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Picture: 123RF/kawfangkanjana
Picture: 123RF/kawfangkanjana

The day to day implications of rising interest rates on South Africans is the focus of this edition of the Business Day Spotlight. 

Our host Mudiwa Gavaza is joined by Larry Masson, a financial adviser and franchise principal at Consult by Momentum.

Join the discussion: 

Consult by Momentum is a financial planning and advisory business that has R30bn in assets under advice.

In July, the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee raised the repurchase rate by 75 basis points to 5.5% from 4.75%, the highest increase in borrowing costs in two decades. This action is meant to curb rising inflation which recently accelerated to over 7%, above the central bank’s 3%-6% target range

Masson says that with interest rates being hiked, all debt — bond, credit card, car finance and others — will increase, unless consumers have their rates fixed, which comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

He discusses: why have rates gone up; what consumers can do to manage this significant increase in their expenses; and efforts to rein in inflation back to the Reserve Bank’s target range. 

According to Masson the only control, from a cash flow point of view, is to tighten one’s belt in terms of spending. 

The discussion also focuses on how people can negotiate to adjust their interest rates with lenders, the slowdown in inflation, and ways in which people can avoid taking on costly debt to maintain their lifestyles. 

Engage on Twitter at #BDSpotlight

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Business Day Spotlight is a MultimediaLIVE production.

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