Credit / General

When is a debt not a “debt”?

Once upon a time, not too long ago, the word “debt” in the 1969 Prescription Act (the “Act”) covered just about any obligation to do anything. That, in turn, meant that virtually any obligation to do anything, or to demand that another party do something, was susceptible to the exigencies of the relevant prescriptive period in the Act.

Despite Challenging Economic Conditions, Serious Consumer Credit Delinquency Rates in South Africa Generally Declining

Good debt vs bad debt – is there a difference?

Living debt free is a dream many of us strive for, but the reality is that very few of us earn enough money to buy life’s important assets such as a home, car or university education with cash savings. Secondly, even if you could live debt-free, it might not be the savviest financial choice to dig into your life savings and leave yourself without any financial backstop in an emergency, or cash to invest for your retirement.

40% of credit is being provided recklessly in South Africa

Around 40% of the credit provided by the country's top ten credit providers appears to be reckless according to the recently released Reckless Lending Indicator, developed by debt counselling firm DebtSafe.