Debtfree Issue 202401 - DB

SPECIAL
EDITION
Issue 01 of 20247 THINGS
DEBT REVIEW
CAN DO FOR YOU

EXCELLENCE IS DOING
ORDINARY THINGS
EXTRAORDINARILY
WELL
– John W. Gardner

WHAT MAKES US
EXCELLENT?
/ Unimpaired and automated PDA systems
/ Integration with top-ranked Debt Counsellor systems
/ Best customer support in the country – queries are resolved within 24 hours
/ Strong compliance and best-industry-practice implementation is at our centre
Call Saishen Krishnan
Head of Hyphen PDA | 071 884 7300
Or call our friendly support centre on 011 303 0060 - Option 2
or visit our website www.hyphenpda.co.za

FROM THE EDITOR
Well, after a nice break we have started the year
strong. The team here at Debtfree have thrown
themselves into all the projects we have planned
for this year. It’s great to make plans and then start
to work on them straight away.
This year, we intend to bring you more content than ever
before, across more platforms than ever before, and more
regularly than ever before. We are excited about that. We hope
that it will be even more helpful to you than ever before, as you
navigate the months ahead.
Let’s be honest, the months ahead may present challenges. We
may see volatility in the US Stock Markets which could have a
knock-on effect elsewhere. We may see further conflicts in the
Middle East, Europe or Asia. We certainly will see more political
manoeuvring locally, but you should not let that stress you out
and cause you to doubt your plans.
After all, if you can follow through on your plans during the
tough times, think how you will take off and succeed, when
things get easier in the future. So, if you are holding back
because of unknown future obstacles, don’t!

If you have been trying to deal with runaway debt on your own,
and have made little progress, then we urge you, speak to a
professional and get help, do it and do it soon. Debt tends to get
worse the longer you leave it. Every step in the right direction
is a mini victory. Surely, it is better to be making progress in the
general direction of your goal than doing nothing about it at
all. Even if you take 99 steps towards your goal and don’t get to
take that final step this year… well, you will have made reaching
your goal so much easier in the future.
Focus on what you can control, and keep taking steps in a
positive direction. Who knows, if you take enough of these
steps, you may turn around later in the year and see that you
have made more progress than you could have imagined.
Progress can sneak up on you. If you need to make 60
payments to get out of debt, then make the first 12 this year,
that moves you considerably closer. If you need to make 48
payments, make the next 12. Stick to the plan, and keep making
progress.
Only 24 payments to go? Amazing!!! Make the next 12 payments
and then after a few more months you will look back and before
you know it, you will have reached your destination to become
totally debt free.

FROM THE
DESK
SA CONSUMERS ENDURED
MOST FINANCIALLY
CHALLENGING YEAR IN 2023
• Combination of high interest
rates, inflation and poor growth
impacted disposable incomes
• Despite pressures positive
signs that more consumers are
addressing burdensome credit
• This year’s National Debt
Awareness Month theme is
financial sustainability

Last year was amongst the most financially difficult South African
consumers have endured since democracy, with high inflation
and interest rates and a straitened economy combining to erode
disposable incomes.
Rising food, electricity and fuel prices drove inflation, with the
Reserve Bank countering by increasing and sustaining interest rates
which are now 475 basis points higher than in 2020. Crippling levels
of loadshedding constrained meaningful economic growth and
consequently salary increases.
The average interest rate for a bond grew from 8.3% per annum in Q4
2020 to 12.3% by Q4 2023. Average interest rates for unsecured debt
are now at an eight-year high of 25,6%.
Against this backdrop DebtBusters’ Q4 2023 Debt Index found that
debt counselling enquiries increased by 46% and demand for online
debt management was up 54% compared to the same period the
previous year. Full-year debt counselling enquiries grew by 39%
compared to 2022, pointing to an acceleration in the final quarter of
2023.
The release of the data coincided with National Debt Awareness
Month, in February. The theme this year is financial sustainability to
acknowledge the pro-active steps so many South Africans have taken
to put themselves on a better financial path.
Benay Sager, executive head of DebtBusters, says that while the
combination of high inflation, interest rates and poor economic
performance had negatively impacted disposable income, the fact
that more people are seeking help to manage debt is positive.

