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Freaked out by finances?

A recent poll on News24 showed that financial problems caused by far the most stress in South Africans’ lives. More than political turmoil, crime or personal and family problems.

Following shortly after, comes the story that SA women in particular love their plastic: almost half of the credit-active women in SA have negative information on their records, such as defaults on payments.

What with the cost of living, the ready availability of credit and the social pressure to be an enthusiastic, if broke, consumer all contribute to this.

It’s all very well for the experts to blithely say that people should think with their heads and not their hearts when spending. This assumes that all purchases people make beyond their means are for luxury goods. I disagree. We have reached the stage in this country where people are buying essentials on credit.

And the credit card companies are not helping either.

I received an SMS earlier this week from my credit card company reminding me that I can buy groceries on credit. I would have laughed if I wasn’t so shocked. Isn’t this just what everyone is warning us against?

So the big question in the end boils down to what you see as an essential. No one really needs designer clothing or imported shoes or expensive cosmetics, but food and petrol and electricity aren’t things we can cross off our lists. It comes as no surprise that those are also the items where price rises have been most vicious in the last few years. When consumers start cutting down on luxuries, retailers seem go for the jugular.

The sad thing in the end is that the stress caused by debt and bad credit records is huge. This has to have an effect on our physical and mental health.

What do I suggest? I really don’t know. Obviously one should cut out the luxuries but for many people in this country food and electricity have become luxuries they can’t afford.

And once you’re robbing Peter to pay Paul, you’re stuck in a vicious circle of financial stress. Especially if you’re dealing with a loan shark or huge interest rates on credit card debt.

So if you can, do think twice before splurging: you might need that money for necessities before long.

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