Question:
I'll be getting a bonus of R15 000 soon. What's the best investment for this kind of money?

I'm debt free and have some unit trusts. I'm not interested in buying a house at this point in time, but am looking for an income generating investment, even if it's only going to return R300 per month.

Answer:
If you invested the money in a money market account (you may have to add another R5000 to it depending on the bank) you would get a return of around 10.5 percent. This would give you an income of around R131.25 per month.

You need to think about what you want to achieve with this money. If your objective is to save for your retirement you could consider buying more unit trusts or adding the money to an existing retirement savings plan.

Investing your money in interest based vehicles for retirement is not a good idea especially if you are still young and have a long way to go before retirement.

If you do not own a property yet, that should be your long term goal because a big part of successful financial planning is to be living in rent and bond free accommodation by the time you retire.

R15 000 is obviously not enough money to buy a home, but it’s a good start. You would be well advised to see a financial planner so he or she can help you work out a strategy for your financial future.