The recession was caused by reckless lending. Too long a party on money that wasn't real money created by real things, but rather a boom fuelled by reckless lending that has crashed and burned. We have been living on borrowed money for too long and time is running out. The party is over and the debt needs to get paid back. The latest debt statistics show that debt trouble is still rising, with both more summonses and judgements against debt being issued. So what are the statistics and what do they mean?

• Summonses up 14.7% year on year
• Judgements up 15.2% year on year
• Value of Judgements now at R640.4 million

These figures showing the extent of the debt trouble that we have in South Africa have been rising for most of the year, and show no signs of slowing down. Further data from the Reserve Bank has shown that we are recovering slower than the rest of the world economy and are not really expecting prospects to pick up until the second half of 2010. Companies that are owed money are feeling the strain and resorting to the courts more and more.

So if you are feeling the credit crunch and are in debt trouble don't do nothing about it. You will get taken to court if you do not deal with your debt trouble. The people you owe money to are also feeling the pain and would generally rather make a plan than spend all that time and money on court. So face up to it, plan a budget, pay off the most expensive debt first, cut back on your spending and you can survive the recession. If you feel that your debt trouble has got out of control contact a professional debt management firm.