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The ultimate Covid-19 lifestyle and financial relief guide

The complete guide of relief measures you can access during lockdown. Several banks have already announced they are ready to help customers to take a payment ‘break’ of a few months on various loan types, including home loans, by deferring installment payments and extending the original period of the loan.

By Rudolph Nkgadima / April 17, 2020

DURBAN – The complete guide of relief measures you can access during lockdown. Everything from TV series , payment holidays, government funding and staying fit for FREE.

 

FINANCE

 

FNB

From the 1st April to 30 June 2020, FNB will implement measures to provide relief to individual and business customers whose financial stability has been impacted by the coronavirus. Individuals and business customers can contact FNB via their usual digital and assisted banking channels to enquire about these services.

Standard Bank has various relief measures for its customers which are as follows:

Financial relief for businesses:

Standard Bank has the Coronavirus Business Interruption Payment Scheme, which will provide loan installment relief to businesses for 90 days. This scheme will launch on 1 April and strives to support small and medium-sized businesses with a payment holiday.

Personal loan relief for businesses:

The installment relief will defer payments on credit cards, home loans, personal loans and vehicle loan payments held by Standard Bank from 1 April 2020 to 30 June 2020 for qualifying customers. Interest and fees will accrue over this time.

Both these offers will be automatically applied, however, should you wish to opt-out of the installment relief or pay your loan installment, email [email protected].

Installment relief for those earning under R7,500pm:

You are eligible for the installment relief if you have a personal loan with Standard Bank (access loan, credit card, home loan, personal loan, revolving credit plan, vehicle asset finance), your account is not in arrears as at 31 March 2020 and you have a current account with Standard Bank.

Should you wish to opt-out of this offer, simply pay your loan installment or email [email protected].

Payment relief for students:

You are eligible for the installment relief if you are: still studying full-time, have a student loan with Standard Bank and your loan account is not in arrears as at 31 March 2020.

Nedbank

Offers several options to their clients, based on individual circumstances, rather than a one-size-fits-all. Visit or contact your nearest branch to discuss your individual circumstances. You can also apply online here: https://www.nedbank.co.za/content/nedbank/desktop/gt/en/personal/covid-19-debt-relief.html

ABSA

Eligible customers in need of short-term liquidity relief will qualify for the relief programme that applies to Absa’s credit products. These relief measures apply to Absa’s corporate, wealth, business bank, private bank and retail customers.

The programme incorporates a three-month payment relief and allows customers in need of short-term financial relief to reduce their monthly installments.

To apply visit:https://www.absa.co.za/personal/covid-19/covid-19-payment-relief-plan/

Car insurance premiums

Motorists are expected to drive very little during the lockdown. Vehicle insurance companies have introduced the following measures to help their clients in these tough financial times:

 

