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Daily Maverick
08-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
How to outsmart rising subscriptions so they don't break the bank
It pays to get on top of them before they blow your budget. I'm used to my annual Microsoft 365 Family subscription increasing by a nominal amount each year, but the 33% increase this year was a bit of a shocker. That's when I tapped into the genius of my loyal Money Cents readers – and found an alternative for just R1,199. According to the Discovery SpendTrend 2025 report, AI subscriptions saw the highest growth in share of spend, growing more than three times in 2024 compared with the previous year. Discovery Bank chief executive Hylton Kallner points out that the bank offers a subscription management feature that allows users to manage card links to subscriptions and services. 'This includes creating and managing virtual cards, viewing transactions grouped by card or device and suspending or deleting card links no longer needed. Users can also manage where their card information is stored digitally by merchants,' Kallner told me after reading last week's Money Cents newsletter. How to access the feature Log in to the Discovery Bank app. Select the 'cards' option and tap on 'digital cards'. Choose the digital card you want to view and then scroll to view all linked subscriptions and transactions. From there you can tap on a specific subscription to either suspend or delete it, managing your recurring payment. Lineshree Reddy, country manager for Visa South Africa, said there had been increasing take-up of e-commerce subscriptions such as TakealotMORE. 'Our research [the Discovery SpendTrend 2025] shows that 62% of South Africans subscribe to three or more streaming services, and 29% of South Africans are willing to pay for subscription services that offer discounts or exclusive offers,' she said. Examples of typical offers or services could include next-day delivery and early access to offers such as Black Friday sales. With the growth in subscriptions, Reddy said Visa had looked at ways to enable consumers to have a single view of payments across various merchants and where they are making payments. 'For example, kids today can subscribe to games on devices. The Visa subscription manager gives you a full view of where those transactions are happening and you have the ability to stop recurring payments,' she said. Here are five ways to manage your subscriptions, regardless of which bank you're with: Keep track: Go through your bills from the past six months or even as far back as a year, making a note of the subscriptions you are being charged for and the amounts. Make a note of this in your monthly budget and keep track as payments are debited. Look at the bigger picture: The monthly subscription that is 'just R50 a month' works out to R600 a year and if you have four subscriptions of that amount, that's R2,400 a year. It adds up faster than you can blink. Re-evaluate monthly: Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+, Showmax, DStv… You are spoilt for choice in terms of streaming subscriptions, but the beauty of these is you can cancel them and resubscribe at a moment's notice. Plan which series or shows you want to watch and unsubscribe from the services you are not using each month. Watch out for auto-renewals: Visit the sites you are subscribed to and uncheck 'automatic renewal' under payment options. Bundle it or share it: In this financial environment, sharing is caring. Consider sharing subscriptions with a friend or sibling. For example, one of you pays for Press Reader and the other for DStv. You get both benefits at a reduced cost. What you said Money Cents readers shared the following advice: Colleen said she contacted service providers to negotiate the annual increases. Gavin had interesting feedback: he makes monthly payments into a separate savings account, which then covers annual costs such as his motor vehicle licence, vehicle service, holiday club contribution and TV licence. 'The transfer is made early in the month so I'm only really aware of the remaining balance within which to handle normal monthly living costs. On the due date the funds are readily available,' he said. DM This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
Emirates Woman
02-05-2025
- Emirates Woman
10 of the most unique Airbnb's to book around the world
