The unprecedented spread of COVID-19 has had a wide-reaching impact on individuals, businesses and communities in South Africa. The drastic but necessary measures taken by the government to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the financial position of most South Africans. To this end, most major banks are offering a measure of payment relief to their customers.

Here follows a summary of the responses of major SA banks up to date:

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the nation via live broadcast from the Union Buildings in Tshwane last night, stating that the country will go in full lock-down mode from midnight on Thursday 26 March 2020, until midnight on Thursday 16 April 2020. This 21-day lockdown has been put in place to prevent the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus, which could cripple our healthcare system if person-to-person transmissions continues at the current rate.

In short – things just got very real. There are many South Africans who will feel the financial repercussions of a lockdown of this scale for months, if not years, to come. Naturally, this is something the government understands all too well. To this end, certain measures have been put in place to ensure that the fall-out of this bold, yet completely necessary, decision are contained and minimised as far as possible.

Here are a few important things to know about money matters as we head into lockdown mode this coming Thursday:

Hi there – how are you doing? Are you okay? It’s a pretty strange time right now and at Libertine Consultants we understand that most people are under a lot of stress.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that is sweeping the globe seemed a far-off threat until it reached our shores and became a stark reality in recent weeks. The moment when President Ramaphosa announced the state of emergency on live air on Sunday 22 March will definitely be etched in our minds as a nation forever. As we prepare to potentially face even more stringent measures to control the spread of the disease, it can seem impossible not to panic. However, at times like these it can be helpful to focus on the things you can control – like your finances.

Here are a few ways to manage your money to avoid extra financial stress during the COVID-19 pandemic:

If addressing your credit record is on your must-do list for 2020, you are not alone. Economic pressures are more intense than ever before, as South Africa's household debt reached 151.8 USD billion in September in 2019, compared with the reported number of 153.7 USD billion in the previous quarter. To put this into perspective – this number tell us that if all the household debt held by South Africans were to be split equally among all of our country’s citizens, each of us would owe the bank at least R40 000.

Having a good credit record is a lot like having a golden ticket to visit Willy Wonka's chocolate factory - the world is your oyster. When your credit history shows potential creditors that you know how to manage your finances, it's far easier to secure loans for big, necessary expenses like buying a house or paying for tuition.

At Libertine Consultants we understand that maintaining an optimal credit score is often easier said than done – there are many financial pressures that play a role in our everyday lives. Fortunately, there are ways to improve your credit rating if it’s currently not quite ideal. Here are a few expert tips from our team of passionate debt counsellors:

4 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORE IN SOUTH AFRICA

A bright new decade is on the horizon, and as it dawns there are many folks out there who are getting ready to welcome a new member to the family, or preparing to send their children off to school. It’s such an exciting (yet daunting) part of the journey of being the parent – the big step you step take alongside your child when they leave your home to receive an education and make their way into the world.

It also happens to be quite expensive. According to recent projections by Liberty Group Limited, it can cost as much as R2,023,000 for one South African child to receive private schooling, and R701 000 for public schooling. This cost excludes extra expenses such uniforms, textbooks, stationery, transport, extramural activities, and accommodation. That is a lot of money in anyone’s book.

The holidays are here and it’s time to celebrate the festive season with family and friends. At Libertine Consultants, we are all for that Christmas spirit, but we’ve also had to assist many overindebted consumers who spent too liberally over the Big Days, and later found that they had trouble making ends meet for the rest of the year.

Silly season is upon us and the holidays are so close we can almost taste them! Are you ready to kick back and relax with the rest of South Africa? At Libertine Consultants, we realise that after a long year of hard work, a period of rest and recuperation is just what the doctor ordered. However, we’ve also seen how unexpected vacation expenses can put a lot of strain on our clients’ budget come January.

At Libertine Consultants, we understand that debt review is not an easy process. Even though our clients realise that they need to make big changes in order to get their finances under control, it can still be tough to tighten a belt that was already pretty snug to begin with. As such, we often hear the question ‘Can I cancel by debt review?’.

Today we’ll take a look at how a recent South Gauteng High Court ruling has impacted on the laws that were already in place pursuant to the South African National Credit Act. We have found out more information about voluntary withdrawal from debt review

At Libertine Consultants, we spend a lot of time helping clients to get to grips with their day-to-day budgets and find a sustainable spending model that allows them to live within their means. As such, we are extremely opposed to the notion of needless ‘retail therapy’, AKA shopping for no particular reason.

