Many people are in a state of shock after watching all the turmoil going on in the international markets.Watching financial giants like America and others teetering on the brink of collapse.We have heard of bailout plans,possibilities of shutting the stock market down temporarily and of course all the people who predicted this would happen as far back as three years ago.
Many of us are probably thinking ,”….but these people are supposed to be professionals,how could this ever happen?”.The only clear answer seems to be greed, mostly by the lenders but also the borrowers.Lenders coming up with great deals that start out fine but end up costing alot more as the months go by.Borrowers who don’t think anything is too good to be true and fall for it every time.Don’t get me wrong though,there were other events leading up to this such as sky-high commodity prices, more and more restrictive monetary policies in certain countries, and stock market volatility.
It has probably affected us South Africans more than we think.We are only starting to get into the credit crazy world that is lead by the USA ,so we should learn from their mistakes before we also go too far.The current interest rate probably makes most of us regret every purchase we have made on credit.
Where do we go from here? I say it often and i will say it again, take responsibility for your finances.Investigate anything that sounds too good too be true,even from reputable service providers as they also need to make money.Compare deals and get projections for the long term effects this will have on your finances.It may sound silly but if every person evolves a more responsible attitude to their finances this may be avoided in the future.
It may be difficult to spot something that will work for you though because lenders “deals” are getting ever more convoluted and complicated.If you feel totally overwhelmed get good advice from someone who does it for a living and has a reputation for giving sound advice.You will probably have to pay but it will be worth it in the long run.
