A First National Bank (FNB) study estimates that it takes an average middle-income consumer five days to spend up to 80 percent of their monthly salary.
The study suggests that the average middle-income consumer, earning between R180,000 and R500,000 a year, survives more than 20 days a month on 20 per cent of their monthly salary.
Ester Ochse, the banks product head of money management, says their findings further show that consumers spend an average of 65 percent of their income servicing debt.
Ochse says, “So 30 percent on unsecured loans, things like your personal loans, term loans, overdrafts and things like that, and then 35 percent on your secured loan, which is used for your vehicle financing and home loans as well.”
“You know, when you look at overall spending, it shows that consumers are very tight financially and they don’t have much freedom to do things like save for emergencies or alternatively longer-term financial goals,” says Ochse
