{"id":144326,"date":"2023-01-12T12:39:52","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T07:09:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regenesys.net\/reginsights\/?p=144326"},"modified":"2023-01-12T13:59:06","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T08:29:06","slug":"your-financial-journey-starts-with-managing-your-short-term-debt-here-is-why-and-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.regenesys.net\/reginsights\/your-financial-journey-starts-with-managing-your-short-term-debt-here-is-why-and-how","title":{"rendered":"Your Financial Journey Starts With Managing Your Short-Term Debt \u2013 Here is Why and How"},"content":{"rendered":"
The trend of high inflation and increasing interest rates will undoubtedly persist well into the first half of 2023. Many economists are also predicting that many economies will grow at low or even negative rates, with some even slipping into a recession this year. <\/span><\/p>\n
Although this seems like a morbid tone to start the year off, understanding the reality of the current global financial situation will allow a proactive approach to your finances rather than a \u201chope-for-the-best\u201d strategy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
In this article I would like to highlight the most important proactive step to take in this year particularly and that is managing and prioritising debt.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
According to the Bureau for Economic Research (BER), the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is expected to bump up interest by another 25bps at their first meeting of 2023, scheduled for the 26 of January, taking the prime rate to 7.25%. Although the SARB is not likely to increase the repo rate as aggressively in 2023 as they did last year, they will certainly not ease it anytime soon either. <\/span><\/p>\n
Due to lockdowns following the Covid pandemic, SARB reacted, along with the rest of the world, by bringing down interest rates significantly in an effort to aid the struggling economy. Interest rates were therefore unsustainably low during this period with the consequence that the recent hikes can also be seen as a return to a \u201cmore normal\u201d level for interest rates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n