Johannesburg – South Africans are notably much less fearful about cash than they’ve been for the previous two years, with ranges of economic stress returning to these final skilled in 2022.
Despite this, cash stress stays a major challenge for many individuals.
This is in response to the fourth annual DebtBusters Money-Stress Tracker, which surveyed over 27,000 respondents throughout May and June.
This makes it one of many largest on-line surveys about how monetary stress impacts South Africans’ lives.
Financial stress and its ripple impact
The 2025 survey discovered that:
- 70% of respondents skilled cash stress. This is down from 78% in 2023 and 75% in 2024. Although the extent of economic nervousness is declining, the impression on each day life stays substantial. Of these experiencing monetary stress, 91% felt it affected their house life, 73% their work life, and 73% their well being.
- Women proceed to bear a disproportionately larger burden of economic stress. Nearly three out of 4 feminine respondents reported feeling careworn. Women are round 10% extra careworn about funds. They are 20% extra careworn about work life, house life and well being in comparison with males, though stress ranges for each genders have decreased by 5% to fifteen% throughout all aspects of life since 2024. The shift is attributed to fewer nationwide crises, corresponding to loadshedding, decreased inflation, and folks beginning to higher handle their funds, permitting them to look past short-term survival.
Money-Stress Tracker collaborating psychologist Andrea Kellerman notes that even a 5% drop in stress (from 75% to 70% prior to now 12 months) leads to individuals sleeping and coping “a bit higher,” suggesting the profound impression even small enhancements can have on resilience and notion.
Key monetary issues
For individuals feeling financially careworn, short-term issues proceed to dominate, with the highest two being working out of cash earlier than the top of the month and struggling to repay month-to-month debt.
The impression of rate of interest will increase, whereas nonetheless vital, has subsided in comparison with 2023 and 2024.
Demographic variations
- Age: Middle-aged (35 – 44 years) respondents have been probably the most financially careworn. Concerns about retirement elevated for these aged 45 and older, in comparison with 2024, indicating that this age group is now capable of look past the short-term issues which historically dominate.
- Income: Lower-income teams are probably the most involved concerning the impression of rate of interest will increase or sudden bills. While electrical energy prices are an elevated concern throughout all earnings teams in comparison with 2024, retirement worries are extra pronounced within the upper-income brackets. People incomes greater than R20 000 a month stay among the many most financially careworn, usually qualifying for and taking over extra credit score than their incomes capability permits.
- Region: People residing within the Western Cape are probably the most financially involved, surpassing Gauteng, which reported probably the most cash stress in 2024. The Western Cape can be the place most individuals fear about sudden bills and retirement. Smaller provinces, such because the Northern Cape, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga, noticed vital will increase in issues about electrical energy prices and rates of interest.
Borrowing and debt reimbursement traits
- 63% of respondents allotted 30% or extra of their after-tax earnings to debt reimbursement. 48% spend over 40% paying again what they’ve borrowed, a stage thought-about unsustainable.
- People who’re 45 or older are underneath probably the most extreme debt-repayment stress, with 60% having unsustainable ranges of debt.
- Those incomes over R20,000 a month additionally face appreciable stress to repay debt.
Addressing cash stress
- 37% of respondents reported actively chopping again on month-to-month spending, in comparison with 43% in 2022. This suggests financial savings fatigue has set in.
- Seeking higher-paying or higher jobs is a rising development, with 35% of customers exploring these choices to make ends meet. This has elevated from 26% in 2022.
- Younger customers are extra proactive about sticking to budgets and are virtually 4 instances extra prone to search higher employment, exhibiting 56% extra intent to handle cash stress than individuals aged over 35.
- Respondents elaborating on how they handle cash stress revealed a shift in coping mechanisms. In 2022 and 2023, individuals tended to hunt higher jobs or begin a facet hustle, whereas in 2024, debt counselling was the popular technique to relieve monetary stress. Now, there’s a rising emphasis on entrepreneurial efforts, a number of earnings streams and monetary independence, reflecting a transfer in the direction of self-reliance and creating various sources of earnings.
Benay Sager, government head of DebtBusters, says that regardless of the slight discount in total stress, over 90% of South Africans with unsustainable debt don’t proactively search skilled assist corresponding to debt counselling.
“This underscores the continuing significance of stress-management programmes, monetary schooling, and consciousness campaigns that handle stigma and promote early intervention,” mentioned Sager.
“It additionally highlights the necessity for progressive options to take care of cash stress, significantly people who assist customers stretch their cash additional.”
