r/askSouthAfrica

So we got an email saying our price was increasing.. standard stuff but it’s now more than what they advertise the same line for on their site.. like 150 South African rands more. When I called them to check they say that’s only the price for new customers. So loyal long standing customers are getting shafted?? Surely it should be the same for everyone???

Edit: the wifi has also been super patchy since getting that mail

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I messed up massively. I opened a credit card on advice of a partner who promised me to pay it off. Now he's not paying it back. I don't have proof as it was all on call. Now I can't pay it back as I wasn't working full time but got a very high sum from family for helping out. Due to said partner I'm not getting that amount anymore. It's 120K Cc. I can't get a job atm. I'm in the final year of my degree. I don't know what to do. Is there a way to wipe the slate clean? I cant rely on anyone can't go to small claims so that's out.

I’m a film director based in Cape Town and I’m currently putting together an independent short film. The script’s ready to go, now I’m looking to collaborate with some talented up-and-coming actors who’d be keen to be part of something creative and build a strong portfolio piece.

If you’re an actor (or know someone who is) and you’re interested in getting involved, I’d love to connect. Feel free to drop a comment or send me a DM!

So the title speaks for itself: I've been in (kinda) Nelspruit (a nearby place, omitted for privacy), for almost 3 months now.

I just graduated from Stellies to work as a Mechatronic Engineer in training. And it's been lonely, man. I keep myself busy; I paint, read, make music, play silksong, do all kinds of projects. But I miss people.

It's hard. This is my first job. And I am a young person, and a woman, in a workplace of mostly older guys. It's hard to make friends at work, and the philosophy is largely 'every man for himself'.

I don't miss the stress of univeristy, but I do miss my friends. I miss not having to 'perform' (people at my work love to remind me that I am essentially on a 2 year long interview, and every move I make must be calculated and intentional - no pressure).

I miss my church. I miss the deep talks about Jesus and the people who genuinely cared.

I know this is all standard procedure of reminiscing about "what was" as soon as the new chapter in life begins for any young person. But I want to seek a solution.

How can I make friends? Especially in this area? Are there any cool clubs or activities? I would love to hear some advice.

I am extremely grateful that I have my degree, and my job, and a place to stay. And I know I'll be fine whatever may come. But it would be nice to thrive and make friends beyond the scope of just surviving. Life's just too short, y'know?

I like to have my favorite movies and shows on physical media, but these days it seems to be impossible to find anything.

I remember back in the 2000s spending ages hunting around Look & Listen and getting many VHS tapes and later DVDs from there. Amazon was also really good since it was easy and cheap to buy stuff from America. Before Covid I also got quite a few things from Raru.

Now, none of those are viable options. There are a few places that import things for ludicrous prices, but aside from that the only source is to scrounge around charity shops. But they obviously don't have any recent releases.

So are there any affordable choices left, or did streaming and South Africa's love of piracy kill off physical media sales entirely?

Hi anyone, so the story is that I’m getting married in 2weeks time. Well actually uMembeso. My in-laws got a dress made for me of which I sent the seamstress pictures of inspirations of what I’d like and that lady did absolutely the wrong things and I hate the front of my dress, I can’t change it because the fit is fine and the seamstress is all the way in KZN. This is the dress I’ll be chilling with for most of the day and I can’t believe over 300 people will be seeing me in this. I hate it and I’m more so anxious that everyone around me will have a much more beautiful dress than me the bride, omg just thinking about it, makes me regret everything. Ohh I hate myself for the decisions I made too. I somewhat felt rush, but also the jealousy of seeing what others will be wearing is getting to me and not being able to change my dress irritates me. I’m tired of complaining to my fiancé because he said there’s nothing we can do, his parents won’t be able to get the dress and take it to the seamstress to get it fixed, so I’m stuck with this and every time I bring it up, it’s alluded that I’m being ungrateful so for a brief moment I just gave up and sucked it up that you know what my in-laws are getting this for me so that’s what matters. But my brain won’t let go of the fact that this is the best I could choose and this is the best the seamstress can do and omg knowing that this what people will perceive of me is what’s killing me. What can I do and has anyone ever experienced this?

