South Africans can't afford to save because they simply have no money.
Image: ChatGPT.
As many South Africans count down the days until payday, the National Debt Counselling Association (NDCA) says rising living costs and debt repayments are leaving many households with little or no disposable income to save.
The warning comes during National Savings Month, which encourages consumers to build financial resilience. However, the NDCA said that for many households, the challenge is not a lack of financial discipline but a structural affordability problem, with essential expenses and debt repayments consuming most, if not all, of their monthly income.
The association's warning is reflected in TransUnion's latest Consumer Pulse Study, which found that 39% of South Africans expect to miss at least one bill or loan repayment, while only 37% believe their income is keeping pace with inflation.
Nearly eight in 10 (79%) ranked inflation among their top household financial concerns, highlighting the pressure on already stretched budgets.
NDCA chairperson René Moonsamy said consumers generally fell into three groups: those who chose not to save despite being able to, those who had some capacity to save but prioritised other spending, and those who simply could not afford to because their income was absorbed by debt repayments and essential living costs.
"Some people don't save for behavioural reasons, some because of their lifestyle priorities and some because they can't afford to. Providing information and advice on the importance of savings might help the first two groups, but not the third,” said Moonsamy.
Moonsamy added that “unlike poor savings habits, which can be improved by changing behaviour or spending priorities, this group suffers from a structural affordability problem that cannot be solved by encouraging them to save more”.
The problem was not poor financial discipline but negative cash flow, where essential monthly expenses such as housing, vehicle finance, insurance, school fees, municipal accounts and debt repayments exceeded monthly income, said Moonsamy.
NDCA chairperson René Moonsamy.
Image: Supplied
When this happened, emergency savings were often the first casualty, leaving consumers to rely on credit to pay for unexpected expenses such as vehicle repairs, medical bills or essential household maintenance. The result was a cycle of borrowing that increased monthly repayments and left even less room to save.
"Emergency savings are one of the foundations of financial resilience, but if debt repayments are absorbing most of your disposable income every month, it becomes extremely difficult to build that safety net."
Moonsamy said households should regularly review their bank statements to identify unnecessary recurring deductions that reduced monthly cash flow. "The objective shouldn't be to find R200 to save, but to stop needing to borrow R200 next month."
Consumers should also recognise when cutting expenses further would make little difference because most of their income was already committed to essential costs and debt repayments, said Moonsamy.
In those cases, restoring affordability could require restructuring debt through a consolidation loan, negotiating with creditors or applying for debt counselling.
"Attempting to build savings while relying on expensive credit to cover everyday living expenses leaves consumers trapped in a cycle of borrowing to make ends meet. That's when more fundamental interventions, including debt counselling, can help."
A registered debt counsellor would assess a consumer's financial circumstances and, where appropriate, develop a structured repayment plan to make debt repayments more affordable while protecting their legal rights.
Moonsamy said some consumers resisted debt counselling because they viewed it as admitting personal failure.
"In fact, the opposite is true. Seeking help early can prevent financial problems from escalating, protect assets from creditors and lay the foundation for long-term financial recovery. That is a responsible thing to do,” Moonsamy said.
“Remember, financial resilience is not measured by how much you can save today, but by taking practical steps to put you on a path to a sustainable financial future."
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