Cost of living overtakes interest rates as South Africans' biggest financial stress, survey finds

DebtBusters found that the proportion of respondents who said they would consider debt counselling increased from 36% last year to 40% this year.

South Africans may be watching this week's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting closely, but for many households, interest rates are no longer the biggest financial worry. Instead, it is the cost of simply getting through the month.

That shift is the central finding of DebtBusters' fifth annual Money Stress Tracker, which found that the cost of living has overtaken interest rates as South Africans' biggest source of financial stress. Concerns about inflation rose by 28% over the past year, while worries about electricity costs almost doubled, increasing by 99%.

The MPC announces its decision on Thursday, with economists divided over whether the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) will hold or raise interest rates.

For consumers, an even bigger issue lands a day earlier when Statistics South Africa releases the latest inflation figures. Economists expect annual inflation to edge up from 4.5% in May to between 4.6% and 4.7%, largely because of higher fuel prices.