It's always good to give your holidays a spin from time to time and what better way than residing in a unique secluded Airbnb designed to perfection. From castles to treehouses, there's plenty of locations around the world offering a uniquely memorable experience making your wanderlust meter shoot up the roof. Keeping everyone's desires in mind Emirates Woman has curated the perfect guide on where to stay around the world while giving you all the travel inspiration you need. Campera Hotel, Mexico View this post on Instagram A post shared by Campera Hotel (@camperahotel) The unique space is surrounded by vines under five million stars by redefining the glamping experience in the region with twelve distinguished bubbles allowing you to connect with nature, making it the perfect spot for travellers with 180 degrees mesmerizing views. From its own air conditioning with private bathrooms, the onsite facilities include concierge services, sunset dinners, a gift shop, room service and a wine tasting experience. The state-of-the-art bubbles are immersed in Valle de Guadalupe, Mexico's most famous wine country surrounded by wineries and restaurants, making it unique to North America, starting at Dhs791 per night. For more information visit or to make a reservation visit Camaya Bali Lotus in Bali To escape the crowded cities and enjoy the stunning views over the lush green rice terraces, this Lotus bamboo house is designed for all nature lovers who wish to fully be immersed in their surroundings and experience the remote parts of Bali. Located in Karangasem Regency, which is a 90-minute drive from Ubud and two hours away from the international airport, this secluded venue is perfect to show guests the real Bali, it starts at Dhs704 per night. For more information visit or to make a reservation visit Also read: 7 unique staycations in the UAE you need to book The Fox House in Portugal Experience the luxury of lush landscapes and the joy of colourful gardens, as this unique experience awakens your senses by providing a balance of nature and well-being. From comfort to a refreshing setting, this property includes an exquisite dinner of traditional gastronomy and nature to go cycling or walk the mountains with views of the starry sky. Starting at Dhs3,199 per night, this concept gives life to the space. For more information visit or to make a reservation visit Airship 002 in Scotland This sustainable getaway is a comfortably insulated aluminium pod designed by Roderick James, with twinkling constellations under a cosy tartan blanket with a quirky atmosphere for all its guests with a double glazed window for extra protection. With a roof designed to collect rainwater, it's equipped with photo-voltaic panels which electrify the cabin, starting at Dhs801 per night. To make a reservation visit Belongil Salt Byron Bay in Australia Melt into the tranquillity of this sophisticated Airbnb which is a 50 metres walk from the famous Belongil beach, located near Byron's vibrant town centre. From a bright and airy space, with a beautiful large timber deck on the terrace, this property is located with all the essentials and much more to unwind for a few days. The Airbnb starts at Dhs1,026 per night and is located in New South Wales, Australia. To make a reservation visit ALQalaa Lodge in the UAE View this post on Instagram A post shared by (@alqalaalodge) Whether you're a hiker, an artist or simply looking for a break from the bustling city life, this unique haven is located in the midst of the farms, mountains and nature giving you the real authentic lifestyle of the Eastern Region of the UAE, with well-maintained facilities in Fujairah. Guest also receive access to the Farm from on top of the mountain with a private plunge pool. To make a reservation visit Castello di Lispida in Italy Set in the magnificent 19th-century manor house, Castello di Lispida is an ideal place to relax and unwind with tastefully furnished rooms and elegant design offering modern comforts. With a thermal late including hot springs, this therapeutic property has the world-famous mud therapy along with hot thermal water swimming pools with delightful natural wines at the bar. Located in property this venue starts at Dhs1,377 per night. For more information visit or to make a reservation visit Before travelling to any destination, ensure that all restrictions pertaining to travel amid COVID-19 are checked in advance for each country. – For more on luxury lifestyle, news, fashion and beauty follow Emirates Woman on Facebook and Instagram Feature image: Instagram @camayabali
IOL News
01-05-2025
- General
- IOL News
Customer horrified to find live mice in shoe delivery from an online store
