Debtfree Magazine March 2017

CALL FOR SOUTH AFRICANS
TO CONTROL THEIR DEBT AND
STICK TO A BUDGET
South Africans are more cash-strapped than ever. A slumping
local economy, paired with a downturn on the global commodity
price cycle; a vicious drought; and increasing interventionist
economic policies are just a few of the issues that have
contributed to growing high household debt burdens and rising
debt service costs. Statistics from the National Credit Regulator
show that up to 10 million South Africans are severely
in arrears on their debt and would greatly benefit from debt
counselling.
“According to a World Bank report in
2015, we live in the most indebted
country on the planet. And it doesn’t
look like things are going to turn
around any time soon. Millions of people
are at the end of their rope. Enough
is enough. As a nation, we are drowning
in debt,” explained Ian Wason, CEO
of DebtBusters.
“It is very easy to get into debt on your
own, but almost impossible to get out
of debt on your own. We know that
many South African consumers often
have little understanding of how they
got into this situation and how to get
out. We see that the majority of searches
on Google are for consolidation
loans, not for debt counselling. People
need to know that there are ways to
get out of their debt. We are reaching
out to South Africans to help them do
something before it gets out of control,”
he continued.
DebtBusters’ new TV ad shows how
easy it is to fall into debt, which can feel
overwhelming, but that it is possible