There’s no financial breathing room for young South Africans embarking on their careers, with those aged 24 or less experiencing the largest increase in financial stress of any age group.
DebtBusters’ annual Money-Stress Tracker survey – one of South Africa’s largest, with 18,000 respondents – found stress amongst the youngest respondents spiked by 18% in the past year.
Similarly, its Q2 2026 Debt Index reported a significant increase in young people applying for debt counselling. Between 2016 and 2024, this group consistently comprised less than 2% of total applicants, rising to 4% in 2025, and climbing to 9% in 2026.
“This signals that financial stress is affecting South Africans earlier, as they enter adulthood in a much more expensive environment than their slightly older peers,” says Benay Sager, executive head of DebtBusters.
After two years dominated by interest rate concerns, inflation and electricity costs have re-emerged as major sources of financial anxiety. These pressures are pronounced among younger and lower-income consumers.
For those aged 24 years or less, the biggest concerns include the rising cost of living and the struggle to pay off monthly debt. Concern about the cost of living increased substantially between 2025 and 2026, while concern about paying off monthly debt also remains high.
Despite this, the Money-Stress Tracker found that under-24s were under the least repayment pressure, with 53% of younger consumers spending 30% or more of their take-home income to repay debt, compared with an overall average of 67%.
Further, young people are much more likely to address their financial concerns. They are 1.5 times more likely to stick to a budget, and four times more likely to look for a higher-paying job than those aged 55 or older. Youth are also largely responsible for a steady increase in online debt management tool subscriptions.
“This, and the continued growth in young people applying for debt counselling, is positive,” says Sager. “More consumers are taking the opportunity to address debt earlier in their professional lives.”