In a case of 'what he ordered vs what he got' a Cape Town got more than what he paid for with his order. Image: Se-Anne Rall/IOL When a Cape Town man ordered his Palladium SP20 Hi Tech boots off a well-known online store, he never imagined the added extras his package would arrive with. The customer, who asked not to be named, explained to IOL that while he was excited to open the package when it arrived, what happened next left him totally gobsmacked! Instead of opening the box and unwrapping his boots, which sell for around R2,199, he found a mother mouse and her babies crawling in the box. The scene that greeted a Cape Town man, expecting to unbox his pair of boots Image: Supplied "I placed an online order with Superbalist in mid-April. The package was delivered to my house a few days later. When I opened it, I immediately noticed something was wrong," he said. The customer said the package was torn, and there were pieces of ripped paper scattered inside the box. "There was also a strong urine smell coming from inside the box, it smelled like mouse urine. "When I opened the first shoe, I saw more torn paper and dark droppings at the bottom of the box," he said. Mama mouse Image: Supplied When the customer lifted the shoe, a live mouse jumped out of the boot. "I ran to my room. I was completely shocked. I had to spend the next few minutes trying to catch this mouse. Not at all how I planned to spend my day," he said. "I eventually caught the mouse, and when I looked into the box, I found eight baby mice, nestled inside one of the shoes. "I could not believe what I was seeing. There they were, eight tiny, pink, live mice in my shoe that I was supposed to wear! It felt like a nightmare," the customer told IOL. He said he immediately started to document the entire ordeal; from the condition of the box, the shoes and the mice. "I contacted Superbalist and the person who responded was polite and professional. Expecting that this was a serious health-related issue, I thought this would be dealt with swiftly," the man said. He said he did not hear back from Superbalist for several days after the first interaction. "When they finally responded, their apology was followed by a generic discount code as a form of compensation that meant I would have to spend more money with them before I could redeem it. Beyond that, no further action was taken. To date, I have not heard back from them," he said. What the customer ordered Image: Superbalist
IOL News
01-05-2025
- General
- IOL News
WATCH: Unexpected surprise for Cape Town man as mice nest in online order
In a case of 'what he ordered vs what he got' a Cape Town got more than what he paid for with his order. Image: Se-Anne Rall/IOL When a Cape Town man ordered his Palladium SP20 Hi Tech boots off a well-known online store, he never imagined the added extras his package would arrive with. The customer, who asked not to be named, explained to IOL that while he was excited to open the package when it arrived, what happened next left him totally gobsmacked! Instead of opening the box and unwrapping his boots, which sell for around R2,199, he found a mother mouse and her babies crawling in the box. The scene that greeted a Cape Town man, expecting to unbox his pair of boots Image: Supplied "I placed an online order with Superbalist in mid-April. The package was delivered to my house a few days later. When I opened it, I immediately noticed something was wrong," he said. The customer said the package was torn, and there were pieces of ripped paper scattered inside the box. "There was also a strong urine smell coming from inside the box, it smelled like mouse urine. "When I opened the first shoe, I saw more torn paper and dark droppings at the bottom of the box," he said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Mama mouse Image: Supplied When the customer lifted the shoe, a live mouse jumped out of the boot. "I ran to my room. I was completely shocked. I had to spend the next few minutes trying to catch this mouse. Not at all how I planned to spend my day," he said. "I eventually caught the mouse, and when I looked into the box, I found eight baby mice, nestled inside one of the shoes. "I could not believe what I was seeing. There they were, eight tiny, pink, live mice in my shoe that I was supposed to wear! It felt like a nightmare," the customer told IOL. He said he immediately started to document the entire ordeal; from the condition of the box, the shoes and the mice. "I contacted Superbalist and the person who responded was polite and professional. Expecting that this was a serious health-related issue, I thought this would be dealt with swiftly," the man said. He said he did not hear back from Superbalist for several days after the first interaction. "When they finally responded, their apology was followed by a generic discount code as a form of compensation that meant I would have to spend more money with them before I could redeem it. Beyond that, no further action was taken. To date, I have not heard back from them," he said. What the customer ordered Image: Superbalist
