How to tackle your biggest financial stress in 2026

Every January, South Africans make familiar promises: “I'll save more,” “I'll budget properly,” “I'll get my finances under control.”

- BRETT CAMINSKY

But by March, life has happened, unexpected bills arrive, debit orders pile up, and the good intentions fade under the weight of real financial stress.The problem isn’t just a lack of discipline. It’s that most resolutions are too vague to solve the specific pressure point that keeps people awake at night. The real breakthrough comes when individuals focus on one financial stressor at a time and tackle it with a clean, practical plan.

In a landscape where many households juggle rising living costs, high credit usage, and unpredictable income cycles, reframing financial improvement as a manageable, targeted journey offers a more realistic path to stability. Instead of chasing a broad idea of “better finances,” this year could be the year South Africans confront and conquer, the exact issue that weighs them down the most.