When do you know it’s time to investigate whether debt review is something you should consider? Let’s take a look…
The New Year has brought new challenges to the South Africans – fuel and electricity price hikes, food price increases as well as the fall of the rand, influencing prices on imported products.
We must try and streamline our spending habits. We ran a survey at DebtSafe about people’s spending and saving habits in the beginning of last year. More than 50% of participants indicated that they couldn’t make all their debt repayments and 40% said they overspent on their credit cards.
This is worrying because if you miss a payment once, the repayments escalate and you might be forced to take out loans to pay off other debt. If you really have no other choice than to take out a loan, select the shortest period that you can afford to repay because it will save you money.
It’s worthwhile to pay a little extra every month because interest is paid off faster and it lowers the amount borrowed.
A helpful hint if a payment can’t be made is to contact the credit provider and make a payment arrangement. Remember, if you skip an installment, you could get a bad payment profile and it will affect future credit applications.
So what to do if you still can’t manage your payments?
If you have done your financial planning and still can’t manage payments, the next step is to contact a debt counsellor.
Don’t wait until it is too late. Rather get the right help sooner through debt review, especially if you are unable to cope with your monthly financial obligations.
There’s no shame in asking for help when feeling overwhelmed. Debt review is a great way to get out of debt step by step. With debt review, you can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel – helping you take back control of debt and enjoy immediate financial relief.
Plus, when you enter the debt review process, credit providers can’t take legal action against you on arrear accounts. This extends to secured debts such as home loans and vehicle finance. Assets are protected from being repossessed or sold on auction.
Don’t let debt get the better of you in 2016. Let DebtSafe’s team help you reach a new beginning. If you would like more information regarding debt review you are welcome to request your complimentary debt assessment. This is completely free of charge, no obligation required. Your debt assessment will show you what your best options are managing your debt.
If you would like to request our free debt assessment you can simply fill in our call back form on this page. Once submitted, a DebtSafe team member will give you a call to start the debt assessment.