National Credit Regulator (NCR) advised consumers to spend their money wisely and avoid falling into the debt trap.
The regulator’s education and communications manager, Mpho Ramapala said they have embarked on a campaign to educate consumers about spending money wisely.
“History has shown us that bonuses present a great temptation to continue buying things that [consumers] didn’t plan for. We strongly encourage people to do a budget and plan their spending very carefully,” she said. According to NCR’s credit bureau monitor, there are 24.08 million credit active consumers. While 14.41 million are in good standing, about 9.67 million have impaired records.
Tips for spending wisely during 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 as it will enable you to shop around and do a comparison on the cost of credit
- Read and understand your pre-agreement statement and quotation
- Seek loans with NCR-registered credit providers only
- Do not leave your identity documents, bank cards/pins and Sassa cards with credit providers when applying for credit
- Be cautious about ‘buy now, pay after three months deals’ and then incurring additional credit during those three months
- Keep the list of items you need while doing shopping to avoid buying unnecessary items
- 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
- 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.
Details: National Credit Regulator 011 554 2722.
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