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More and more consumers are borrowing cash to make ends meet.
That's according to a debt solutions group, which found that the number of people turning to unsecured credit to supplement their income grew in the third quarter of the year.
DebtBusters says its debt index found that many consumers are buckling under the pressure of rising interest rates and inflation.
Some who are undergoing debt counselling say 62% of their take-home pay is being used to service their debts.
The group's Benay Sager says for those taking home less than R5 000 a month, the total debt to annual income ratio is 87%.
Workers with a net income of R20 000 or more are sitting with an astronomical 150%.
He says the stark reality is that we're going to see inflation and interest rates rise again as we head into the new year.
"What we see in terms of the debt levels when you compare the unsecured debt levels, we are seeing that they are significantly higher than what they were a few years ago.
"So, in particular, those taking home R20 000 or more per month the unsecured debt levels are 50% higher than they were a few years ago in 2016, whereas the salaries haven't really gone up at all.
"If you consider these loans come with 18 to 22% interest rate generally you can understand that it takes up a huge chunk of ones take-home pay."
