Statistics South Africa released new data about debt on Thursday 23 July 2009. This data looks at the numbers of people who have been taken to court due to non payment of what they owe. We are in a recession and there are more and more people feeling the squeeze and falling behind on their payments. As the whole economy struggles people who are owed money are quicker to take defaulters to court now. Comparing quarter 2 2008 to quarter 2 2009 there has been an increase of 10.4% in the amount of summonses issued. So what can you do? 

• Don't bury your head in the sand
• Seek help from a debt counsellor
• Sort it before it gets out of control

The recession is here and the squeeze is in and there has been a 10.4% rise in the amount of folk who have been taken to court for non payment. Debt is a very personal thing and many people are loathe to talk about it for fear of being labelled a bad payer or not good for their debts, but the fact is with increases in summonses like this there are more people who are bad payers now and in fact are not good for their debts. For many the ostrich response is what happens but this is when things can spiral out of control. The most important thing is to be honest with yourself and seek professional help sooner rather than later.

Plan a budget. Work out how much you have to pay out. If it looks like you will not be able to pay what you owe don't start skipping payments. This can start a downward spiral, rather face up to your debt issues and confront them head on. Contact the people that you owe money to and explain that you are having difficulty meeting your obligations. Renegotiate your payment plans, most of the people you owe money to just want their money back and will most likely be amenable to renegotiation. If they don't want to help you out you can contact a debt counsellor who can negotiate on your behalf and legally protect your assets from being attached while you sort your debt out. Just don't delay, and don't bury your head in the sand.