However, when it comes to retail events like Black Friday (an annual occasion that falls on the last Friday of November each year, when stores offer consumers a variety of discounts), there are ways to make it work for you if you play it safe. Here are a few top tips to help you shop like a pro at the 2019 Black Friday sales:

At Libertine Consultants, we spend a lot of time helping clients to revise their household budgets to make their financial lives easier. This is why we know that one of the first things that normally fall by the wayside when our clients struggle to keep up with their bills is self-care. However, this is actually one of the most important things you should be focussing on when you are going through periods of immense personal strain.

Fortunately, there are simple, cost-effective ways to safeguard your health that does not have to include expensive supplements, gym contracts or trips to the doctor. Here are a few things you can do at home to take care of your health without breaking the bank:

Growing up, we all got report cards to take home to show our parents how well we were progressing with our schoolwork. As working professionals, annual performance assessments play pretty much the same role – it tells you how well you are performing your role at a company, and where you can improve. Did you know that as a South African consumer you have another report card that tells potential creditors how well you manage your finances?

It’s called a credit report. These reports are compiled by the credit bureaux that operate in South Africa and serves as a record of your previous credit management behaviour. Here are a few things you should be doing to ensure that your credit record is as clean as possible:

The fourth article on our consumer rights series is ready for your perusal! Our first article dealt with your right to apply for credit, and your right not to be discriminated against when applying for credit. This was followed by a second article that took a look at your rights to be given reasons for credit being declined, as well as the provision of documents in an official language that you understand.

Our third and most recent article unpacked your right to be given documents related to the credit transaction, and the fact that these documents have to be presented in plain and understandable language. Today we’ll take a look at two more rights you have as a consumer in South Africa, in accordance with the National Credit Act – namely, the right to confidential treatment and the right to access and challenge information held by a credit bureau.

Do you get nervous when you hear the terms 'credit score check', 'credit bureau clearance', or 'blacklisted'? Does your debt seem like an insurmountable hurdle that keeps you from reaching your potential in life? If so, you may have been the victim of reckless lending. Today we take a look at this unscrupulous business practice and what it means for the South African consumer.

At Libertine Consultants, we spend a lot of time helping clients to revise their household budgets to make their financial lives easier. This is why we know that shopping for healthy food can be a challenge when you’re trying to cut down on your expenses. However, it doesn’t make any sense to let your health deteriorate due to an improper diet – that will only lead to expensive doctor’s bills later down the line.

So, what is a budget-savvy South African to do if they want to eat healthy, but also want to keep their grocery budget in check? Here are a few top tips:

Hello, and welcome to the third part of our blog series discussing your rights as consumer in South Africa in 2019! In our first article we took a look at your right to apply for credit, and your right not to be discriminated against when applying for credit. We followed that up with a second article that broke down your right to be given reasons for credit being declined and your right to be given documents in an official language that you understand.

Today we’ll take a look at two more rights you have as a consumer in South Africa, in accordance with the National Credit Act – namely, the right to be given documents in a plain and understandable language, and the right to be given documents related to the credit transaction:

According to recent statistics released by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) in its last quarterly bulletin, average South African household debt stood at 72.7% of disposable income. That means that many households in SA are using up to three-quarters of their income to pay off debt, leaving then with only 25% of their salaries to manage their other commitments.

This type of debt can be crippling; it can seem completely impossible to overcome it. However, there are steps you can take to improve your situation. These include:

President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a number of important bills at a recent sitting of the South African parliament on 13 August 2019. This includes the National Credit Amendment Bill Act No 7 of 2019, which is poised to have a positive impact on the lives of our nation’s most severely overindebted citizens.

Welcome back to our series discussing your rights as consumer in South Africa in 2019! Are you ready to find out more about the forward-thinking safeguards that exist in accordance with the National Credit Act? Let’s jump straight in. In our previous article we took at look at our right to apply for credit, and our right not to be discriminated against when applying for credit.

Today we’ll take a look at our second set of rights - the right to be given reasons for credit being declined, and the right to be given documents in an official language that you understand.

Nelson Mandela International Day is an annual international day declared in honour of Nelson Mandela by the United Nations in November 2009, and celebrated each year on 18 July, which was this great man’s birthday. Today, South Africans honour the 67 years Mandela spent in prison by devoting 67 minutes of their time on this day to make the world a better place.