Most credit card companies try and hook you by saying that they give you 55 days interest free on your purchases. In fact, most credit card holders don’t get any interest-free period on their credit cards. This is because if you don’t pay your card...
If you are a regular watcher of Money Matters you will know that the best way to manage a credit card is to pay it off in full at the end of each month. A credit card acts as a revolving loan. If you are only paying off the minimum instalment...
If you are being retrenched or forced to take unpaid leave due to the lockdown, you may be able to claim from your credit insurance policy. Many people, especially those with short-term debt and even store cards, may have credit insurance without...
Credit life insurance is poorly understood in South Africa. This is ironic, because it’s one of the best risk-management tools available to the consumer – especially in challenging economic times. From COVID-19 to junk status, few would argue that...
Credit life payouts and payment holidays are on the cards. But it will only be for those who are directly impacted by the lockdown, and will come with Ts and Cs. While we are expecting more announcements from the banks, they have all indicated that...
All of our 2020 Money Makeover candidates were struggling with credit card debt. When your spending exceeds your income, it is easy to slip into the habit of using your credit card to make it to the end of the month. But unless you are paying it...
As salaries struggle to keep up with inflation, and the economy in general continues to deteriorate, many middle- and higher-income earners are now relying more heavily on unsecured loans to maintain their lifestyles. As a result, many more South...
Higher-income earners are tapping into unsecured loans to maintain their lifestyles as their salaries fail to keep up with inflation. Debt Counselling firm DebtBusters recently released their quarterly debt report for the last quarter of 2019, and...
The National Credit Amendment Act (NCA) was signed into law in 2019. The Act included provisions for debt relief. This is not a way to avoid your debt obligations and you need to understand what it really means. This is a free debt review process...
“I have been paying extra into my mortgage each month but it still taking a long time to pay if off”, says Martha, a reader who wonders if it would make sense to rather take out a personal loan over five years and use the money to settle her...
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 using names of...
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 opened decreased by over...
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 recent court ruling...
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 loan and is constructed...
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 implemented. The banks have...
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.
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...
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...
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...
Does shopping around for competitive quotes really affect your credit score? Maya (@mayaonmoney) and Mapalo (@womanandfinance) unpack the myths and the facts around what affects your credit score and how you can improve it.