South Africans do not have adequate financial literacy and it shows in the choices they make as consumers.
This comes from the latest research released by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
It looked at South Africans’ financial control, planning, and knowledge.
All these factors showed a decline since 2012.
Most households do not have a household budget and prefer overspending to saving.
Basic arithmetic when it comes to finances took an even sharper decline in 2020.
The report also looked at the financial well-being of adults during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This part of the research shows that less than half surveyed felt dissatisfied with their financial situation with only a third indicating that they live in homes with predictable sources of income.
Meanwhile, 6% of South Africans reported being victim of scams during the 2015-2020 period.
This amounts to about 2.6 million of the population during that time.
A total of 12% of these crimes were reported to be pyramid schemes, but many of the victims did not know how to identify this scam.
Other financial threats included those that occur at the ATMs, sim card theft, and promises of employment.
