You will have seen from the examples above that you can save thousands of Rands and settle your bond years earlier by applying all or some or these methods. The maximum benefit will be gained by applying as many methods as possible in combination, making the additional payments into the bond as large as possible, and leaving the money in the bond for as long as possible.
If you change jobs and your payday changes, ensure that you notify the bank immediately. Paying just 2 day earlier could knock as 2 months of your loan term.
Today’s competition between banks for bond business is very strong. This results in them making various offers to their customers in order to make buying a home easier. This includes adding a variety of costs onto the bond account
In South Africa, interest rates are often subject to wide fluctuations with little warning. When rates decrease, the banks generally reduce your monthly instalment accordingly, and place the onus on you to contact them if you do not want this change to be made.
These examples show how much you can benefit simply by placing funds which you only need at a later date, into your bond account. Even if you can only leave the money in the bond for a few days at a time, there are still significant benefits to be gained.
The problem, as discussed in the previous article, is the capitalisation of interest, over and over again EVERY MONTH FOR 20 YEARS! So what do we do about it? Well, the fact that interest is calculated daily can be used to our advantage.
The purpose of this series of articles is to provide bondholders in South Africa with practical and simple methods of reducing their bond terms, thereby saving money in the process. We will use practical examples to illustrate the effect that these methods can have in reducing your bond term.
Many organisations are discovering truth in Kermit the frog’s famous statement: “It’s not easy being green.” Being green is no longer a “nice-to-have” initiative or simply the right thing to do; it has become a strong indicator of business respectability that is starting to impact the bottom line. Organisations are under pressure from all sides to show progress in their environmental strategies.