A woman had an EasyEquities portfolio for 6 years.
Every time life happened she sold shares. Car problems. A deposit. Her daughter's school fees. Sell, sell, sell. Each time, she owed SARS a slice of the profit when tax season came around.
Her friend, a wealth manager, sat with her one Sunday and opened her app. He didn't sell a single share. He tapped on something called EasyCredit instead.
Her portfolio stayed fully invested. R45,000 landed in her account within days. No shares touched. No capital gains tax triggered. Her investments kept compounding quietly in the background.
She said "wait, so I didn't have to sell anything?"
He said "that's what nobody teaches you. Once your portfolio is big enough, you stop cashing out and start borrowing against it. A loan isn't income, so it's not taxed like a sale is.
EasyEquities will lend you up to 33% of your qualifying shares and ETFs. You spend the loan.
Your portfolio keeps growing untouched."
Here's exactly how EasyCredit works, and what it actually costs 🧵
Wealthy South Africans don't just earn more.
They structure their money differently.
Here are 4 accounts they use to legally pay less tax and compound faster, most of which you already have access to 🧵
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1. The TFSA
R46,000/year, R500,000 lifetime limit.
Zero tax on growth, dividends, or withdrawals. Ever.
The wealthy don't see this as a "savings account", they max it every year and fill it with high-growth assets.
It's the most efficient wrapper in the country.
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2. The Retirement Annuity (RA)
Contributions are tax deductible up to 27.5% of income.
Translation: the government reduces your tax bill for saving for your own future.
For high earners, this is one of the biggest legal tax breaks available.
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3. The tax-free "wrapper" - endowments
Less known, but powerful for higher earners.
Inside an endowment, income is taxed at a flat 30% and capital gains at roughly 12% effective.
If your marginal rate is above 30%, this structure can be more efficient than holding investments in your own name.
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4. The offshore account
Wealthy South Africans don't keep everything in rands.
Direct offshore exposure through a USD account or offshore-domiciled funds protects against rand depreciation and concentration risk.
You don't need millions. EasyEquities has a USD account built in.
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The takeaway:
Building wealth isn't only about picking the right investment.
It's about holding it in the right account.
TFSA → RA → offshore → endowment
The wealthy aren't smarter. They're just better structured.
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Don’t be fooled by those who romanticize entrepreneurship and demonize employment, they don’t talk about the many that failed and ended up in the graveyard.
Remember,
There’s nothing wrong with having a job.
In fact, employment is the right fit for most people.
While it comes with its own risks, you can reduce them significantly by building something on the side for yourself.
This gives you the ability to use your stable income as leverage to get you to where you want to be. It gives you a solid foundation to pursue your goals with far less volatility and much greater peace of mind.
✅Spend less than you earn
✅Invest in productive assets
✅Keep debt low
✅Don’t succumb to lifestyle creep
✅Upskill yourself where possible
✅Build something on the side
✅Match side income with salary
✅Take the Risk