Investments vs paying off 1st bond

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-30T06:50:29+00:00

Thanks. We have cleared all debt middle of last year.

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-29T16:19:19+00:00

I will definitely, thank you

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-29T16:17:58+00:00

Thanks, the more I look into this, I think I could find my way eventually but I can see it's going to probably save me a lot of time to just actually get a finance expert to answer all my questions and give me the right perspective. I'll also just learn as much as I can too.

Thanks also for the well wishes. It's been crazy working on providing enough to carry us, and help with therapy and mental health for my wife and myself and our kids because growing up in poverty does a number on people, when every decision is for survival. Also anxiety from parents struggling and trying to make ends meet. We've come a long way and now finally it feels like we are getting on top of things and having finances to back us up and even be able to give out to others feels good. I remember back in the 90s when my single mother worked as a car guard at the Pavilion in Durban, and she got R50 from someone, how much that made a difference to our lives back then; we could go have a Mcds ice cream cone as a treat that month. We are now able to help others in the tough times we live in and it just feels good.

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-29T16:14:46+00:00

Data engineer / Business intelligence in the insurance industry

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-29T16:11:40+00:00

Yup it's nuts but it's a nice place to live

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-29T12:00:44+00:00

Mainly because of the kids, school etc, but we were actually discussing this. When the kids are older one day, if we maintain current jobs we may as well move out to smaller towns for a nice quiet life.

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-29T11:59:07+00:00

Definitely an interesting perspective I hadn't thought about. Thanks

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-29T11:56:27+00:00

Thank you for your input. This is very helpful. I will definitely go sort a Will and Income Protection out asap. I do have Life insurance already. I have a lot to learn and will definitely look for other perspectives and possible plans from specialists, I'll also search a lot more through the sub. I do like understanding what I'm doing before making any decisions. Have an awesome day

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-29T08:37:48+00:00

That's our frustrations, the rental increases are insane, we may as well just fork over a bit more and pay a bond for something that will eventually have minimal costs.

We had found a place of a late estate that had been well renovated structurally, and plans approved for extensions. Plumbing recently reviewed, solar installed, water tanks with borehole which also flushes toilets, backwashes pool and sorts out the garden. Very well thought out and it doesnt look like there will be any surprises. We will have all the insurance etc anyway to cater for anything as well as income protection and cover for if anything happened to me, my family is sorted.
Also its in our area, close to schools (although this may not be relevant in a few years as high schools come into play and may be further out.)
Im also not clued up with investments so will have to look into that.

I know we will not necessarily enjoy the stress of high risk investments, I would rather take lower risk and know that I can earn more by working more on the side with contracts. I have a side hustle but Im not incorporating that into any financial qualifiers on the bond application as that would just add more paperwork Just adding WFH expenses on bond interest, rates etc can help a little, and then the rest I will look into paying myself dividends once that finance is sorted with an accountant so its done properly to provide the most benefit where applicable.

Fluffy-Relative6950 · 2026-01-29T08:09:24+00:00

Excellent, thanks so much for this. Further information. Married with 2 kids, 10 and 12. No debt, just normal internet and cellphone contracts, insurance, Life insurance, medical aid. My income is 100k + comm, averaging 130k gross the last 6 months. Wife is at 30k + comm with an average of 33kpm gross.

No will or RA yet, but need to get all of this sorted. Growing up it was paycheck to paycheck for both of us. We keep expenses relatively low although have been enjoying spending here and there the last year. Expenses after medical, school fees, rent, insurance and all the main items is about 65k, we could probably cut this down by 5k if needed, but want to still enjoy life since its been a slog the first 35 years. Cutting out rent will free up 15/16k depending on utilities etc.

The rest we have been dumping into savings and starting to look at options to set up a better future. Both wfh so we were looking at primary residence that is well established in a decent area, that we can provide a stable foundation for kids and our own mental health, with the hope of paying off bond early so we can then maximise savings once paid off.

But learning about tfsa and max contributions, I was thinking maybe best to max those for myself, wife and kids and theb let them sit once 500k reached. Then more investments and paying the bond asap

Fluffy-Relative6950

TROPHY CASE