A recent court ruling provided clarity around exactly how and when an individual may exit debt review, but there is still a lot of confusion around the debt review process. I have recently paid off my car and some credit I had, but I still have...
Video: Loan scams on the rise
There has been an increase in loan scams as people become financially desperate and see a cheap loan as a way out of a financial crisis. My inbox is flooded each day with companies claiming to offer really cheap loans. Many of these emails are...
Increase in unsecured debt is cause for concern
Over 6 million applications for credit were turned down in the second quarter of this year, according to the latest Consumer Credit Market Report. In comparison to the same period last year, the number of new credit transactions and facilities...
Video: Credit is not for dresses
I was recently sitting in a waiting room, flicking through a magazine. They had an advert for a women’s clothing catalog and the prices were shown as monthly installments. For example, one dress was only R57 a month over 12 months or R109 per month...
When can you exit debt review?
Many consumers commit themselves to debt review only to get cold feet several months later. For some, finding themselves cut off from credit lines is just too stressful, while others find their financial situation may have already improved. A...
Do you know whether you have a personal loan or a credit facility?
Jane contacted us after being caught out by a credit agreement in which she thought she had taken out a personal loan. She discovered later that what she had signed up for was a revolving credit facility, which is very different from a personal...
Debt relief has more questions than answers
There is no question that the debt crisis faced by lower-income households needs to be urgently addressed, however the provisions for debt intervention in the National Credit Amendment Act raise many questions about how and when it will be...
Listen: Credit facility vs personal loan: knowing the difference will save you a fortune
Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) discuss the dangers of signing up for a credit facility as well as how your partner’s debt can impact your credit score.
What the debt relief bill really means
Recently President Ramaphosa signed the National Credit Amendment Act (NCA) into law which included the so-called Debt Relief Bill. This has generated an avalanche of headlines claiming that consumers’ debt is to be expunged. These are dangerous...
Video: How much does your debt cost?
Have you ever wondered how much your debt is actually costing you? It is probably a lot more than you realise by the time you have included all the interest and fees payable. If you borrow for less than six months, the microlender can charge up to...
Previous Articles
The balloon payment shock
One of the more common questions we receive from readers about car finance is regarding a balloon payment. In many cases it seems that consumers eager to buy a car sign on for a financing agreement that they do not fully understand. When we talk about balloon payments...
On-demand credit could morph into lay-by culture
If anyone has made a purchase through online retailer Takealot recently, you would have noticed that you now have an option to finance the purchase through a loan. I don’t need to tell the readers of my website how I feel about this type of instant credit being...
Banks can no longer “set-off” your debt
A bank may no longer unilaterally transfer funds from your bank account to settle your outstanding bank debts. Two years ago, we wrote about how a Standard Bank client had money deducted from his current account to settle his outstanding credit card, without his...
Listen: From over-indebted to debt free in six months
Money Makeover winner Samke chats to Maya and Mapalo about her experience of struggling with debt from her first paycheque and how she achieved her goal of being debt free by the age of 27. Ahead of Youth Day, Samke’s story highlights the challenges around the lack of...
How much are you paying for credit life insurance?
If you have any credit facility or a loan, there is a good change you have credit life insurance. This is an insurance which settles the loan should you die or become disabled, and in some cases covers your repayments for a period of time if you are retrenched....
Beware loan scams
I recently received an unsolicited email from a company called Yes Money Loans. They claimed to be offering loans to blacklisted people at an interest rate of just 3.5% per annum. Considering they were marketing to desperate people who had been “blacklisted” and given...
A car or an apartment?
A 23-year-old wants to do the right thing with her money and not end up a casualty of ‘bad debt’. Nthabiseng has just graduated and started her first job. She still lives at home and is currently using her parents’ car. “I am caught in between buying a comfortable car...
Should you just hand back the keys?
You have bought the car of your dreams but within a year or two you realise that the installments, petrol and insurance are all just unaffordable. The car of your dreams is now giving you nightmares – so what can you do about it? One option is simply to return the...
When to pay that car deposit
One of the more frequent questions I get asked is whether it makes sense to pay an upfront deposit when buying a car. It seems that dealerships are advising customers not to pay the deposit upfront, but rather to make a lump-sum payment 24 months into the contract as...
Should you renegotiate your mortgage rate?
Even a 0.25% reduction in your mortgage rate could save you tens of thousands of rands, but how open is your bank to the discussion? Personal finance blogger Steathy Wealth wrote last year about how he managed to save himself R83 000 by asking his bank to reduce his...