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Is that R40 special worth the extra drive?

A R40 discount can disappear before you reach the till. If getting it means an extra drive, compare the saving with the cost of that detour before leaving home. Here is a fuel-only check you can do with a calculator. All the numbers below are fictional examples, not current petrol prices, retailer offers or typical car consumption. The R40 saving that vanishes Suppose the same groceries cost R40 less at another shop. Reaching it adds 20 kilometres to your journey, including the return. For this example, your car uses 8 litres per 100 kilometres and fuel costs R25 per litre. Extra fuel: 20 × 8 ÷ 100 = 1.6 litres. Extra fuel cost: 1.6 × R25 = R40. Saving left: R40 discount − R40 fuel = R0. Add a fictional R10 parking charge that you would otherwise avoid, and the cheaper basket leaves you R10 worse off. You have also spent time travelling and shopping. Count the extra distance If you are already going past the shop, the answer can change. With the same fictional consumption and fu...
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The rand barely moved. Buying 50 litres of 95 petrol will cost R166.50 more

Buy 50 litres of 95 petrol after the price change on 7 October and it will cost R166.50 more than before. That is the extra cost for the same amount of fuel, not the total bill. The surprising detail in the government's October announcement is that the rand strengthened very slightly against the dollar during the review period. A weaker rand was not the explanation for this increase. What changed? The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources announced a R3.33-per-litre increase for 95 petrol and R3.12 for 93 petrol, effective 7 October 2026. Its average exchange rate moved from R16.213 to R16.212 per US dollar. Those are review-period averages, not today's exchange rate. The department reported higher international petroleum product prices, which pushed fuel costs up despite that tiny currency improvement. Put a number on your next fill Multiply the litres you plan to buy by the increase for your petrol grade: Litres bought Extra for 95 petrol Extra for 93 petrol 40...
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Travelling with a South African SIM? Check this before buying data

Before a trip from South Africa to Kenya, Ghana or Nigeria, check what happens to your existing data bundle abroad. A bundle on your home SIM and a plan for using that SIM overseas are separate things to investigate. Start with your home operator Vodacom's international roaming terms say ordinary bundle offerings and promotional tariffs do not apply to its international roaming offerings. Its roaming products have their own conditions. That is a Vodacom-specific statement; check your operator's current terms rather than applying it to every South African SIM. Ask your operator which roaming option covers your destination, what activates a charge, when the allowance ends and what happens after it runs out. Include calls and SMS in those questions if you need them. Compare the whole trip Write two short lists before choosing: Your existing SIM abroad: the roaming activation requirements, eligible destination and network, charges, allowance and expiry. A destination SIM or ...
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Before you pay for an AI course, try this ten-minute test

Before paying for an AI course, try one small task you can judge yourself. A short email is a useful starting point: you already know what you want to say, so you can spot a missing question or an invented detail. A ten-minute exercise Use an AI assistant you already have access to. This fictional example does not require real names, contact details or payment information. Write a friendly email to a community hall asking whether it is available for a neighbourhood meeting. Ask about the hire price, seating capacity and available dates. Keep it under 100 words. Do not invent a date, price, booking or person's name. Read the reply as if you were about to send it. Does it ask all three questions? Has it made a booking you never requested? Does it sound like something you would write? Then ask for one change: “Make it less formal and remove anything that sounds like a confirmed booking.” Compare the two versions. Which needs less editing? Judge the result, not the impressive wor...
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The cheap-looking data bundle that costs more when you use it

A big data allowance can look like a bargain until you ask when you can use it. If part of the bundle is restricted to overnight hours, adding it to your daytime allowance can give you a misleading price per GB. Count the data that fits your day Consider two fictional bundles. These are arithmetic examples, not current offers from any network. Bundle A costs R50: 2GB of general-use data and 3GB of night-only data. Bundle B costs R60: 3GB of general-use data. Dividing Bundle A's price by the whole 5GB gives R10 per GB. But if you use your phone during the day and none of that night allowance, you are paying R50 for the 2GB you actually use: R25 per GB. Bundle B works out at R20 per GB if you use its full allowance. In this example, it costs R10 more upfront but gives you an extra 1GB for daytime use and a lower cost per GB used. If you can use all of Bundle A's night allowance, the calculation changes. The point is to compare the data that fits your routine, rather than tr...
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