Rakyat Post
24-04-2025
- Rakyat Post
The Sweet Spot: Samsung's Latest Tablets Master The Art Of ‘Just Enough Luxury'
Subscribe to our FREE Samsung just dropped two new tablets that feel like they've been reading our group chats about wanting nice things without the premium tears. The Galaxy Tab S10 FE and S10 FE+ have swooped into Malaysia with all the grace of a business class upgrade at premium economy prices, and honestly? We're here for it. Think of these as the tablets that got the memo about the cost of living but didn't want to ghost on quality completely. Starting at RM2,199, they're serving up features that used to be reserved for their fancier siblings, like water resistance, that buttery-smooth 90Hz display, and enough RAM to juggle your work apps and that 'one quick YouTube video' that turned into a three-hour binge. When work meets play: Media professionals putting the new Galaxy Tab S10 FE series through its paces at Since Then Café, Bangsar. Yes, that's someone actually using the S Pen for work instead of just doodling. (Pix: Fernando Fong) The Tale of Two Tablets The smaller sibling, Tab S10 FE, comes with a 10.9-inch IPS LCD display that's perfect for those 'just one more episode' nights, while the S10 FE+ flexes a more substantial 13.1-inch screen – ideal for pretending to work while actually reading gossip blogs. Both rock that smooth 90Hz refresh rate that makes everything look like it's gliding on ice. Under the hood, Samsung's packed these tablets with their Exynos 1580 chip, paired with a generous 12GB of RAM. Translation? You can have 47 browser tabs open (we see you, chronic tab hoarders) without your tablet having an emotional breakdown. Storage-wise, you're looking at 256GB, which is enough for your entire photo collection plus that Netflix library you've been 'temporarily downloading.' Size matters: The Galaxy Tab S10 FE (10.9″) and S10 FE+ (13.1″) showing off their sibling rivalry. Plot twist – both are light enough to hold in one hand, though your wrist might have trust issues with the bigger one after an hour of Netflix. (Pix: Fernando Fong) Power Moves & Party Tricks: Where Battery Life Meets Actually Useful AI The regular FE comes with an 8000mAh battery, while the FE+ ups the ante to 10090mAh. Both support 45W fast charging, meaning less time tethered to a wall and more time pretending you're being productive at your local café. And yes, they're both IP68 water-resistant, because apparently some people like to live dangerously close to their beverages. Meanwhile, Samsung is calling their AI suite 'Awesome Intelligence' (someone in marketing deserves a raise for that one). You get neat tricks like Circle to Search (draw a circle around anything on screen to search for it), Solve Math (for when you can't remember how to do basic arithmetic), and Best Face (because someone always blinks in group photos). It's AI for the rest of us who just want useful features without the philosophical debates. Bonus Round: The Freebies Every purchase comes with an S Pen (yes, included in the box – revolutionary, we know) and the IFIT keyboard with a built-in touchpad. They're even throwing in free subscriptions to LumaFusion, Clip Studio Paint, and Goodnotes for a year. Here's the catch – and there's always a catch – you'll need to wait until May 8, 2025, to get your hands on one. Consider it a cooling-off period to convince yourself (and possibly your significant other) that you really need this. It's like Samsung's version of 'but wait, there's more!' except it's actually stuff you might use. Here's what your wallet needs to know: Tab S10 FE WiFi: RM2,199 (The 'I'm being reasonable' option) Tab S10 FE 5G: RM2,699 (The 'I need internet everywhere' version) Tab S10 FE+ WiFi: RM2,799 (The 'bigger is better' choice) Tab S10 FE+ 5G: RM3,299 (The 'go big or go home' flagship) Choose your fighter: Samsung Malaysia staff walking us through the four horsemen of productivity – from the sensible WiFi-only FE to the 'expense report pending' FE+ 5G. The parentheses are doing all the heavy lifting here. (Pix: Fernando Fong) Bottom Line Samsung's new tablets are like that friend who's somehow both sensible and fun – they know how to party but won't make you regret it in the morning. They're not trying to be the fanciest tablets in Samsung's lineup, but they're not settling for budget mediocrity either. It's a sweet spot that feels just right for anyone who wants a premium-ish experience without the premium-plus price tag. However, you might still need to explain why you need another screen in your life. READ MORE : Share your thoughts with us via TRP's . Get more stories like this to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.