“The increasing use of online debt-management tools indicates
consumers are being more pro-active about debt - before it gets
out of control. The data also points to more people considering debt
counselling as an effective way to deal with debt in a high-interest
environment”.
Under debt counselling rates for unsecured debt can be renegotiated
from 25,6% to ~2,6%. This allows consumers to pay back expensive
debt quicker. Interest on vehicle-debt and balloon payments, which
average 15.6%, can also be negotiated down and the period extended.
The Debt Index also found that Q4 was the second quarter in a
row that the median debt-to-annual-income ratio had declined,
although at 106% it is still high. This indicates that consumers are still
experiencing the effects of the interest rate increases that began in
November 2021 and remain elevated.
“Virtually everyone, 95%, of those who applied for debt counselling
during the quarter had a personal loan and 24% a short-term loan.
This indicates that consumers are supplementing their income with
short-term loans and personal loans have become a lifeline for
many,” says Sager.
Compared to 2016, when DebtBusters began collecting and analysing
the data, consumers who applied for debt counselling in Q4 2023
had:
• Thirty nine percent less purchasing power. Although nominal
incomes were 1% higher than seven years ago, when cumulative
inflation of 40% is considered, in real terms spending power is
down 39%.

• A higher debt-service burden: On average, before entering debt
counselling, consumers spend 62% of their take-home pay to
service debt. Those making R35 000 or more per month use
71% of their income to repay debts. The debt-to-income ratio
for the top income bands is 131% for those earning R20 000 per
month and 171% for people taking home R35 000 or more. For
these income bands the ratios are at or close to the highest-ever
levels.
• Unsustainably high levels of unsecured debt: Unsecured debt
is, on average, 32% higher than in 2016. For those taking home
more than R35 000 a month it is 42% higher. Although this is par
with inflation, it shows that in the absence of meaningful salary
increases, consumers are supplementing their income with
unsecured debt.
Sager says that the subscriber base for free online debt-management
tools increased by 82% in 2023 compared the previous year. Given
this interest in pro-actively managing debt DebtBusters has added a
Debt Sustainability Indicator to the tools it offers. This calculates the
proportion of income being used to repay debt and offers practical
tips on how to make it more sustainable.
“We’re focussing on financial sustainability this National Debt
Awareness Month, to encourage more people to deal with their credit
situation before it becomes a debt problem.”

DEBT REVIEW
CONFIRMATORY AFFIDAVITS
A confirmatory affidavit is a legal way to say you
know about, and agree with the plan that has
been given to the courts for your debt review.
Attorney Rynhardt De Lange of DL Attorneys
says: “when you have your confirmatory affidavit
commissioned, it is important that you make sure
each page is initialled. Sign the last page in the
presence of the commissioner of oaths.”
Tip: The commissioner will stamp the document
to confirm that it has been legally verified. Make
sure their full details are recorded on the affidavit.

CONTENTS
7 THINGS
DEBT REVIEW
CAN DO FOR YOU
WHAT IS A
CONFIRMATORY
AFFIDAVIT & WHY
IS IT IMPORTANT?
MAKE THE MOST
OUT OF YOUR
LEAVE
NEWS
DISCLAIMER
Debtfree Magazine considers its sources reliable and verifies as
much information as possible. However, reporting inaccuracies
can occur, consequently readers using this information do so
at their own risk. Debtfree Magazine makes content available
with the understanding that the publisher is not rendering legal
services or financial advice. Although persons and companies
mentioned herein are believed to be reputable, neither
Debtfree Magazine nor any of its employees, sales executives
or contributors accept any responsibility whatsoever for their
activities. Debtfree Magazine contains material supplied to
us by advertisers which does not necessarily reflect the views
and opinions of the Debtfree Magazine team. No person,
organization or party can copy or re-produce the content
on this site and/or magazine or any part of this publication
without a written consent from the editors’ panel and the
author of the content, as applicable. Debtfree Magazine,
authors and contributors reserve their rights with regards to
copyright of their work.

7 THINGS
DEBT REVIEW
CAN DO FOR YOU

7 THINGS DEBT REVIEW CAN DO FOR YOU
DEBT REVIEW CAN
HELP YOU
Dealing with debt can be super
stressful. It can lead to sleepless
nights, chest pains and constant
pressure from collections agents.
For many, the solution has been to enter debt
review. This is because it is a legal way to get
credit providers to play nice, and give you a
realistic amount of time to pay what you owe.
Here are 7 things debt review can do for you.

7 THINGS DEBT REVIEW CAN DO FOR YOU
A PLAN CAN
SET YOU FREE
When you are overwhelmed by debt
and caught in the debt collections
process you stress day and night.
You know that you need to do
something about the situation, but
your efforts just don’t seem to work.
Many people turn to more debt, thinking that
they can somehow dig a deeper hole and it
will help, but that’s a short term solution. One
that simply makes matters worse.
When the end of the month is coming and
you know all your lines of credit are tapped
out, family and friends will no longer lend you
more money and no credit provider wants
to touch you, it can be crushing. You feel
trapped with no way out.
This is where entering debt review can provide
instant relief. Just the knowledge that you
finally have found a way forward, and one
where you get help from a professional, is a
massive weight off your shoulders.

