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The Latest Debt Index

The most recent Debt Index from DebtBusters has been released and it once again paints a picture of consumers in serious stress.

For those wanting to help people deal with their debt, the report gives real insights into how debt is impacting various types of consumers in different ages and income groups.

Benay Sager (Executive Head of DebtBusters) says: “Since 2016 electricity tariffs increased by 165%, petrol price increased by 75%, and inflation’s (CPI) compounded impact is 51%. As a result, it is perhaps not surprising that consumers who applied for debt counselling in Q2 2025 needed 70% of their take-home pay to service their debt.

He also says that: “95% of these consumers had a personal loan – a new record. A further 54% of consumers had a one-month (payday) loan – another record – indicating that consumers continue to supplement their income with short-term unsecured credit, and personal loans, especially one-month loans, have become a lifeline for many.“

DebtBusters have been collecting data since 2016, which allows for some interesting comparisons.

One insight about how consumers have lost buying power was that, ‘Compared to 2016 cohorts, those consumers who applied for debt counselling in Q2 2025 had…49% less purchasing power.

Nominal incomes for incoming cohorts were 2% higher than 2016 levels; however when cumulative inflation (CPI) growth of 51% is factored in for the same nine-year period, incoming consumers’ purchasing power was 49% that of 2016

What is quite scary is that most income bands have had to use  21% of their disposable income (after debt repayments) to pay for electricity, water, rates, and transport.

In addition, because of food inflation, many income groups had to spend more than 30% of their disposable income on food, leaving little room for insurance.

People are also more indebted than ever. More people entering debt review have more accounts and more debt.

You can download the full report below for additional insights.

Thanks to DebtBusters for making this information so widely available.

Q2 2025 Debtbusters Debt Index