  • Discovery: Discovery Insure clients will receive a premium discount of 25%, on their May premium if they drive less than 500 kilometres (km) in April. However, to qualify for the 25% discount, clients need to have Vitality Drive. Their Motor Premium Relief Benefit will automatically reflect in the clients’ premium for May. If the client drives more than 500 km in April, they will receive a 15% discount. Clients will still earn their weekly Active Rewards even if they do not drive at all or drive less than 100km in the week.
  • Standard Bank Insurance: is implementing a 25 percent cash-back relief on its car insurance premiums.
  • Old Mutual: has made several options available to its insurance clients over the short term (one to three months) including a premium deferment option with a delayed payback over a set period; leniency on missed debit orders where customers have lost or experienced reduced income because of Covid-19; reducing premiums by allowing customers to amend cover temporarily; and an immediate relief programme for the group’s iWYZE motor insurance customers in the form of a three-month 7.5 percent discount on motor premiums.
  • OUTsurance: has implemented an automatic 15% premium discount for all their customers on all existing vehicle insurance policies (personal and commercial) for May in recognition of the reduced kilometres traveled and claims frequency.
  • Momentum short-term insurance: if you downscale your cover during the lockdown and revert to the original cover within 10 working days after the lockdown ends, Momentum will keep your premiums the same, provided that there is no material change in the risk.
  • King Price: policyholders can save 60% of their premiums on household content cover and 70% on their motor insurance if they choose to waive the cover for the duration of the lockdown. If you’re forced to stay at home, the risk of theft from your property is substantially reduced and therefore King Price gives the option of removing theft cover at 60% premium discount. Similarly, on motor vehicle insurance, King Price gives the option of removing accident cover because the risk of you having an accident is substantially reduced. This will result in a 70% reduction on your premium during the lockdown period.
  • Santam: policyholders who are not able to pay their premiums, can contact their intermediary or Santam Direct to structure their policy to best meet their risk and what they can afford. If you have no alternative but to let your Santam policy lapse, you may be considered for premium support from a R135m fund set up by Santam.
  • MiWay: Clients will automatically get an average 10% reduction in their car insurance premiums during the month of April. 
  • Naked Insurance: You can opt to go on CoverPause and only pay 10% of your comprehensive premium – subject to you not driving the vehicle at all. It will still be fully covered when parked.  This is until 30 June 2020. If you pop out to the shops to stock up on groceries, just click the “resume accident cover” button on the app. You will pay your comprehensive premium for that day, but only for that day.

Free streaming sites to keep you and your family entertained.

If you are a die-hard fan of TV series and quality movies, and want to watch them for free check out these free streaming sites to keep you and your family entertained:

  1. Afdah 

Website:https://afdah.info/

The site has a user friendly interface and video quality is on High Definition.There are no redirects and ads to spoil your moments as you watch your favourite movie.

  1. SolarMovie

Website:https://solarmovie.mom/

It has a large variety of movies like comedy, drama, and action. It allows you to download movies for free and without a registration process. It has a user-friendly interface and good picture quality. 

  1. Vumoo

Website:http://vumoo.to/

If you’re looking for a free place to watch movies online, you are almost certain to find the movie you’re after on Vumoo. The site features free, unlimited video streaming similar to Netflix, but with no monthly fee. 

4.Classic Cinema

Website:http://www.classiccinemaonline.com/

If you want to go back in time and watch old favorites then this is perfect for you. This site contains a massive list of films from the past from different genres, including Anime.

  1. Yes Movie

Website:https://yesmovies.ag/

Although it has a few pop ups and ads which appear frequently as you watch your movie.The site provides high quality movie and tv series for free and without registration.

  1. Movies joy

Website:https://www1.moviesjoy.net/

The site offers free streaming service with no ads to interrupt your watching experience. No registration needed, instead, you are allowed to browse and stream movies and tv series by country, category or genre. 

  1. Yfy Tv

Website:https://ymovies.to/

Yfy provides high quality movies for free. This site provides movies in twenty seven languages.

  1. CMoviesHD

Website:https://cmovies.tv/

CMoviesHD provides the best free movie streaming experience that you can get in the market. All you have to do is tap in and enjoy. 

  1. Vex movies

Website:http://vexmovies.org/

It offers premium quality videos for free. You are not required to sign up to access their extensive content. 

  1. Movie Flixter

Website:https://www.flixster.com/

Movie Flixter gives users the option to keep their search history for movies and TV shows. It’s user-friendly. 

Free online resources to keep you fit and healthy in the comfort of your home:

Grocery shopping

When it comes to grocery shopping, being mindful of what you’re putting in your cart can make your money go a long way. Luxury grocery items that you can’t afford will cut your savings in half or more. Here is a list of some affordable food items with longer shelf life to consider: https://www.coronavirusmonitor.co.za/news/lockdown-foods-with-the-longest-shelf-life/

Home cooking

Planning to do more cooking at home but don’t know what to cook? Check out IOL lifestyle section; filled with simple recipes to try at home during this time: https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/food-drink/recipes

