{"id":2427,"date":"2025-07-08T10:31:13","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T08:31:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/savings-month-2025-no-cuts-left-now-what\/"},"modified":"2025-07-08T10:31:13","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T08:31:13","slug":"savings-month-2025-no-cuts-left-now-what","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/savings-month-2025-no-cuts-left-now-what\/","title":{"rendered":"Savings Month 2025: No Cuts Left, Now What?"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>Savings Month 2025: No Cuts Left, Now What?<\/li>\n<li>As living costs skyrocket, many South Africans are finding that traditional budgeting just isn\u2019t enough. Sebastien Alexanderson unpacks why saving has become nearly impossible\u2014and what struggling households can do instead.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>07 July 2025 \u2013 July is usually a time to talk about saving money, but this year, South Africans are just trying to stay afloat. Households are being hit hard by rising costs: electricity bills are climbing by as much as 12.7%, water and sanitation charges are up 13.9%, and steep hikes in rates and taxes are sweeping across major metros. And that\u2019s not all\u2014thanks to Eskom\u2019s new Retail Tariff Plan, some households are facing electricity increases of up to 80%, with added daily fees and capacity charges piling on the pressure.<\/p>\n<p>Sebastien Alexanderson, Head of National Debt Advisors, says people aren\u2019t failing to save because they\u2019re irresponsible. They\u2019re failing to save because there\u2019s nothing left to cut.<br \/>\n\u201cWe\u2019re seeing families who\u2019ve done everything right with no luxury spending, strict budgets, paid-off cars, and yet they\u2019re still drowning,\u201d says Alexanderson. \u201cTelling people to just \u2018budget better\u2019 is starting to sound more like blame and not advice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Math Just Doesn\u2019t Add Up Anymore<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>According to the latest Cost of Living data from Eco Flow, a family of four in Johannesburg now needs over R41,000 a month to get by, before rent. In Cape Town, rent for a modest three-bedroom apartment can exceed R25,000, and even Bloemfontein, considered one of the most affordable cities, has seen monthly living costs rise to R37,000 for a family of four.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCompare that to average monthly salaries in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Pretoria, which range from R18,000 to R28,800; even two incomes often aren\u2019t enough to meet basic living costs,\u201d says Alexanderson. \u201cThis isn\u2019t a reflection of poor financial decisions, but of a system that\u2019s become unaffordable for ordinary South Africans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Traditional Budgeting Isn\u2019t Working<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Every July, South Africans are told to tighten their belts. Cancel DStv. Eat out less. Shop smarter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut the truth is, most households have already done that,\u201d Alexanderson says. \u201cWe see it every day\u2014clients who\u2019ve slashed every non-essential. Their grocery list is bare, the car is paid off, and still, they can\u2019t save R100 at month-end.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the latest Consumer Report from National Debt Advisors, the numbers speak volumes: out of 60,868 consumers under debt review, over 94% don\u2019t own a car and 95% don\u2019t have a home loan. These are not people drowning in asset-based debt. They\u2019re drowning in unsecured credit used to survive day to day.<\/p>\n<p>More than 40,000 consumers are juggling three or more unsecured loans, and some are managing up to 34 separate loans. Credit card debt is equally widespread, with over 30,000 clients holding at least one, while nearly 9,000 people have multiple personal loans, some up to 17.<\/p>\n<p>Over 40,000 consumers also carry store accounts, often used to buy clothing, groceries, or basic household items when cash runs out. And with only 691 clients making use of overdrafts, it\u2019s clear most consumers are already beyond the financial limits traditionally offered by banks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, What\u2019s the Solution?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Instead of guilt-based advice, Alexanderson advises realistic, adaptive tools.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Micro-saving tactics: Small changes like rounding up purchases and joining flexible savings clubs for emergencies can help build a cushion without overwhelming your budget.<\/li>\n<li>Income patching over austerity: Supplementing your income by selling unused goods and using prepaid electricity and airtime tricks can be more effective than extreme cutbacks.<\/li>\n<li>Rebudgeting around billing cycles: Adjusting payment dates and knowing when and how to dispute tariffs can improve cash flow and reduce financial pressure throughout the month.<\/li>\n<li>Emotional budgeting support: Access to free mental wellness tools and non-judgmental debt counselling can help restore confidence and control when money stress feels overwhelming.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mypr.co.za\/contact\/featured\/\">CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Author<\/strong>: Omega Ngema from <strong>Financial Wealth Holdings<\/strong><strong> on behalf of <\/strong><strong>National Debt Advisors<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>MyPR<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Savings Month 2025: No Cuts Left, Now What? As living costs skyrocket, many South Africans are finding that traditional budgeting just isn\u2019t enough. Sebastien Alexanderson unpacks why saving has become nearly impossible\u2014and what struggling households can do instead. 07 July 2025 \u2013 July is usually a time to talk about saving money, but this year, &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:revymtt5qssww7e7avbruzic","date":"2025-07-08T08:49:24+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:revymtt5qssww7e7avbruzic\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3ltgw6rvx5p2z","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:revymtt5qssww7e7avbruzic\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3ltgw6rvx5p2z\",\"cid\":\"bafyreia2pi7hc5ztxdi5awkene23u3qjqlj7gmqv2emtz5g7m3yocs42le\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreib5uqtnnrylxkarntne3s6pczf4cjqmifsdoajp6ztkex2ogb5wx4\",\"rev\":\"3ltgw6rwet72z\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"republication-tracker-tool-hide-widget":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["type-post","category-news","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}