Debt 2009 - South Africans are drowning!

Debt 2009 - South Africans are drowning!

Justmoney.co.za's first poll for 2009 asked users about their debt situation and whether or not they were coping with their current levels of debt. While it is clear that many South Africans are in debt but under control, it is alarming to see how many are drowning in their repayments...

When asked the question "Where do you stand?" with regards to debt in 2009, just 16% percent of respondents answered that they were debt free, but far more alarming was the mass of respondents who said they were drowning in debt.

33% percent of the respondents said that they were drowning in debt with another 11% admitting to have missed a payment. This, according to Justmoney.co.za's editor Andy Gilder, is not surprising given the way users have interacted on the site in recent times.

"The results of the poll come as little surprise to me - we have noticed an overwhelming number of applications to our debt solutions across the site. To be honest, there have also been a massive number of applications for personal loans - a great number of which are requesting the money to pay off existing debts. South Africans are struggling."

Justmoney.co.za offers clients debt counselling -a process which consumers can use to rework their finances and extend their credit terms through NCA accredited counsellors, as well as debt consolidation, also known as remortgaging, which allows homeowners to take out a further loan on their current home loans, pay off more expensive debts in one go and then pay off a single loan at a far lower interest rate.

According to Gilder, both of these have seen a sharp increase in activity in the first month of 2009. "Debt counselling has proven popular with users who have missed a repayment because many of them are on the edge of becoming dangerously behind and debt counselling can often save them from full on administration."

"While it is not always ideal to carry short term debt into the long term, debt consolidation proves popular when users have a number of smaller loans or repayments at high interest rates. Debt consolidation allows you to make one monthly payment at a lower interest rate and as a result it becomes easier to manage for most consumers. "

Results for the January poll were as follows:

When asked "Debt 2009 - where do you stand?"

16% said Debt Free

40% said "In debt, but under control."

11% said "I've missed a repayment."

33% said "Drowning!"

To see how Justmoney.co.za can help you in your debt woes, click here