12 must have’s for a financially free 2012 By: Michelle Human

Our easy to execute twelve step plan gives you one task a month. Execute each of these according to your circumstances and priorities and you are well on your way to financial freedom.

Step one: Make an appointment to see a reputable financial adviser
Probably the best way to find a reputable financial planner is via word of mouth. Ask around and let colleagues, friends and family guide you. Remember that personality is an important factor and what works for them, may not necessarily work for you, but it is only a starting point. Find someone whom they have been dealing with for some time and most importantly someone that they trust.

The web can also be a valuable source of information. Contact organisations such as the FPI at www.fpi.co.za to see a list of all of their affiliated financial advisers.

When you meet with the financial adviser don’t be hesitant to ask questions such as:
· How does he earn his fees? Is he commission based only or does he charge a fee for a consultation.

· What are his qualifications and how long has he been in the industry?

· Is he affiliated to only one financial services provider i.e.: a tied agent or is he independent and what are the implications of each option. If he is independent, which companies does he support and why?

Don’t feel intimidated by the process. In terms of FAIS (the law regulating the financial planning industry) he is obliged to disclose all of this information in writing anyway.

Step two: Do a comprehensive financial needs analysis
Once you feel comfortable with your financial adviser, the first step will be to conduct a thorough financial needs analysis. This will involve discussing your financial needs and goals, particularly in the event of death, disability and retirement.

You will need to give the financial adviser a good idea of where you stand currently in relation to these goals so that any gaps can be addressed. Make sure that you provide information such as existing policy information, your group benefits provided by your employer, current Will and information relating to your income.

Step three: Understanding the legal implications of your marriage
Were you aware of the fact that your marital regime may impact your financial plan? Make sure that you understand the basic implications of your marital status. The most common marital regimes include in community of property, or where an antenuptial contract has been signed, either out of community of property excluding the accrual or including the accrual system.

If you have chosen not to marry, but are living with someone as a so called “common law” spouse, make sure that you understand what this means from a financial planning perspective. For example, such a union which is deemed to be permanent may be regarded as a marriage. This gives you and your spouse certain rights and obligations.

Step four: Until death us do part…Make or revise your Will
No one likes to think about passing away, but fortunately having a plan for such uncertain events, does not make them happen. So take control of the process and ensure that your Will is up to date. Your Will is the only way that you will have any say in what will happen to your belongings if you pass away. It can also save costs and make sure that there is no delay in winding up your estate.

Step five: Losing a loved one…What would happen to your dependants if you were to pass away
Life cover can play an important role in any financial plan. It is a cost effective way to make sure that any wishes you have stated in your Will, can actually be funded. Consider using life cover to provide for dependants such as your spouse and/or children, paying off your bond or other debts and covering any estate duty or other costs arising from your death. Ultimately it allows you to leave a legacy for those that you love.

Step six: What about me?
Being diagnosed with a critical illness can be a life changing event, which can have enormous financial implications. By having comprehensive critical illness cover you can make sure that you can afford the best possible care and hopefully recover without facing financial ruin. Bear in mind that critical illness cover is designed to assist with the costs associated with the impact that the diagnosis has on your lifestyle. These costs may not seem like a big deal initially, but they can add up to a huge sum very quickly.

In 2010 Liberty paid a total of R 281.2 million in critical illness protection claims. 41% of those claims related to a cancer diagnosis. So the premise that it will never happen to you, just doesn’t hold any water. Make sure that your financial plan includes sufficient critical illness cover to make sure that your lifestyle is not affected by such a diagnosis.

Step seven: Disability
Becoming disabled can be devastating in so many ways. It doesn’t have to be devastating financially. In some ways, your ability to earn an income in the future could be regarded as your greatest asset, especially if you are young, well qualified and skilled.

Make sure that you consider what would happen financially if you were disabled either permanently or temporarily. Perhaps you would need a lump sum initially to meet expenses not covered by your medical aid and set up an environment to cater for your disability. Your long term need, may be to replace your income on a monthly basis. Having a plan to cater for these needs, at least makes sure that you don’t have to worry about the financial implications of any disability.

Step eight: Pay yourself first…
Retirement always seems such a long way off, but it is funny how these things creep up on you. How many pay days do you have left until retirement? Consider a client age 40, planning to retire at age 60 and with a life expectancy of 75 years. They have 240 pay days left to save for retirement. Sounds like a long time, until you realise that these 240 pay days need to provide them with sufficient income to provide for 180 pay days in retirement!

Thanks to medical technology, we are living longer. This means that we need to realistically consider that our retirement years may last longer than we expected. Have we saved enough to last this long? Have we considered the impact of stock market crashes, higher than expected inflation and possible job losses along the way.

Make sure that your retirement plan is robust enough to weather the challenges that it may face.

Step nine: Pennywise…Saving for a future goal
The definition of saving is simple, it is money that is not spent. But in order to really see a sound return you need to take it further than just saving. You need to invest. Bear in mind that your investment needs to outperform inflation so that you are earning a real return. The rule of 72 says that if inflation averages at 10% over the period of your investment, your buying power halves every 7 years!

Make sure that your investment suits your risk profile. If you are younger you may be willing to invest for a longer period, be more aggressive and willing to take on more risk. However the older investor may be more conservative and prioritise capital preservation.

Step ten: Saving for a rainy day…
A comprehensive financial plan must have some provision for everyday emergencies. You don’t want to have all your spare cash tied up in long term investments, and not be able to deal with a small emergency as it happens. Part of the process of setting up your emergency fund, would be to establish a monthly budget. Understand what your monthly expenses are and what, if anything, is left over at the end of the month.

