Stay informed with the latest news and expert opinions from South Africa’s leading news agencies. Debt Rescue’s CEO Neil Roets and Debt Rescue’s COO, Annaline van der Poel, shares economic insights, explains how debt review can help over-indebted consumers, and valuable financial advice. From expert interviews to breaking news, this page brings you honest discussions about money, debt counselling, and actionable tips to help you take control of your debt.
Extraordinary increases could be the final straw for many MANY Durban residents cracking under immense financial pressure because of salary reductions and job losses since the start of Covid face “consumer carnage” as a slew of increases came into effect on Thursday. Late yesterday, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Mandla Nsele confirmed the city would extend its
Most South Africans want to save for their retirement, but the reality for many middle-income earners is that once they’ve paid for essentials most of what’s left is spent on repaying debt, says Benay Sager, head of DebtBusters. Sager said that debt repayments now make up a substantial portion of what consumers need to spend,
As if there were not enough headaches to contend with already – think the revised adjusted lockdown level 4, extraordinary icy conditions, intermittent load-shedding, rising CPI and renewed job losses in the hospitality, alcohol and restaurant industries – South Africans will need to brace themselves for more bad news. This as utility and fuel prices
A growing number of South Africans are using credit to purchases basic necessities such as groceries, says Debt Rescue chief executive Neil Roets. Roets told CapeTalk that this issue has grown in recent months due to the country’s high unemployment rate, combined with the rising cost of food. “The fact that you are buying things like normal
Buying food on credit is symptomatic of a bigger problem. Consumers who have experienced a change in their financial standing, either through retrenchments or pay cuts, are in trouble and taking on more expensive debt is only going to make it worse. On 1 June, StatsSA announced that the country’s unemployment rate has continued to
19 million credit- active citizens appear to be in financial duress. Inquiries about debt counselling have increased as more than 19 million credit-active South Africans appeared to be over-indebted and the official unemployment rate reached a record high of 32.6% in the first quarter of 2021. Statistics released earlier this year by the SA Human
A YEAR on from the first hard lockdown, the TransUnion Consumer Pulse survey for the first quarter of 2021 offers some promising insights for South Africans: 76% of the respondents said they were optimistic about the future, and more than half felt confident their household finances would recover within the next 12 months. However, the
A staggering 94% of those surveyed in a recent Debt Rescue study experienced a cash shortage during the past year. This could be due to changing work statuses. A noteworthy 34% lost their jobs, contributing to South Africa’s unemployment rate breaking through the 32% ceiling, with 22% being retrenched and 17% receiving a pay cut.
After months of steep fuel price increases, consumers can finally let out a small sigh of relief: the cost of petrol, diesel and paraffin has decreased at the pumps. As of Wednesday 5th May, motorists will pay 9 cents less for a litre of 95 and 93; 31 cents less for diesel 0.05% and 30
CASH-STRAPPED South Africans can take a breather today as fuel prices decrease, easing the cost of living. Meshel Muzuva, a senior finance and economics lecturer at private higher education institution Mancosa, said yesterday the impact of the decrease in the price of paraffin would result in poorer households witnessing decrease in their cost of living.
