesn't go out.

Gabrielle Union opens up about the journey to motherhood

New mom Gabrielle Union has always been open about her fertility struggles, and having a baby hasn't changed that. The star took to social media to post a throwback pic of herself and husband,Dwyane Wade, taken four months before the arrival of their daughter. She shared that at the time, they had decided to let go of their fears and trust that their miracle baby would arrive.

This was the furthest they had gotten to having a baby together, following Gabrielle's nine miscarriages. She also shared a few words of encouragement for people struggling with fertility, saying that they should trust in the process.

Its never too late to save money #FridayFeeling #KeDezembaBoss

You probably have good intentions to put a little money aside each month, but the reality is that many South Africans are not saving. If you're one of them, you may not have saved enough to splurge on gifts this festive season, but remember that there's always time to start the good habit of saving in the new year.

The sooner you start saving, advises Standard Bank, the more money you will have at the end of the savings term. "At its most basic, saving is the act of putting money away in a safe place with the intention of using it in the future," the bank says. "If you're trying to accumulate a smaller amount for a short-term goal, then a savings account is probably the way to go."

A savings account is usually a risk-free way to save because you earn interest and your initial capital is guaranteed.

These accounts enable you to have have access to your funds either immediately or within an agreed timeframe. According to Standard Bank, many people use this type of account to save for family holidays or festive season shopping sprees.

The advantages of a savings account are numerous, including:

• Easy access to your money.
• With a notice deposit account, you are protected from impulsive withdrawals because you are required to provide notice of your intention to withdraw funds.
• A fixed deposit account that lets you choose the period of investment, offers a fixed interest rate for the full period of the investment, and protects you from making unnecessary withdrawals.
• You have the peace of mind of knowing your capital and your interest earned are secure.

Standard Bank's PureSave account enables you to put money away for a rainy day. It takes as little as R50 to open the account and interest is paid on even the smallest of balances. You can deposit or withdraw money at any time.

Savings accounts do, however, have some disadvantages:

• Interest rates are lower when compared with interest you can earn on higher risk investments.
• Access to funds allows for impulsive spending.
• Because the savings period is short, not enough capital is accumulated for unexpected, expensive events like a family funeral.

Find out how much interest you will earn on your savings so you can decide which account is right for you!

Visit Standard Bank to find out about the different types of savings accounts.

Trevor Noah commits to raising money for education in SA

Trevor Noah has, through the Trevor Noah Foundation, launched a fund-raising mission to help school children and teachers in South Africa.

The crowd-funding effort is in line with Trevor and the foundation's wish to improve the state of the education system in Mzansi.

And what's more, Trevor has vowed to match however much money the campaign is able to raise, up to R2million.

This means that if the campaign is able to raise at least R2million, then a guaranteed R4million investment will be made into education in South Africa by the Trevor Noah Foundation, which launched in 2017.

The foundation is running the campaign through the BackaBuddy website, a popular crowd-funding site.

"Our end goal is to get as many children who do not have access to education, educated. We want to get teachers the support they need, because teachers are underpaid and we want to make sure that the people who educated those children actually have food and ways to sustain themselves," said Trevor, who is the chairman of the Trevor Noah Foundation.r

King Monada added to the #FillUpMosesMabhida line-up

With just 3 days to go until one of the most highly anticipated events of the year, multi award-winning musician, Cassper Nyovest, has announced that King Monada will be performing at #FillUpMosesMabhidathis Saturday, 1 December 2018, at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

 

Cassper Nyovest has constantly alluded that the line-up revealed earlier this month might not be the final line-up of the night. Yesterday's announcement of the addition of King Monada to the line-up has social media buzzing about what to expect on the night.

 

King Monada will join Cassper Nyovest on stage at #FillUpMosesMabhida alongside highly esteemed artists such as the likes of D'Banj, Babes Wodumo, Mahotella Queens, Shwi Nomtekhala, Black Motion, Okmalumkoolkat, Nadia Nakai and Sjava, just to highlight a few.

Concert goers attending#FillUpMosesMabhida can expect nothing short of a world class production. With a stage that takes 5 days to build, Cassper Nyovest has gone all out to make sure that everyone in attendance leaves having experienced a one of a kind concert.

 

Tickets are selling out fast, purchase yours now to avoid disappointment. Tickets can be purchased at all major stores with Computicket outlets or online here:https://online.computicket.com/web/event/fill_up_moses_mabhida/1242456680

·         Golden circle (80% sold out)

·         R100 & 150 tickets (sold out)

#FillUpMosesMabhida line-up:

 

·         Babes Wodumo

·         Benny Maverick

·         Black Motion

·         Cassper Nyovest

·         D'Banj

·         Distruction Boyz

·         DJ Bongz

·         DJ Chynaman

·         DJ Feel

·         DJ Sumbody

·         DJ Touch of soul

·         Frank Casino

·         Gemini Major

·         King Monada

·         Mahotella Queens

·         Major League DJz

·         Mlindo the vocalist

·         Nadia Nakai

·         Okmalumkoolkat

·         Palm Tree Paradise

·         Sandiso

·         Shimza

·         Shwi Nomtekhala

·         Sjava

·         TDK Macassette

·         Tshego

·         Zakwe

Mazda releases all new #Mazda3 with cutting edge style and tech

The all-new Mazda3 makes its world premiere today at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. The fully redesigned model will be rolled out to global markets in early 2019. The Southern Africa market can expect the new model in the second half of 2019.

The all-new Mazda3 adopts a matured Kodo design language that embodies the essence of Japanese aesthetics. While the overall design presents a simple, single form, subtle undulations bring the styling to life through shifting light and reflections that glide over the body surface.

The result is a richer and more powerful expression of vitality than that seen in previous Kodo models. Despite sharing the Mazda3 name, the hatchback and sedan models have distinct personalities - the design of the hatchback is dynamic, that of the sedan elegant.

The all-new Mazda3 adopts Mazda's new SKYACTIV-Vehicle Architecture, designed to enable people to make the most of their natural sense of balance. The powertrain lineup comprises the latest SKYACTIV-X, SKYACTIV-G and SKYACTIV-D engines, each of which provides smooth, responsive throttle control in any driving situation.

Based on its key philosophy of designing the car around the human being, Mazda has dramatically enhanced the car's fundamental driving attributes such that accelerating, turning and braking all feel completely natural.

The Mazda3 is a global strategic model that has driven the company's growth from both a brand and business perspective. It has delivered Mazda's renowned driving pleasure to customers all over the world and been a mainstay of global production at key plants.

"The all-new Mazda3 we unveil today begins a new era for Mazda," said Akira Marumoto, Mazda's Representative Director, President and CEO. "The next generation of Mazda cars will enhance the value of the car-ownership experience. Though these products, we will further raise Mazda's brand value and work towards our goal of building ever stronger bonds with customers all over the world.