Ideally aim to have three months worth of income or expenses in a readily accessible fund.

Step eleven: Consolidate all important information
Gather all of your important documents together and file them away in a safe place. It might be a good idea to have someone you trust keep a certified copy as well. This way they are readily available in case of need.
Make sure that you include:
· Your ID and/or passport

· Birth certificates

· Will

· Policy documents, share certificates and other investment information

· Antenuptial contract and marriage certificate if applicable

Step twelve: An action plan for the future…
Now that you have put your plan in place, it is time for action. Commit to an annual review with your financial adviser, but also remember to discuss any life changing events with him. This could be a change of job, birth of a child, marriage, divorce etc. All of these events can have an important impact on your financial plan.

To drive the importance of financial planning and understanding savings and insurance needs, Liberty is running a competition that encourages consumers to get obligation free financial advice with a chance of winning a prize worth R1million. All you need to be eligible to win, is an obligation free financial needs analysis (FNA) done through a Liberty Adviser or Broker, with no obligation to purchase any products.

The competition launched on the 10th October and runs until the end of January 2012. Customers have the opportunity of having free obligation advice to help them better understand their financial status.

The rules of the competition can be found on www.liberty.co.za

Note: The views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Editor of www.muslimmums.co.za.

*Ask your financial advisor about Shariah compliant products from Liberty

Chicken myths busted (and an exclusive competition)

Chicken is certainly one of the world’s favourite and cheapest sources of protein. But more often than not, chicken gets a bad wrap for being filled with hormones, inorganic, mutant and so on. But these are mostly myths that people believe, and ultimately discourages people from eating chicken – the most versatile protein around.
Especially being a mom, we want what is best for our children, we want them to grow up big and strong and healthy without having to worry about the food they eat being unwholesome.
I sometimes overhear moms in coffee shops or at the stores saying to their children, no you can’t eat that it’s not good for you. What’s alarming about that is the fact that sometimes it’s to do with chicken.
I think the problem is that a lot of people are misguided or misinformed about various foods especially chicken. Astral is a leading South African poultry producer with brands like Festive , Goldi and County Fair which are fresh, frozen and crumbed chicken. They have approached me about this very topic and wanted to address some common misconceptions in the hope to help moms to continue to buy nutritious food and make good food choices for their family.
“We hope that by debunking some of the myths around chicken that this will make for a highly informed consumer public who knows what they are buying and what they are consuming. It will also hopefully encourage our public to buy local and support our local industry,” says Chris Schutte, CEO of Astral.
Schutte goes on to set straight the more common poultry fictions around:
1. Do chickens grow so fast because they are injected with growth hormones?
No, definitely not!  No chickens produced by any of Astral’s poultry operations are injected, fed or in any way whatsoever subjected to hormones. In order to obtain the desired growth and weight targets, a perfect combination of superior genetics, scientific nutrition and best farming practices are ethically applied. Be assured, eating our chicken products is perfectly safe for you!
2. Are all chickens injected with water before being sold?
No, not entirely true! Our fresh chicken, never frozen, is 100% natural. In fact, excess moisture is removed from fresh chicken through an air chilling process before being packed. However, we do flavour enhance IQF frozen portions (Individually Quick Frozen) with a water based brine, to improve meat tenderness and succulence by means of a scientifically applied injection method.
3. Are chickens restricted from movement by being kept in small wire cages?
Not true at all! In Astral, our chickens are raised in large poultry sheds designed to keep them as comfortable as possible. The disinfected floors are bedded with wood shavings, sunflower husks or wheat straw which allows them to scratch and move around as they please. Our chickens also have unrestricted access to light, clean water and nutritious feed 24 hours a day.
4. Are chickens reared on a diet of maize only?
No, only approximately half of the ration is maize! Maize, the main energy source in a chicken’s diet, comprises approximately 50% of the feed ration. In addition, specially formulated protein ingredients, together with key vitamins and minerals, are added to create the perfect balanced diet and is fed to our chickens in the form of easily digested crumbles or pellets.
5. Do antibiotics administered to chickens remain in the meat and are they dangerous to our health?
No, not entirely true! Antibiotics are administered to our chickens when necessary through feed intake and under the strict guidance of a registered veterinary practitioner. Any incidental antibiotic residues are well within the legislated maximum residual levels (MRL). It is standard practice to withdraw antibiotics from feed according to the manufacturers’ guidelines. This is done at least five days prior to slaughter to ensure no residues remain in the meat. Astral additionally tests the livers and muscles of slaughtered chickens through an independent laboratory for traces of antibiotic residues.
Astral is also running a fabulous competition for this week only:
• Send in your best chicken recipe for braai day (the recipe involving one of their brands such as Festive, Goldi or County Fair, stands the best chance of winning)
• The best recipe received by 17:00 on Friday 23 September will win a chicken hamper for them and their family courtesy of Astral
About Astral

Recipes can be posted as comments below or emailed to info@muslimmums.co.za

Astral is a leading South African integrated poultry producer. Key activities consist of animal feed pre-mixes, manufacturing of animal feeds, broiler genetics, production and sale of day-old chicks and hatching eggs, integrated breeder and broiler production operations, abattoirs and the sale and distribution of various key poultry brands.

EDITOR’S NOTE: ASTRAL FOOD PRODUCTS IN SOUTH AFRICA ARE CERTIFIED HALAAL BY THE MUSLIM JUDICIAL COUNCIL (MJC)

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