{"id":511016,"date":"2021-08-04T15:04:48","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T13:04:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=511016"},"modified":"2021-08-04T15:04:48","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T13:04:48","slug":"new-data-shows-how-south-african-consumers-lifestyles-have-changed-based-on-their-earnings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/banking\/511016\/new-data-shows-how-south-african-consumers-lifestyles-have-changed-based-on-their-earnings\/","title":{"rendered":"New data shows how South African consumers’ lifestyles have changed based on their earnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Millions of South Africans are feeling heightened financial pressures due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, as well as the recent unrest that unfolded in some of our provinces, says Old Mutual.<\/p>\n

The Old Mutual Savings and Investment Monitor (OMSIM) annual research report is a clear indicator of how the habits and behaviours of working metropolitan households are shifting, the financial services firm said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt that consumers are having to take a much closer look at the way they manage their money and many are having to adapt their lifestyles to survive,\u201d said Lynette Nicholson, head of research at Old Mutual.<\/p>\n

To build on the 2021 OMSIM findings, Old Mutual conducted an additional \u2018rapid results\u2019 survey in July to assess whether the recent unrest had further eroded people\u2019s sense of wellbeing.<\/p>\n

This July survey revealed that people\u2019s confidence in the South African economy dropped a further 3%, to 31%, the lowest level recorded in the history of OMSIM. The percentage of respondents who made emergency funds a priority also went up – from 37% to 40% – over this short period of time.<\/p>\n

The research also indicates that although job and income security remain the top financial priorities for 65% of working metropolitans surveyed, they are also prioritising the way they manage their money.<\/p>\n

Around 62% of households are cutting expenses where they can, 50% (up 10% from 2020) are prioritising paying off their debts and 37% are now making sure they have enough emergency funds, up from 33% in 2020.<\/p>\n

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The research also shows that the pain and difficulties of the past 18 months have led to some behavioural shifts that could have negative long-term consequences.<\/p>\n

For example, 43% have taken out a personal loan from a financial institution, 25% have cut down on or cancelled car\/household insurance or moved to cheaper options, and 20% have cut down on or cancelled medical aid cover or moved to cheaper options.<\/p>\n

Indebtedness is likely to continue rising, considering that 54% have dipped into savings to make ends meet; 34% have fallen behind on household bills; 34% have borrowed from family and friends; 31% have cashed in savings\/investment policies; 28% have fallen behind on store card payments; 32% have fallen behind on credit card payments; and 19% have fallen behind on rent or home loan payments.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the OMSIM 2021 research shows that one in three (34%) respondents do not have enough savings to last more than a month (at most) if they lost their income\/jobs.<\/p>\n

To add to the concerning state of people\u2019s financial situations and the high or overwhelming financial stress experienced by 56%, there is also a continuation of multi-generational dependency, Old Mutual said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWith all the uncertainty we have experienced over the past year, one thing is certain and that is that there has never been a more important time than now to take control of your finances, get expert financial advice and plan carefully for today, tomorrow and your long-term future,\u201d said Nicholson.<\/p>\n

\n

Read: Here\u2019s how many South Africans will struggle to survive a one month financial emergency<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Millions of South Africans are feeling heightened financial pressures due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown as well as the recent unrest that unfolded in some of our provinces, says Old Mutual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":511054,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[961],"tags":[26,1110],"class_list":["post-511016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-banking","tag-headline","tag-old-mutual"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=511016"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":511062,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/511016\/revisions\/511062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/511054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}