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Many rely on personal loans to make ends meet

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May 21, 2025

AN ANALYSIS report from DebtBusters, a debt counselling and consolidation company, has revealed a sharp increase in people turning to personal loans to cope with rising living costs, with a record number of people using personal and onemonth loans to supplement their income.

- YOSHINI PERUMAL

Many rely on personal loans to make ends meet

Benay Sager, executive head of DebtBusters, said personal loans were a lifeline because people’s income had not kept pace with the rising cost of living, including steep electricity and petrol price hikes.

“The report showed that despite the impact of inflation recently subsiding, consumers who applied for debt counselling in the first quarter of 2025 had 53% less purchasing power than in 2016.

“They were spending around 25% of their disposable income on water, electricity, rates and transport. On average, they needed 69% of their take-home pay to service debt, with the ratio rising to a record 77% for those earning R35 000 or more.

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