Debt management for young professionals | Build good money habits

In this episode of Everything Counts, host Motheo Khoaripe speaks to Keshnie July, Lending Product Owner at Investec and Lehlogonolo Ramushu, Credit Risk Consultant at Investec, about what happens after the mistakes and how young professionals can rebuild, reset and start laying the foundation for building real wealth.

How to build better money habits

One of the strongest themes in the discussion is the importance of facing your finances head on. Lehlogonolo explains that many people get used to ignoring reminders, calls and statements. Over time, avoidance becomes a habit and habits are harder to break than debt itself.

Recovery starts with small, intentional steps:

• Bringing missed payments up to date
• Adjusting repayments to what you can realistically afford
• Setting clear targets, such as paying off and closing one credit account at a time by prioritising the accounts with the highest interest charges first.

Closing a paid-off credit card isn’t just symbolic, it removes temptation and creates a psychological win that builds momentum.

How to bounce back from money mistakes

Young professionals are under financial strain. Missed payments, misunderstood loan agreements, store accounts taken out too easily or periods of simply avoiding the problem altogether. As the episode’s opening story reveals, this can create a deep sense of shame and confusion: Where do I even start fixing this?

According to Keshnie, the starting point is always financial awareness. Your credit score may be low but it is not permanent. Reviewing your credit report helps you understand what you owe, where you fell behind, and which accounts need urgent attention. The goal isn’t perfection, it’s consistency. Paying on time, every month, begins to rebuild trust with lenders and with yourself.

The biggest financial mistakes that young adults make

Motheo reflects on a common trap for young professionals: the pressure to look successful. New jobs come with unspoken expectations like  clothes, social weekends, keeping up with peers. Clothing accounts, credit cards and short-term loans make it easy to fund a lifestyle before you can truly afford it.

The danger is that repayments quietly eat into everyday essentials like food, transport and electricity. What felt like small decisions add up until month-end becomes a constant struggle.

The importance of budgeting

Lehlogonolo shares a mistake many people make early on: not budgeting at all. Without tracking your spending, everything becomes a surprise. Groceries, petrol and casual purchases slowly drain your salary without you noticing.

Modern banking tools can help. Some banking apps categorise spending automatically, showing exactly where your money goes over three or six months. These insights make it easy to draw up a realistic budget based on actual spend. You can’t plan to spend R1 000 on petrol if your data shows you consistently spend R4 000.

Once you see the truth, you can decide what to cut back on and crucially, how much you can realistically save.

What young professionals should ask before taking on new debt

The conversation shifts to a critical checkpoint for young professionals: before taking on new debt.

Lehlogonolo highlights key questions everyone should ask:

• Do I need this or do I just want it?
• Can I live comfortably after paying this debt every month?
• Is this debt helping me grow financially or is it just convenient?
• Do I fully understand the terms and conditions like interest rate, fees and long-term cost?

Debt that consumes most of your salary leaves no room for life’s unpredictable expenses. When 70 to 80% of your income goes toward repayments, even small emergencies push you back into borrowing, restarting the cycle.

Asking for help when you run into financial problems

Keshnie emphasises something many people forget: banks are there to help. When you’re overwhelmed, the instinct is often to hide. But early conversations can open doors to restructuring, guidance and practical solutions.

That said, help works best when paired with personal responsibility. Recovering from debt requires sacrifice, discipline and honesty about your habits. Instant gratification (especially through buy-now-pay-later or store credit) can snowball quickly, turning manageable repayments into long-term stress.

Affordability assessments: Learning to listen when credit is limited

If a bank approves you for less than you hoped for (a smaller car loan, for example) it’s not a rejection of your success. It might be a reflection of affordability. Listening can protect your financial future especially in your building phase.

Strategies for building wealth in the long term

Once debt is under control, the focus shifts to saving and wealth creation. The experts recommend starting with an emergency fund covering three to six months of expenses. While it sounds daunting, it protects you from falling back into debt when life happens.

Beyond that, wealth-building can include:

• Tax-free savings accounts
• Money market funds
• Fixed or notice deposits
• Property investments over time

Wealth doesn’t require massive monthly contributions. As Lehlogonolo explains, it starts small. Automation helps, like setting up debit orders to transfer money into your emergency fund every month. Comparing savings interest rates and choosing products that suit your behaviour can also make a meaningful difference over time.

Small habits, big outcomes

Keshnie highlights a powerful but often overlooked strategy: paying a little extra on long-term debt. An additional few hundred rands on a home loan or vehicle finance can significantly reduce interest and shorten repayment periods.

Ultimately, wealth is built by returning to basics:

• Clear, realistic goals
• Measurable timeframes
• Consistent habits

You don’t need to be perfect. You need to be prepared, informed and willing to adjust.