Justmoney's most recent poll shows that their users are struggling to save anything during these tough times...

When asked the question 'How much do you save each month?' users of Justmoney indicated that the last few months have taken its toll on their finances and has hit savings hard.

Following up on this year's April poll, which asked the question 'How much have you been able to save each month?', results of the most recent survey are disappointing.

'Savings? What's that?'

April's poll, which saw 43 percent of respondents claiming to put at least some money away every month, had varied results, with the vast majority of users claiming to put at least a little money away for the future. September's poll, however, saw a whopping 45 percent saying, 'Savings, what's that?'.

Andy Gilder, General Manager of Justmoney, says that while interest in their savings products remained steady over the last five months, the rise in application for products like debt management would suggest that South Africans may be using any spare money that they have to service existing debt.

"While we are still receiving many applications for savings accounts, the real concern is that these applications are not nearly as frequent as applications for help with debt issues or refinancing requests. I would suggest that a number of South Africans have debt up to the gills and any additional money that they have at month's end is going straight into servicing debt."

Talk to a debt expert

Gilder suggests that users who plough vast amounts of their income into servicing debt should speak to a debt expert about their situation, even if it is 'only to confirm that the action they are taking is the right one'.

"Qualified debt counsellors will assess your finances and advise you on the right course of action, whether that action is debt management, debt counselling or simply finding ways to cut your expenses down. Getting expert advice as soon as possible is surely the first step in getting back to a position where you can start saving for the future."

The rest of the results of the September poll were as follows:

Results of the poll

When asked the question: 'How much have you been able to save each month?' Justmoney users responded in the following ways:

• 45 percent said 'Savings, what's that?'

• 22 percent said 'Whatever I can.'

• 19 percent said 'Five to 10 percent of my income'

• 13 percent said 'More than 10 percent of my income"

www.justmoney.co.za

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