7 THINGS DEBT REVIEW CAN DO FOR YOU
NO MORE COLLECTIONS
CALLS
When you owe money to credit
providers and can’t pay what they
want, they can really tighten the
screws. SMS’, calls, emails, letters,
you name it, they will do it.
It can be tiring to avoid phone calls, be scared
to open letters or even hide your car at a
neighbours’ house just in case the repo man
comes around.
The reason why the mental pressure is so
intense, is because it is designed to be that way.
Your credit providers have had decades (even
centuries) getting it right, they know how to
apply the pressure.

The problems is, when you owe multiple
people, and they all want their money at the
same time, it is mathematically impossible to
make them all happy.
When you enter debt review, the Debt
Counsellor will send notices to all your credit
providers, telling them to stop freaking out
and pestering you. You are now making a plan
through debt review to pay what you owe.
This results in an immediate decrease in
pressure and an eventual stop in the collections
process. It means, no more collections calls, no
more harassing sms’ and emails. Just entering
the process can see a 95% reduction in these
calls in the first week or two.
It is like someone turned off a noisy generator
that had been on in the same room with you,
and suddenly you have peace for the first time
in ages.
It’s amazing.
And for those last few collections calls that
could still come through from time to time,
you have the beautiful catch phrase: “Talk to
my Debt Counsellor”.

7 THINGS DEBT REVIEW CAN DO FOR YOU
A REAL
BUDGET
We all know we should budget, but it is hard. Especially
when you simply do not have enough to pay your debt
and cover your living costs. This is why we get stuck
relying on credit, and spiralling into more and more
debt.
As a result, making a budget was probably something you hated
to do. Once you enter debt review, your Debt Counsellor will go
through your particular situation and try find a balance between what
your credit providers want, and what your family really needs.
The idea is to make sure you can realistically cover the necessities
(not luxuries of course). This would include all the things that you
probably had to cut out of budgets in the past to try make ends meet.
That would be things like; saving for annual expenses, paying for
things like car and TV licenses and having needed insurance.
Just knowing that a professional is going to give you a realistic figure
that can work, is massive. It may mean a few changes to your lifestyle
but having professional, experienced help is a huge relief.

7 THINGS DEBT REVIEW CAN DO FOR YOU
IT FORCES YOU TO MAKE
NEEDED
CHANGES
When you are in a debt crisis it can
be paralysing. You might know
that changes are needed but you
probably don’t even have the budget
or the leeway to put some of those
changes in place.
Instead, you end up just cutting things out.
Never doing more, always doing less. Less
food, less insurance, less of everything.
That is a terrible way to live. It leaves you
trapped in a shrinking cage with no room to
make improvements. No mental bandwidth to
do new things, or even to try new things.

You end up falling into bed for another
sleepless night, exhausted at the end of every
day. Too tired to do what you know in your
heart is needed.
Entering debt review can be a mental (and
emotional) fresh start. It can enable you to have
more energy, more mental bandwidth, and
more financial freedom to start to make the
needed changes you have not been able to.
That may be moving homes, starting a side
hustle for extra cash, or maybe just getting
back into doing a little exercise each day.
It provides a fresh chance to do more for a
change, not less. To breath, to think, to plan
and have hope.

7 THINGS DEBT REVIEW CAN DO FOR YOU
SAVE
SOMETHING
The idea of saving anything when you are deep in debt
is a foreign concept. You simply cannot afford to save
anything. Which is why, when annual expenses like a
car service or school uniforms rolls around, you have
to reach once more for the credit card.
And that’s not to mention when an emergency comes along. An
unplanned medical emergency or a cracked windscreen or burst tyre.
And they just seem to happen more and more, it can be crushing.
When you enter debt review, your Debt Counsellor helps you to make
a budget. Part of that budget will be setting aside some funds each
month towards expected annual expenses, as well as the unexpected.
Soon you will have a small amount set aside to use when those
expenses come around. It is amazing how relieving it can be to see
that small savings amount grow to match your coming expenses.

7 THINGS DEBT REVIEW CAN DO FOR YOU
PEACE OF
MIND
We all want to provide for our family. That is often why
we end up in debt in the first place. To give them a place
to stay, to provide transport to school and put food on
the table.
When credit dries up, and the collections agents start calling, all that
is at risk. We could lose our homes, our cars, our ability to care for our
family.
This is why entering debt review can totally turn things around for our
family’s future. It not only helps protect our assets, but you get help
with budgeting, you get advice on saving, you have time and space to
make needed changes.
Knowing that your debt repayments are now going to be what you can
realistically handle each month (normally much lower instalments over
a longer time period), means that you have enough money to cover
what your family needs: School clothes, school books, doctor’s visits,
insurance, even just enough good food and a safe place to stay.
This provides real peace of mind.

