Question:
I have debt totalling about R80 000. Most of my debt comprises of personal loans and furniture accounts. I don't have any assets, but I am a shareholder in a company. How can I consolidate my debt so that I only pay one amount?

Answer:
Unfortunately when it comes to debt consolidation banks will usually only consider you as a client if you are a property owner. The reason for this is that they are taking on additional risk and they need some kind of collateral.

Many people use their access bonds to consolidate their debt because the rate on a home loan is generally less than that of a car loan or credit card. Banks do not view shares in a private company as real assets because they only have value if they are sold and you can’t just sell the shares to any Tom, Dick or Harry.

Although it will relieve the headache of paying numerous bills, getting all your debt down to one monthly payment is not going to solve anything unless you can achieve a lower interest rate in the process.

If your aim is to reduce your monthly payments you can do this yourself by making a list of all your debt from the smallest to the biggest amount. Then target your smallest debt to pay off as quickly as possible. This may require you to cut expenses elsewhere to free up cash. Once you have paid off the first account use the money you are saving towards the next biggest debt. Keep doing this with all of your accounts until one by one they become paid up.