How debt-aware are you?
A snapshot survey by personal finance website JustMoney has revealed that the majority of respondents are stressed by debt.

A snapshot survey by personal finance website JustMoney has revealed that the majority of respondents are stressed by debt.
A positive finding, however, is that people are shopping around for the best interest rates, and there’s a growing awareness of debt counselling and other debt solutions.
Also read: ‘The debt struggle is real’
Shafeeka Anthony, JustMoney Marketing Manager said they conducted a survey to find out how debt-aware our readers are.
“Questions included the kind of debt they had incurred and their recognition of the costs attached. Although a relatively small pool of 144 readers took part, the results were insightful.”
Also read: Interest rate shock for mortgages and debt, but property to remain resilient
Key takeaways from the survey included:
• Close to 90 percent of the respondents have some kind of debt.
• 75 percent are aware of the cost of their debt.
• Approximately 66 percent of respondents do shop around before they take up further credit.
• 69 percent felt stressed by their debt, yet 57 percent are not interested in a long-term debt solution.
• More than 72 percent of respondents understand the benefits of debt rehabilitation.
• Forms of debt
Close to 90 percent of readers who participated confirmed that they had some kind of debt. Of those respondents, more than 38 percent had both secured debt, which is debt attached to an asset, and unsecured debt, such as store cards, credit cards and credit overdrafts. Close to 33 percent had only secured debt, and the remaining 29 percent only had unsecured debt. When asked whether they had ever taken out further credit to pay off their current debt, close to 61 percent of the readers said no. The remaining 39 percent said yes.
• Cost of debt
More than 71 percent of the readers said they pay attention to interest rates when taking out further credit, while close to 29 percent said they didn’t. A little more than 24 percent said they didn’t know the cost of their debt in terms of additional charges and interest, while more than 75 percent were well aware. Close to 66 percent of respondents said they shopped around and compared prices when taking out further credit. Over 34 percent said they never shop around.
• Debt help
Some 69 percent of respondents said they felt stressed by their debt, and 31 percent said they were not concerned. Although stressed, more than half the respondents, at 57 percent, have never considered seeking professional debt help, while 43 percent said they have. When asked if they would be interested in a long-term debt solution, close to 57 percent said they would not, while more than 43 percent said they would be. More than 72 percent of the respondents said they understood the benefits that come with debt rehabilitation programmes such as debt counselling, while the remainder said they didn’t.
“JustMoney was established over a decade ago to help address the massive need for easy-to-understand, reliable information about personal finances, and to empower South Africans so that they can make better decisions when it comes to handling their money. As our research shows, people are shopping around and taking their time to compare the interest rates. We couldn’t be happier because this means that our advice is being taken.
“We still have our work cut out however, as many are not sold on the idea of debt rehabilitation. They may understand its benefits, but it takes time to accept that they need help to manage their debt. By the time they seek help, it’s often too late and creditors are instituting legal action against them.”
She urged all who are over-indebted to seek help before a legal process is instituted.
Some signs that you need help with debt:
• You cannot keep track of which credit providers you are paying every month, and how much you are paying.
• You are unable to manage your monthly spending.
• You find yourself taking out loans to get through the month.
• The majority of your income is allocated to your debt.
• You have a judgement or default against your name.