7 THINGS DEBT REVIEW CAN DO FOR YOU
PAYING OFF YOUR
DEBT
Before entering debt review, living in
debt was probably your reality. You
probably never thought that there
might be any other option.
When you do not have enough money and
still have to pay creditors, the truth is that you
might never actually get out of debt. Each
month you might pay some of your debt but
then almost immediately make new debt. As a
result, you were trapped as a debt slave with
no hope of ever breaking the cycle.
Debt review can change all that. With
professional advice and the help of the law
and courts, you can have a plan that will take
you from deep in debt to being debt free.
Imagine that: having no debt at all!

Almost no one knows what that feels like.
Most people will be in debt for the rest of their
lives, but you have a chance to become totally
debt free. To owe no one anything at all.
And every month while you are in the process,
people around you (even family and friends)
will keep digging themselves deeper and
deeper into trouble while you steadily make
your way out.
This is truly an amazing benefit of debt review.
Sure, it will take time and dedication but it is
the light at the end of the tunnel, the pot of
gold at the end of the rainbow, it is the chance
of a lifetime that will turn your financial future
around like nothing else ever could.

YOU CAN
DO IT!
Debt review is not easy but it is also not impossible.
Hundreds of thousands of people have used the
process to get out of debt and you can to.
If you would like to hear from some of the people who have
successfully completed the process then you can check out this
podcast which is all about debt review success:
www.debtreviewwithdummies.co.za
There are interviews with all sorts of people like:
• A Hard Working Single Mom
• A High Profile Businessman
• A Radio DJ
• Someone who fell for the “get out of debt review scams”
• Someone who took a really long time in debt review
• Someone who started a new job and things didn’t work out
Their success stories show that anyone can complete debt review
if they just stick with the process and work closely with their Debt
Counsellor.
Why not give the podcast a listen and see how they did it?

WHAT IS A
CONFIRMATORY
AFFIDAVIT
& WHY IS IT
IMPORTANT?

CONFIRMATORY AFFIDAVIT
SIGN ON THE
DOTTED LINE
When you enter debt review you
will eventually be asked to sign a
confirmatory affidavit and have it
commissioned.
If you don’t get this document commissioned
and sent back to your attorneys your entire
debt review will fall apart.
But what is this affidavit and why is it so
important?

CONFIRMATORY AFFIDAVIT
WHAT
IS IT?
A confirmatory affidavit is a legal
document that confirms the
authenticity of a statement or fact
made by an individual. They are used
in many legal matters.
In a debt review matter, the confirmatory
affidavit says (or confirms) that you:
1. Did ask the Debt Counsellor for help
through debt review (you want to be in
debt review), and
2. Agree with the debt restructuring proposal
(the repayment plan) that has been
created for you, and
3. Agree with the things the Debt Counsellor
has said about your matter (like info about
your budget and why you are having
challenges) and the plan.
This document will be added to the court
documents that are submitted on your behalf.

CONFIRMATORY AFFIDAVIT
WHY IS IT
IMPORTANT?
If this document is not there on the day the matter is
heard, the Magistrate or Judge will not want to grant
your court order.
The courts do not want to accidentally put someone under debt review
who does not actually want to sort out their debts.
They also want to make things as easy for people as possible. This is
why they ask for this form instead of asking you to travel to court and
sit there for hours waiting to tell them in person.
If the court matter is heard and the affidavit is missing, the magistrate
can throw the matter out of court and this can cause a lot of trouble.
Some of your credit providers might think you do not actually want to
go through with the debt review, and will start new legal action against
you to collect their money.
This is why you need to get the affidavit:
1. signed and
2. commissioned and returned to your attorneys ASAP!

DEBT REVIEW
CONFIRMATORY AFFIDAVITS
A confirmatory affidavit is a legal way to say you
know about and agree with the plan that has
been given to the courts for your debt review.
Attorney Justin van der Linde of VDL Attorneys
says: “The easiest and quickest way to get the
document commissioned is to approach an
attorney, some duly appointed traditional healers,
a Sheriff or certain members of the SAPS at the
local police station”.
TIP: Don’t print the confirmatory document on
back to back sides of the same page. The courts
don’t like that. Rather, print each page of the
document on its own piece of paper. You can
save the forests later.

