As you put the Christmas decorations away it hits you that you will be worse off in Januworry than you were in December. Picture: iStock There is a reason why January is called Januworry – that broke feeling after December when you have no money for the month and try to recover from the festive buying hangover. The survey insights paint a dismal picture of a nation in deep financial trouble.
Debt Rescue conducted a survey earlier in January to determine the financial and emotional state of citizens as they navigate the first month of the new year. Some of the key results that paint a dismal picture include: “The results of our post-festive season survey are deeply concerning to say the least and indicate that South Africans are substantially worse off in January than they were in December,” Neil Roets, CEO of Debt Rescue, says. He points out that the reasons for this are not hard to pinpoint, and while festive season spending and the high cost of living certainly play a part, for many hardworking citizens, the early December payday means that they face a six-week-long stretch on income that normally covers approximately four, resulting in intense pressure leading up to the end of January.
Roets says that whilefestive season spending does impact citizens’ finances, 52% of survey respondents indicated that they saved up in the preceding months to afford to celebrate. “This demonstrates heightened financial caution and essentially means that consumers took great care not to spend money they do not have over the holiday period, with 23% saying they did not indulge in celebratory spending at all this year.” An interesting takeaway from the Debt Rescue survey is that over half (51.6%) of respondents say their biggest regret this year does not come from spending on luxury items, but rather from the cost of celebrating. They most regret spending on the very things tied to festive season expectations: food for gatherings, entertainment, gifts and outings.
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Roets says this indicates that households are coerced into financial strain by social pressure, where even basic celebratory spending has now become a source of financial pain. “While finances are too tight to mention, it is the emotional toll this takes on consumers that is of real concern,” Roets warns. “This comes through loud and clear in the Debt Rescue survey stats with 34.9% feeling extremely stressed and anxious, while 29.3% feel worried and 23.1% are completely overwhelmed by their financial situation in January.”
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