When life changes unexpectedly, our instinct is often to look ahead and try to work out what happens next. Sometimes it helps to look back first. One of the exercises I return to often is the Lifeline. It’s a way of looking at the experiences that have shaped you, especially the times when life did not unfold the way you expected. Curveballs are a part of life: relationships change; we lose people we love; our health can surprise us; work changes; children need us in ways we never anticipated. Plans we thought were certain can change in an instant. In the middle of those...

At nearly 92, Kate Turkington has just returned from Tunisia. She is off to Zambia next, and when Mongolia came up in our conversation, her response was immediate: “I’d go! I may be a bit creaky, but I’ll go!” That tells you quite a lot about Kate. She is one of South Africa’s best-known broadcasters and travel writers, and she has spent a lifetime following her curiosity from one opportunity to the next. Her career was never carefully mapped out. As Kate puts it, she has “ricocheted from one thing to another” all her life. Being in Kate’s presence can make the rest of us...

Have you ever asked your children what you taught them about money? I asked my three children this question recently, and what they shared was funny, honest, and such a lovely reminder of the people they are becoming. Ryan is my eldest, 33, married, an entrepreneur and a new dad, which still feels quite surreal to say. Josh works in corporate and currently lives in London, far from home but making the most of a wonderful opportunity. Gabi is my youngest and in her third year of engineering at Stellenbosch. She is an artist at heart, and I am excited to see the creative approach she...

There comes a point when the life you have built no longer fits in the same way. Dr Kirti Ranchod spent years helping patients as a neurologist in private practice. She could explain what needed to change for brain health, but she could also see how difficult that advice was to follow in real life. She treated patients with neurological conditions linked to stress and lifestyle, and she knew that good advice on its own was not enough. People needed support that felt practical, sustainable, and easier to follow. From the outside, her career looked established and successful. But...

And the same is true for your money Here I am with my daughter Gabi and my vision board. I’m so excited to gift you my new Vision & Money Journal, so you can design your year with intention. Every year, I ask myself the same slightly uncomfortable question: Am I living my ideal life? Or am I living a life shaped by other people’s expectations? I was talking about this recently on the Life Chapters, Money Choices podcast with Michael Avery. We were discussing vision boards and why I take them so seriously. Because this question sits at the heart of it. “If you...

The foundations I trusted shifted. Plans I held for years suddenly didn’t fit anymore. And parts of my life — marriage, work, and family rhythms — all needed reinforcing, rethinking, and rebuilding. But the cracks taught me something unexpected:Life can hold the hardest and happiest moments at the same time — and we can hold both. Unexpected Detours While I’m still adjusting to life as an empty nester, this year also brought a new role as Managing Director at Chartered. It asked me to move from focusing on my own career to creating space for my team to flourish in theirs. It...

So Lynda set herself a new goal: to keep working and earning until seventy. She needed to give her investments time to grow – and to create income that was both sustainable and fulfilling. Today, almost twenty years later – with just fourteen months to go – Lynda can look back and see how that one decision changed everything. It secured her financial future and allowed her to build something extraordinary. Lynda founded 50Plus-Skills, a vibrant community helping people across South Africa shape meaningful pathways into their next chapter – earning, serving, and learning together. A...