Is anyone else struggling with their current situation right now?

I work in cybersecurity at a company in Midrand, and I’ve been here for 2 years now.

Before this, I worked in pharmacy for 8 years. I decided to switch careers because:

1. I’ve always genuinely loved IT, and an opportunity finally came up for me to get into the field.

2. I honestly thought it would pay better.

Right now I’m earning R11,000, and I’m starting to wonder… is it just me, or is this way below what it should be?

What’s making it worse is that I’m not even getting any real cybersecurity experience or exposure. It feels like I’m just existing...waking up, going through the motions, and going back to sleep. I’m not learning, not growing, and it honestly feels like I’m wishing my life away. i feel much more stuck here then i did in pharmacy.

I’ve been applying for overseas roles and job hunting every single day, but it’s really starting to take a toll on me mentally.

Has anyone else gone through something similar after changing careers?

honeslt, my intrusive thoughts of driving into the oncoming lane everyday is strong

Hey everyone,

I'm currently applying for Data Science roles at a few Fintech companies, and I'm running into a bit of a wall with the psychometric testing (specifically the numerical reasoning and aptitude tests).

To be completely honest, mental math and rapid-fire calculations under time pressure aren't my strongest suits. I'm much better at the actual logic, coding, and problem-solving aspects of DS, but these timed math tests are tripping me up before I even get to the technical interviews.

Does anyone have advice on how to prep for these when math isn't your natural anchor? Are there any specific websites, platforms, or strategies you used to drill for these assessments and get your speed up?

Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

I’m 23(M), from a poor background, and I recently got a bursary to study a BSc in IT (Network & Security Engineering) at Eduvos. I stay in Walmer Estate, paying R3k rent for a shared room. I work a job that currently pays me R5k net, and I’m about to start a call centre job that could bring in around R12k — which honestly feels like a lot right now but I know it’s still tight when you factor in everything.

I start Block 2 (basically their Term 2) on the 4th of May as a first-year student. Textbooks alone are going to cost me between R11k–R14k total. Let that sink in.

The bursary is life-changing for me, genuinely. But it comes with conditions — I need to maintain at least a 65% average to keep it. So failing isn’t just an academic problem. It means losing everything I’ve built toward.

Here’s what’s stressing me most right now: I haven’t touched maths since matric, and even then it was Maths Literacy. Now I’m walking into Calculus cold, after a 4-year gap, I will be doing C++ amongst other modules and I don’t know fokol, owes tell me it’s hard so I’m scared. I know I need to prioritise the hard modules, especially anything maths-related, but between working 8 hours a day and trying to study, I’m already feeling the squeeze before I’ve even started.

I’m not looking for generic advice. I want to hear from people who’ve actually been in the industry or who came from a similar background.

Specifically:

1. What IT roles actually pay well long-term in SA (and globally if you can remote)?

Cybersecurity? Cloud? DevOps? Network engineering? I keep hearing different things and I don’t know what’s hype vs. what’s real. What fields have people actually seen strong salaries in after a few years of solid experience?

2. If you were me — first year, working full-time, no safety net — what would you focus on?

Certs on the side? Which ones first? Coding? Labs? Or just surviving year one and worrying about the rest later?

3. How did you manage studying while working full-time?

I’m already tired thinking about it. I’m not lazy, I just want to know what actually worked for people who’ve done both at the same time.

4. Any practical financial survival tips?

Cheap meals that aren’t just plain rice. Budgeting strategies. Anything that helped you stay afloat when money was genuinely tight every single month.

5. What would you do differently if you could go back to year one?

What did you waste time on? What do you wish you’d started earlier?

I come from nothing and I need this to work. Not just “pass and get a degree”. I deadass want to build toward a career that can actually change my family’s situation. I’m willing to put in the work. I just don’t want to grind in the wrong direction for 3 years and come out the other side with a degree that doesn’t open doors.

