Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africans earning R60,000 or less per month, which typically signals a relatively comfortable middle-class lifestyle, are now under significant financial pressure.
This salary no longer guarantees financial stability and the expected comfort of a middle-class lifestyle in South Africa.
Increasingly, individuals earning between R30,000 and R60,000 per month are turning to credit to try to maintain their middle-class lifestyle, National Debt Advisors’ (NDA) data shows.
NDA debt counsellor Samantha Moyana explained to 702 that these individuals have come under immense pressure in recent years as living costs have outpaced income growth.
In particular, the prices of food and fuel, as well as other basic necessities, have eaten up a larger share of middle-class income, which has not grown much amid broader economic stagnation.
While these individuals benefitted from falling interest rates, which eased debt-servicing costs, more of their income has been eaten up by basic needs.
Worryingly, many are turning to credit to afford basic necessities rather than cutting back elsewhere.
“Even earning R50,000 per month in South Africa can feel very tight right now. Typically, people earning that amount spend 74% of their take-home pay on debt,” Moyana explained.
Much of this is made up by repayments on home and car loans, with an increasing share being taken up by credit cards and personal loans.
“With high affordability, relatively speaking, these individuals qualify for a lot of credit, which is why many consumers find themselves in this situation,” Moyana said.
She said this is a symptom of a deeper problem, which is the lack of salary growth for middle-class individuals. As the cost of living rises, this squeezes disposable income, pushing many to use credit to maintain their lifestyles.
In the short term, this strategy works in that their living standards do not drop, but it has disastrous long-term consequences as debt-servicing costs begin to eat up a larger share of their take-home pay.
Flat salaries are to blame
South Africa’s middle class has borne the brunt of the country’s economic stagnation over the past 15 years, with their salaries struggling to keep pace with inflation.
The middle class falls between the rich, who have benefited from the strong appreciation of asset prices since 2010, and lower-income individuals, who receive government support.
This leaves the middle class largely reliant on wage growth to maintain their lifestyle while trying to build asset bases to supplement their income.
Moyana described this situation as the “flat salary squeeze”, where an individual’s salary does not grow at a fast enough rate to maintain their lifestyle.
2026 was seen as one of the few years where this would not be the case, with income growth strongly outpacing inflation.
As inflation steadily fell throughout 2025 and the Reserve Bank moved to a lower target point, wage growth began to outpace price increases.
This was coupled with falling interest rates, easing the debt-servicing burden on South African individuals and freeing up more disposable income.
Standard Bank chief economist Goolam Ballim explained that this was largely expected to continue throughout 2026.
Ballim also noted that the JSE’s exceptional 2025 created a wealth effect, with spending rising as South Africans felt richer on the back of rising asset prices.
“Consumers may not necessarily feel inclined to spend overwhelmingly, but when they have improving balance sheets, they become less defensive in their spending,” Ballim said earlier this year.
“This is particularly true among middle-income and higher-income individuals, who dominate spending in South Africa. We think this will be one element that helps to spur discretionary spending.”
However, things have changed dramatically as 2026 has gone on, with the conflict in the Middle East sending oil prices soaring.
This has translated into rising fuel prices, which will follow through into higher inflation and has eradicated hope of further interest rate relief for the next few months.
As a result, living costs are once again growing at a much faster rate than wages, resulting in the pressure on the middle class ratcheting up again.
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