BREAKING
NEWS

REPO RATE HOLDS STEADY
South African consumers sighed in relief (and disappointment)
in January 2024 as the SA Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy
Committee unanimously decided to hold interest rates
steady.
This leaves the current Repo Rate at a 14 year high.
While this is not exactly good news and offers no relief to
those with lots of credit, it is not an increase, which might
tip many people over the edge, resulting in them losing their
assets.
The MPC were quick to point out that although inflation
has normalised within their target range, it remains on the
upper side of their target and they feel that waiting longer
may help. Another factor was the recent snafu with the ports
and rail system across SA.
It is possible that reduced loadshedding and lower petrol
prices over the year end were contributing factors, and as
these look to ramp up in the next few months, the MPC will
keep an eye on things to see if they can finally start to cut
rates a little.
If you think the repo rate is high, check out what is happening
in Nigeria HERE. Their Central Bank is about to push their
repo rate to a whopping 22.75%.

RAND REACTS TO REPO HOLD
After spiking over R19/Dollar recently the Rand has now
settled down back below this important threshold.
The drop followed the recent SARB Monetary Policy
Committee announcement about not changing the Repo
Rate. With the Repo Rate holding steady for the near future,
this has brought some clarity to the market and the Rand
reacted accordingly.
Other factors like countries harbour and freight issues, the
drastic drop in coal exports via Richards Bay, the ongoing
high levels of organised crime and upcoming election chaos
will likely have some negative effects on the Rands value in
the months ahead. This in turn may influence fuel costs and
push up transportation costs.
At the same time, the US has their fair share of ongoing issues
and this is just as big a factor in the equation.
1 year ago the Rand was at R17/Dollar

THE AU HATE INTERNATIONAL RATINGS
AGENCIES & PLAN TO MAKE THEIR OWN
International Ratings Agencies like Moody’s, S&P and Fitch
offer insights into the credit worthiness of various institutions,
companies and even sovereign debt and bonds. For example,
in August last year, Fitch Ratings downgraded the ratings
of the US stating there has been a steady deterioration in
standards of governance in the USA.
Since these ratings are often used by investors to inform their
decisions, negative ratings or downgrades can cause nervous
investors to look elsewhere.
The most famous ratings agencies are: Moody’s Service, S&P
Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. They use slightly different
scales, but all 3 use an alphabetical scale where AAA is the
highest rating and C (or D) are the lowest. They often use a +
or – to indicate sub-levels and publicise a positive or negative
outlook pointing to future increases or lowering of ratings.
Many African states have been hit by lowered ratings recently.
In the first 6 months of last year, 11 African countries got hit
with 13 negative ratings decisions. The causes are many, and
the ratings agencies hold fast to their ratings and how they
came to them.
Now the African Union say they want to create a better,
more understanding, more insightful credit rating agency to
provide better ratings that take more information and more
factors into account than these long established international
ratings agencies. It is likely to be called the African Credit
Rating Agency or ACRA.

WORLD LARGEST CYBER
BREACH EVER
A massive data breach involving more than 26 Billion records
has been reported.
Researchers found the stolen records on an unsecured
website, and found that the records contain information from
major apps such as Twitter, Weibo, MySpace, LinkedIn, Adobe
and others. Information in the leak is said to also contain
government organisation data from the US, Brazil, Germany,
Philippines and Turkey.
It has been described as the Mother of all Breaches (MOAB).
While the info does not immediately let crooks access your
bank accounts, it can be enough for them to start tricking
you, or others into giving them access to more and more
sensitive information.
Consumer should be on the look out for sneaky emails asking
you to log in to accounts or to click on links. These types
of attacks can be made to look legitimate by using some
information from such data leaks. They may quote account
numbers or mention information the crooks have learned
about you in the data breach.
Many passwords were contained in the data. So, if you tend
to use the same passwords across multiple platforms or apps
it might be time to consider an update.

DEBT REVIEW
Confirmatory Affidavits
A confirmatory affidavit is a legal way to say you
know about and agree with the plan that has been
given to the courts for your debt review.
Quintin Zimmerman of Liddles Attorneys
says that “as a debt review attorney, the greatest
frustration we experience in expeditiously issuing
debt review court applications is the delay in
obtaining the original confirmatory affidavits from
consumers”.
TIP: Sign the confirmatory affidavit in black pen. The
courts like that. This is not the time to get artistic.

No more debt-stress.
Let’s get it sorted.
We’ll get your interest rates right down. You’ll
make one consolidated payment a month. You’ll
have more cash to live on. Your assets will be
legally protected. Sorted.
0861 365 910
www.debtbusters.co.za
info@debtbusters.co.za
NCRDC2484

WITH GREAT
POWER COMES...
great responsibility
a huge electricity bill