If you’ve made it in IT, or you’re on your way there, I’d genuinely appreciate your perspective. 🙏

I'm a homeschool student with a lot of extra time on my hands and I think it would be great to have a part time job and my living conditions aren't the best as I'm not living with my mom and I'm living with my sister as my mom isn't in a financial place to have me live with her right now. I'm not mad at her at all. But I think it would be great if I can get a job too so that me and my mother can both contribute to a place to live. So here's my question. What places can I apply to that would allow a teenager to work there? I'm very hardworking. And there's nothing I wouldn't be willing to do.

Has anyone moved schools in matric due to mental health and trauma reasons, if so how did you do it?

Hi, everyone. I have applied for medical aid through my new employer, and I would be on the Discovery Keycare Plus plan.

Just curious if anyone on this plan has successfully received a cochlear implant for deafness. I have been deaf in one ear since birth (I was diagnosed by an audiologist when I was a child). I haven't ever used hearing aids as I was told at the time that there wasn't anything they could do for me back then.

I'd also really appreciate hearing about the experiences of other deaf and hearing impaired folks in SA.

Thank you!

Hey, I’m currently in Grade 12 in South Africa. In Grade 11 I switched from pure maths to maths literacy, and my marks were kind of average overall. I really need advice before I make a decision.

At first I wanted to go into accounting, but after doing more research I realised the path I was looking at wouldn’t actually get me to CA ( the extended accounting course) , so I dropped that idea. Now I’m more interested in going into tech (like software engineering or something similar).

The problem is most tech degrees require pure maths, and I’m doing maths lit.

So now I’m stuck between two options Do I?: Apply this year with my current marks (maybe for something like IT/Information Systems or a private college) Or take a gap year in 2027 and upgrade, switch back to pure maths, and improve my marks so I can apply for better tech degrees

I just don’t know what the smarter move is long term and it’s stressful since applications have opened now.

Also, how does upgrading actually work in South Africa? Do universities accept upgraded marks the same way? Is it realistic to switch from maths lit back to pure maths and do well?

I’d really appreciate advice, especially from people who went through something similar.

Hi everyone.

I will be moving to Klerksdorp in NW in a few months and just want to know if Bolt or Uber is available there? When I check the apps it seems like it is, but one can't really tell if it's reliable or not.

So I'm (26F) 5 months pregnant with my first and the options for everything is endless however one thing I really don't mind spending a little more on is a baby crib/cot as its not just for the baby's comfort but mine as well.I live in a flat and the bedrooms are decent sizes but not super huge and ideally I'd like the crib in our room.From all I've seen so far the Noola cloud nest seems to be the best choice as its compact,works as a co sleeper and also adjusts into a camp cot as the kid is growing however there isn't much reviews online so I'd like to know if anyone has one of these and can let me know their experience or if anyone has more insight into this topic and can let me know of better options.

Thanks in advance

PS: I am on mobile so mind the grammar and format.

same as main title. My budget is R1700. I know that's not alot, but I don't wanna spend too much for just cutting my own lawn. I'm willing to push to R2000 if necessary. Nice bonus is if it has a good selection of spare parts and doesn't break down easily (which I get is asking for alot at that price). If absolutely necessary, I can go to Bloem to get the trimmer, but that's it.

here are some trimmers that I've looked at so far:

https://www.takealot.com/gardena-electric-turbotrimmer-comfortcut-550-28/PLID73652847

I've got a DSTV account, however I've tried two different VPNs and the one I'm using now (Surfshark) is very slow and very poor quality. Any advice on what VPN works well for streaming DSTV reliably and at least at 720p?

Guys, I know I may not probably do this here, but Im in DESPERATE need of some funds to look after my family right now. Just a few bucks. I am legit and honest. If it could be a small loan or a donation I would appreciate it soo much.

I dont want to out all details here, but please comment your number or dm me and I will gladly explain.

Please, I beg to just help me. I know eveyone struggle, but please.

Thank you for reading. May God work in your hearts for me.