Ways to increase your income

  • Sites like No Sweat Work are great because they are reliable, secure and even help with your taxes! It’s free to sign up, and you are able to apply for jobs that suit your abilities.
  • Visiting a site like Turtle Jar will show you how easy it is to sign up or apply to become a tutor. They handle all the admin, including contracts, your schedule and payments to make it easier for you to focus on the teaching. 
  • Udemy has launched a free online course drive where learners can visit the official website and start learning a course of their choice through the on-demand tutorials from experts. Click on this link provided below to choose the courses that best suits your needs and interests: https://www.udemy.com/courses/free/

Government and Corporate COVID-19 interventions

In his Address to the Nation, President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined some of the ways that the government would be supporting the small business sector. The SMME South Africa platform (www.smmesa.gov.za) was created in partnership with Telkom SA, and will serve as a gateway for SMMEs to apply for both financial and non-financial support, access information about business opportunities and market access support during the pandemic and beyond. 

  • The Solidarity Response Fund was launched and is expected to provide money to businesses. The privately-managed Solidarity Response Fund began soliciting donations on 23 March, after President Ramaphosa announced government seed funding of R150 million. Contributions can be made on the fund’s website www.solidarityfund.co.za.
  • The Department of Small Business Development has also allocated more than R500m to provide assistance to distressed small and medium-sized companies. Register here.
  • A Temporary Employee Relief Scheme is available. If you were infected with the Covid-19 virus at work, you may be entitled to claim from the Compensation Fund. You can find out by emailing [email protected].
  • If your employer has been paying your UIF contributions, they may be able to get help to pay your wages / salary through the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme. You can email [email protected] for more information.
  • If you are about to lose your job because of Covid-19, work with your employer to find out what you can claim from the Unemployment Insurance Fund. An amount of R30bn has been allocated to a special National Disaster Benefit Fund to pay UIF benefits of R3,500 a month (the national minimum wage) to qualifying workers for a period of three months. After that, normal sliding-scale UIF benefits will apply.
  • As part of relief measures for small businesses in distress, taxis that have been financed by the National Taxi Finance (administered by the Small Enterprise Finance Agency SEFA) will be granted a three-month repayment holiday.
  • The Industrial Development Corporation has made available a relief facility worth R3 billion for industrial funding. This intervention will address the issue of vulnerable firms and extract funding for companies critical to efforts to fight the virus and its economic impact. This is only available to South African-owned companies. Firstly, a special intervention of R500 million is allocated for trade finance to import essential medical products. The element of the intervention is a R700 million facility for working capital, equipment and machinery.
  • Business Growth/Resilience Facility – For small, medium and micro businesses geared to take advantage of supply opportunities resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic or shortage of goods in the local market. Register on https://smmesa.gov.za/ The documents can also be found on the following websites: www.dsbd.gov.za www.sefa.org.za
  • The Tourism Relief Fund is an additional R200 million fund available to help SMEs in the tourism and hospitality sector who are under particular stress due to the new travel restrictions. The fund will benefit SMEs in all nine provinces and various tourism sub sectors, such as accommodation, hospitality and related services, and travel and related services. More information on the application criteria is available here.
  • There is also a Tourism Services Call Centre where affected businesses can get information on available relief measures and postponements of events. It will also act as a helpline for tourists. The call centre’s contact details are 0860 TOURISM (868 8747) or email [email protected].
  • The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) reprioritised its budget allocation from Q1 to make over R150 million available to provide much needed relief to practitioners in the sector. Priority of funds allocation will be given to artists and practitioners who were already booked by some of the cancelled and postponed events funded by the department, as well as to the legends of the industry.
  • Suspension of rates collection for business and households in Stellenbosch. Stellenbosch Municipality made the announcement that the collection of property rates will be suspended for businesses and households within the municipal boundaries that have been adversely impacted by the outbreak of Covid-19.
  • Department of agriculture sets aside a R1.2 billion. To ensure sustainable food production during and after the COVID-19 pandemic and to address the effects of the Coronavirus, the department set aside a package of R1.2 billion. The department has also made available R100 million to the Land Bank to assist farmers under distress.

 

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Rudolph Nkgadima

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