A good friend of mine has just had to give up his car and go into debt review.
He’s a proud man, so he dies of embarrassment every time he talks about it.
He wasn’t living beyond his means by any stretch of the imagination.
In fact, I would describe him as quite a frugal individual, who rarely spent money unnecessarily.
He says the whole thing just gradually snuck up on him, and before he knew it, he was no longer able to afford his very average lifestyle.
Another friend finally managed to buy a house a few months ago.
After years of trying and being declined by the banks, he managed to meet all the requirements and spent weeks excitedly preparing to be a homeowner.
But the interest rate has increased twice since he made his first bond repayment and he is starting to worry about whether he will be able to afford it by the end of the year.
Considering the sudden increase in forced property sales and house rentals, my guess is that these are not secluded stories.
In one of my first columns of the year, I wrote about the looming anxiety around increases in the interest rate and the cost of electricity.
At that time, the cost of living was already beyond ridiculously absurd.
I look around me and I see increased homelessness, fewer people eating out and more “for sale” signs on suburban lawns than ever before.
I notice young couples counting their pennies at the till points, the demographics at public hospitals and clinics have changed to middle-class people and I see the visible stress on people’s faces.
According to the experts, we are battling 14-year food inflation highs and a recession is now a possibility.
A recent university study shows that one in five South African households don’t have enough food to eat, while 20% of households do not have any semblance of food security.
These are very frightening times as all income levels are feeling the pinch. Government is going to have to do something drastic about the economic crunch as a matter of urgency.
The number of indigents are increasing at an alarming rate, and that is going to harm the economy even further as spending drops, meaning less tax collection, causing the national kitty to shrink.
There are now calls for an investigation into what is driving food price inflation, as global food prices are dropping, while ours remain high and seemingly climbing month-on-month.
Needless to say the situation is just not sustainable.
There are thousands of people in the same boat as my friends, and millions in even worse circumstances.
They are just two who have now become dependent on the government, instead of contributing to the economy and paying taxes.
We are at the point where every mitigating action that government fails to take, brings us a few steps closer to catastrophe.
And there are fears that any further price hikes will lead to more defaults and home sell-offs, car repossessions leading directly to that dreaded recession.
And I haven’t even touched on the mental health issues all of this is still going to cause.