Do things differently this year, spend wisely and enjoy a happy New Year

Mpho Ramapala, Manager Education and Communication at the National Credit Regulator (NCR) said this year, they want to warn and educate consumers to be moneywise and be different so that they can enjoy a happy 2017.

“The festive season is aptly named the ‘silly season’ because of a spending
frenzy that appears to afflict people over this period. History has shown us that bonuses present a great temptation to continue buying things that they didn’t plan for.

“We strongly encourage people to stop, do a budget and plan their spending very carefully, especially over this period with a note that January is just around the corner with its expenses.”

NCR’s credit bureau monitor states that there are 24.08 million credit active consumers of which 14.41 million (59.8 per cent) are in good standing and 9.67 million (40.2 per cent) have impaired records.

An impaired record is a record on which a consumer and / or any of the accounts, are either classified as three or more payments or months in arrears, or which has an “adverse listing”, or that reflects a judgment or administration order.

Should consumers find that they are battling to pay their debts, Ramapala advised such consumers to contact their credit providers to negotiate lower repayments or to contact a debt counsellor for assistance. Debt counselling is meant for over-indebted consumers and it is not a free service, there are fees to be paid.

Ramapala shared tips of spending wisely during and after the festive season:

* Do a budget for the festive season and include all debt, rent, electricity, water,
insurance, transport, gifts and entertainment;

* Request a pre-agreement statement and quotation when applying for credit.
This will enable you to shop around and do a comparison on the cost of credit;

* Read and understand your pre-agreement statement and quotation – if they
offer you credit life insurance, seek clarity on what it actually covers;

* Seek loans with NCR-registered credit providers only. You can identify such
credit providers by a window decal (an orange sticker with the NCR logo) and a
registration certificate that will also state the NCR credit provider registration
number;

* Do not leave your identity documents, bank cards / pins and SASSA cards with
credit providers when applying for credit. This is a criminal offence. Report cases
where your bank/SASSA cards and identity documents were taken by credit
providers to your local police station;

* Be wary of “buy now, pay after three months deals” and then incurring
additional credit during those three months;

* When going shopping, have a shopping list to avoid buying unnecessary items;

* Be proactive and double-up on your regular payments such as mortgage or rent,
lights and water (arrange with your credit providers). That way you will be able
to afford costs such as school fees and uniform which will hit you at the start of
the New Year;

* Prioritise your home loan and rent;

* Entertain at home. Ask guests to bring something for the meal so you share the
costs of your festive entertainment;

* Each year, set up a separate fund for birthday and Christmas presents as well as
holidays. Keeping this money separate will enable you to save for special
occasions, while at the same time fund your day-to-day living expenses without
going into debt;

* Use your bonus to reduce your debt burden by paying off existing loans;

* Don’t forget to get a copy of your credit report from any credit bureau. This will
assist you to know your financial standing. Should you require an additional copy
of your credit report within the same year, there will be a fee that credit bureaus
will charge.