South African consumers are fighting extremely challenging times, with the prices of goods and services growing substantially over the last decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amid 15-year high interest rates, elevated inflation and a weak economy, South African consumers are struggling to make ends meet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DebtBusters\u2019 head, Benay Sager<\/a>, said that last year was the most difficult year financially for South Africans in the last 15 to 20 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2024 has not started much better, with CPI increasing from 5.1% in December 2023 to 5.3% in January 2024. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To highlight the pressure on household finances, BusinessTech has looked at the price increases of three goods – DStv Premium, a litre of 95 petrol and a McDonald’s Big Mac. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These products have seen substantial increases, with the Big Mac doubling in price over the decade. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That said, when accounting for inflation, the increases provide for less painful reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Petrol <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n South Africans are experiencing significant pain at the pumps, with\u00a0petrol going up R1.21 per litre and diesel by R1.06 and R1.19 per litre tomorrow 6 March 2024. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n A large reason for the pain at the pumps is the weakness of the rand, with the average Rand\/US Dollar exchange rate in February being 19.0186 compared to 18.7655 during the previous period.<\/p>\n\n\n\nProduct<\/strong><\/td> 2014 <\/strong><\/td> 2014 (Inflation)<\/strong><\/td> 2024<\/strong><\/td> Change <\/strong><\/td> Change (Inflation)<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Big Mac<\/td> R23.50<\/td> R37.59<\/td> R51.90 <\/td> +120.86%<\/strong><\/mark><\/td> +38.07%<\/strong><\/mark><\/td><\/tr> DStv Premium <\/td> R665.00<\/td> R1 063.60<\/td> R929.00<\/td> +39.7%<\/strong><\/mark><\/td> -12.66% <\/strong><\/mark><\/td><\/tr> 95 petrol per litre<\/td> R14.32<\/td> R22.90<\/td> R24.45<\/td> +71.19%<\/mark><\/strong><\/td> +<\/mark><\/strong>6.79%<\/strong><\/mark><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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