The RandWise Reading List
The Money Shelf
Ten books we'd actually hand to a friend — mindset, spending, budgeting, and investing. Not a generic bestseller dump.
Browse the Shelf →Free calculators that actually answer your questions — what you'll take home, what you owe in tax, what your savings could grow to. No sign-up. Any currency. Then compare the world's best financial apps, honestly.
Send money without hidden fees, trade with a broker built for global access, or invest in your own skills. Every product below is one we'd genuinely recommend to a friend.
Every time you send money internationally through a bank, they quietly mark up the exchange rate by 2–5% and keep the difference. Wise uses the real mid-market rate — the one you see on Google — and charges one small transparent fee instead.
Free to open · No monthly fee · RandWise earns a commission at no cost to you
More than a transfer app — Revolut is a full financial platform built for people who live globally. Spend in 150+ countries with no foreign transaction fees, send money worldwide, budget automatically. One app, everything.
Application pending · Read our review while we finalise this partnership
XM is one of the world's most established forex and CFD brokers, giving you access to over 1,000 instruments — currency pairs, stocks, commodities, indices, and precious metals — from a single account. Trade with tight spreads on a platform trusted by millions globally, including a large and active South African client base.
Free demo available · RandWise earns a commission at no cost to you · Trading involves risk of loss
Study an accredited qualification entirely online, at your own pace, without paying a full year upfront. iQ Academy offers courses from high school completion through to higher certificates — designed specifically for South Africans balancing study with work or family.
RandWise earns a commission at no cost to you
From coding to marketing to photography, Udemy's massive course library covers virtually any skill worth learning — taught by real practitioners, not academics. Courses are frequently discounted, own-it-forever, and self-paced, making it one of the most accessible ways to genuinely upskill online.
Partnership pending — we'll activate this the moment it's approved
Ten books we'd actually hand to a friend — mindset, spending, budgeting, and investing. Not a generic bestseller dump.
Browse the Shelf →Honest guides for South Africans. No bank pays us to rank anything higher.
Tax brackets, how PAYE works, SARS filing season, personal vs business tax — plain English.
Read guide →What each covers, real 2026 costs, requirements to join, and when each makes financial sense.
Read guide →Emergency fund to TFSA to ETFs — the right order and the best SA options for 2026.
Read guide →Accredited short courses from R550/month — pay monthly, study at your own pace.
Explore courses →Moving abroad, sending money home, or working remotely — how to stop losing money to bank fees.
Read guide →UIF deadlines, medical aid windows, retirement decisions — the first 90 days mapped out.
Read guide →The fees most South Africans never notice — and a 5-minute audit to check your own account tonight.
Read article →RandWise earns referral commissions when you open accounts through links on this site — at no extra cost to you. This does not affect our recommendations. We only feature products we genuinely believe benefit our readers. Investing involves risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up. This website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a registered financial adviser.