{"id":866255,"date":"2026-07-14T13:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=866255"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T11:19:53","slug":"south-africans-cutting-off-streaming-services-medical-aid-and-downsizing-their-homes-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/866255\/south-africans-cutting-off-streaming-services-medical-aid-and-downsizing-their-homes-2\/","title":{"rendered":"South Africans cutting off streaming services, medical aid, and downsizing their homes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cost-of-living pressures are forcing many households to cut back on discretionary spending, cancel subscriptions, reduce medical spending, and even move into smaller homes to better manage their finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to TransUnion’s Consumer Pulse Study for the second quarter of 2026, households remain under significant financial strain, with little evidence of recovery over the past year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report found that only 43% of consumers said their finances were better than planned, while 40% reported being worse off than expected, reflecting what it described as “persistent strain rather than deterioration.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inflation remains the dominant concern for consumers, with 79% of respondents ranking it among their top three worries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TransUnion said the pressure has been intensified by the persistent gap between income and inflation, which has left many families with little choice but to adjust their household budgets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, consumers are increasingly prioritising essential expenses while scaling back on non-essential spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report noted that entertainment and subscription services have become some of the first expenses to be cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the past three months, 24% of consumers either cancelled or reduced digital services such as internet, cable television or wireless services, while 28% cancelled subscriptions or memberships. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biggest spending cuts, however, have been in discretionary categories such as dining out, travel and entertainment, with 53% of respondents saying they had already reduced spending in these areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumers also expect to scale back spending elsewhere. Around 33% anticipate spending less on medical care and services over the coming three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

37% expect to reduce spending on bills and loan repayments, while 36% on retirement savings and investments, and 30% on retail purchases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The financial pressure is becoming severe for many households. Nearly four in ten respondents, or 39%, said they expect they will be unable to pay at least one of their current bills or loan repayments in full during the next three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rates and taxes are impacting the property market<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Raksha Darji, a senior economist at the Competition Commission, the cost-of-living crisis has been building for several years and continues to intensify as international and domestic pressures combine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the crisis began following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine almost four years ago and has since been compounded by local structural challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The burden is particularly heavy for lower-income households and younger South Africans trying to establish themselves financially or enter the property market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Low-income households spend about 66.81% of their income on food and housing utilities, leaving almost no room to absorb any shocks that may come their way,” Darji said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She noted that electricity prices have increased by roughly 85% over the past six years, while water prices have risen by nearly 70%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both increases are substantially higher than overall inflation, which has risen by just over 30% during the same period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As household budgets become increasingly stretched, many South Africans are also rethinking where and how they live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just Property CEO Paul Stevens described the current residential property market as “the great downsizing,” with homeowners increasingly choosing smaller, more affordable properties that are cheaper to maintain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stevens said demand for sectional title properties continues to grow as households seek relief from rising municipal tariffs, utility bills, security costs and property rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that buyers younger than 44 now account for almost half of all residential property purchases nationwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“These buyers want homes that support the way they live now. They want efficiency, security and financial manageability, which they’re finding in smaller, well-located units,” Stevens said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africans are forced to cut back on discretionary spending, cancel subscriptions, reduce medical spending, and even move into smaller homes to stay afloat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":866268,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2076992866648289620","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[12697,853,11687],"class_list":["post-866255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-just-property","tag-south-africa","tag-transunion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866255","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\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=866255"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":866269,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866255\/revisions\/866269"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/866268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=866255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=866255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=866255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}