/ 13 April 2011

Where do I put my lobola money?

Capitec has good rates, but watch those monthly fees.

Lesiba asks: At the end of April I’ll come into possession of R10 000. I want to deposit it somewhere and will need it in September or October for lobola. Do you have any ideas where I could put this?

I also asked you last year about unit trusts and I’m glad to tell you I’ve been depositing into Satrix Divi and Allan Gray’s Balanced Fund.

Maya replies: I am glad to hear that you are saving on a regular basis. That will put you in good stead when you get married and start a family.

In terms of your lobola money, for such a short period of time it is best to keep it in a bank account — you really don’t want to take any risk on the money.

The best option is to go for a six-month fixed deposit. That means you will only be able to access the money at the end of October, but you will receive a better interest rate.

Doing a quick search, the Capitec Global One account, which is a call account. Your money is immediately available and the account will offer you 6% for a balance up to R9 999 (it drops to 4,75% for higher amounts). But this account does charge a monthly fee of R4,50, so your effective rate is around 5.5%.

However a R10 000 six-month fixed deposit with Capitec will pay 6,15% and there is no monthly fee. You will earn around R310 in interest. Nedbank is another bank that has good rates for smaller deposits but their six month rate is 5,3%.

However, you also need to look at the admin factor. Find out what your current bank will pay in interest because it might be easier to open an account with them and avoid the FICA rigmarole.

For every 1% less interest paid you will earn R50 less over the six months. You need to decide if that is worth the hassle of opening up an account with a new bank unless you plan on using it for future savings.

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