Good news again - I'm looking forward to it!

Well, it seems as though the good news just keeps on coming. Lots of speculation about the interest rates dropping tomorrow by 100 basis points.

I know he originally asked for 200 basis points cut 2 weeks ago, so 100 basis points looks like it's happening for sure.

Nice relief for the home owners.

For those of you that didn't know, Woolworths dropped their food prices too on over 200 products making them a leader in the industry. Could this be a trend in the South African market...

Are the government and other institutions getting together to assist South Africans with their daily expenses.

Keep it coming South Africa! We need it and we'll love you for it!

South African Budget Speech 2009 /2010 - Summary - Overview

Trevor Manuel announced the budget speech yesterday. With his "budget policy in the time of crisis", Trevor Manuel yesterday presented a brand new lease on life view of the economic crisis that's hit SA, moving away from his usual conservative views and opening up with some mind blowing numbers and figures to help stimulate our economy for 2009 / 2010.

So without further ado, i give you the summary / overview of the 2009/2010 budget speech. We will later today post the entire breakdown of the budget.

Tax breaks:

• tax payers will pay R13.6 billion less in income tax


• individuals under 65 who earn less than R54 200 per year will pay no tax


• those over 65 who earn less than R84 200 will pay no tax

Cough up for your cigarettes:

• a packet of cigarettes now cost 88 cents more


• the price of 750ml bottle of spirits goes up by R3, 21


• a 340ml can of beer now sets drinkers back a further 7 cents

Grants grow by R50:

• from April, the old-age, disability and care dependency grants will rise by R50 a month


• the retirement age for men currently at 63, is in the process of being reduced to 60 by 2010 to be on a par with that for women

Petrol pain

• fuel levies will go up on April 1 by 23 cents litre for petrol and 24 cents a litre for diesel


• the road accident fund levy will go up by 17.5 cents a litre


• the total increase will be just over 40 cents a litre

WHERE YOUR MONEY WILL GO

Justice and safety

• the fight against crime will receive a R5.4 billion boost this year, bringing total spending on courts, prisons and the police in 2009/2010 to R101 billion


• R3 billion will be spent on upgrading the it networks in the criminal justice system

Schools, roads and clinics

• R24.8 billion to provinces to increase services, mainly for health and education


• a further R4billion for the school nutrition programme


• R4.1 billion for provincial infrastructure especially, schools, roads and clinics

Service delivery and job creation

• free basic services; R600 million for municipalities to extend free basic services


• to create jobs and accommodate higher costs for skills and materials, spending on infrastructure will rise from an estimated R690 billion to R787 billion most of it for municipalities, provinces and parastatals

Better health care

• R932 million for the treatment and prevention of AIDS


• an extra R1.8 billion for three new vaccines to help reduce infant death


• R728 million for the hospital revitalisation programme - upgrades and construction of 31 hospitals nationwide

Supporting children

• from April, the foster care grant will increase to R680


• last month the R240 child support grant was extended to 15 year olds

2010 fifa world cup

• an extra R463 million to cover cost increases and pay for better project management of the stadiums being built


• R508 million in 2009/2010 and R210 million in 2010/2011 to help host cities prepare


• R11.9 billion in the next 3 years for public transport

Powering eskom

• R1 billion to manage power consumption


• eskoms R60 billion government loan to be repaid over 30 years. the power utility which got R10 billion in last years budget gets a further R30 billion in 2009/2010 and R20 billion in 2010/2011

Poverty relief

• the expanded public network programme which has run for four years will be extended by another 5 with the provision for jobs that will keep people employed for longer


• R1.8 billion for rural development over the next 3 years

Thanks Trevor

References: The Star & The Pretoria News

Bite the Dog - Dubai Mortgages and Rental Finance

So it seems like the guys in Dubai and the UAE are coming up with some exciting business options.

The rental market is making some great adjustments in the UAE and now you can get rental finance for 6 months, 1 year and you can pay your rent with one or two cheques, negotiate lower rents even if the landlord wants 12 cheques and manage your cash flow. Independent Finance are the guys offering this and its a real win as they have about 8 options available from interest based to fee based deals.

So be smart, get credit managed and control that crazy spending anduse your money wizely.

Mortgages, loan to value of up to 85%, interest rates of 7.8% and some great deals available now if you are shopping in the UAE.

February 2009 Interest Rate Drop!! woohoo

Ladies and gentleman... Some good news.




The interest rate has officially dropped 1%.

South Africa's new interest rate 14%.

Thanks Tito, you're a star!






Let the trend begin and let the houses start selling again!

The Independent Alt Ateam

Create your own FACEinHOLE