September 2020 IDM Special Edition
FROM THE IDM DESK STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DEBT? TAKE ADVANTAGE OF DEBT COUNSELLING IN THESE TIMES OF HISTORIC LOW INTEREST RATES Many South African consumers are wary of seeking help for their financial situation because they’re embarrassed or do not know about the options available to them. Now, with interest rates at historical lows, debt counselling may be too good an option to overlook. If you are struggling with your finances, you should be considering debt counselling as a way to take advantage of very low interest rates and to cut your debt burden in what is an extremely uncertain economic environment. The underlying principle of debt counselling is consumers only pay what they can afford towards debt repayments. Reputable debt counsellors use an industry standard called the Debt Counselling Rule Set (DCRS) that allows them to negotiate with creditors significant interest rate reductions on consumers’ debt. DCRS allows for reduction of monthly fees and interest rates on all loan types. DCRS is linked to the repo rate, which is currently 3.5%. This means that debt counsellors who use DCRS are able to secure interest rates on bonds and vehicle finance as low as the repo rate plus 2% - or 5.5% - to ensure consumers are able to afford the repayments.
On top of that – for unsecured lending such as personal loans and credit cards, which is where most South Africans feel the burden of debt - DCRS allows for renegotiation of the interest rate as close to zero percent as possible. Personal loans sometimes have annual interest rates as high as 23%. Store cards and credit cards also typically have comparatively high interest charges. In some instances, to make the repayment plan affordable for a consumer the rates on these debts could be renegotiated down to 0%. In the current economic environment this could provide massive relief for many consumers who are struggling to make ends meet. The reality is that if you’re feeling the burden of debt, talking to your debt counsellor is the responsible thing to do, particularly in an economy that was already in difficulty before lockdown and will now struggle to recover even to pre-lockdown levels. The earlier you act, the better your chances of getting back on a sound financial footing and not putting everything you’ve worked for at risk. South Africa has a world-class, regulated debt counselling sector and it is working well. DebtBusters uses the DCRS system and has helped hundreds of thousands of consumers since the system’s inception in the early 2010s.
- Page 1 and 2: Issue 9 of 2020
- Page 3: WHAT MAKES US EXCELLENT? / Unimpair
- Page 7 and 8: FROM THE EDITOR I was recently watc
- Page 9 and 10: Some people see the Awards process
- Page 11 and 12: DEBT REVIEW AWARDS C NEWS TALK TO Y
- Page 13 and 14: DEBT REVIEW LESSON 2 Leaving debt r
- Page 15 and 16: ABSA TO UPDATE DEBT COUNSELLORS MON
- Page 17: STANDARD BANK TO LAUNCH INFO PORTAL
- Page 21 and 22: THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS INTRODUCTION
- Page 23 and 24: THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS PRE SHOW Our
- Page 25 and 26: The YouTube live stream began at 11
- Page 27 and 28: YOU ARE WATCHING THE DEBT REVIEW AW
- Page 29 and 30: THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS DEBT REVIEW
- Page 31 and 32: There were various speakers at the
- Page 33 and 34: YOU ARE WATCHING THE DEBT REVIEW AW
- Page 35 and 36: THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS CONSUMERS GE
- Page 37 and 38: YOU ARE WATCHING THE DEBT REVIEW AW
- Page 39 and 40: The next international speaker was
- Page 41 and 42: YOU ARE WATCHING THE DEBT REVIEW AW
- Page 43 and 44: THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS PDA AWARDS T
- Page 45 and 46: YOU ARE WATCHING THE DEBT REVIEW AW
- Page 47 and 48: THE DEBT REVIEW AWARDS DEBT COUNSEL
- Page 49: YOU ARE WATCHING THE DEBT REVIEW AW
FROM THE <strong>IDM</strong> DESK<br />
STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DEBT? TAKE<br />
ADVANTAGE OF DEBT COUNSELLING<br />
IN THESE TIMES OF HISTORIC LOW<br />
INTEREST RATES<br />
Many South African consumers are wary of seeking help for their<br />
financial situation because they’re embarrassed or do not know about<br />
the options available to them. Now, with interest rates at historical lows,<br />
debt counselling may be too good an option to overlook.<br />
If you are struggling with your finances, you should be considering debt<br />
counselling as a way to take advantage of very low interest rates and<br />
to cut your debt burden in what is an extremely uncertain economic<br />
environment.<br />
The underlying principle of debt counselling is consumers only pay what<br />
they can afford towards debt repayments.<br />
Reputable debt counsellors use an industry standard called the Debt<br />
Counselling Rule Set (DCRS) that allows them to negotiate with creditors<br />
significant interest rate reductions on consumers’ debt.<br />
DCRS allows for reduction of monthly fees and interest rates on all loan<br />
types. DCRS is linked to the repo rate, which is currently 3.5%. This<br />
means that debt counsellors who use DCRS are able to secure interest<br />
rates on bonds and vehicle finance as low as the repo rate plus 2% - or<br />
5.5% - to ensure consumers are able to afford the repayments.
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