Before Januworry Hits: Do You Know What Your Home Actually Costs to Run?

Ask most South Africans what their bond or rent is, and they'll tell you in a second. Ask what the home costs to run each month, all in, and it usually goes quiet.

That's not carelessness. Electricity, water and rates, levies, insurance, medical aid, security, internet, the garden service, streaming, the car licence: they're spread across debit orders, cards, prepaid top-ups and the odd cash payment. Each one changes on its own schedule. Nobody ever sees them all on one page.

Why January feels so tight

"Januworry" is a joke with a real edge. In Debt Rescue's January 2026 survey, 58.5% of respondents said they were financially worse off after the festive season, and 37% named school fees and back-to-school costs as their biggest concern. Debt Rescue CEO Neil Roets put it plainly: "While finances are too tight to mention, it is the emotional toll this takes on consumers that is of real concern."

Part of that pressure is simply not knowing. When you don't know your monthly number, every debit order in January feels like a surprise.

Running costs don't jump. They creep.

Very few household costs double overnight. They go up a little, on different dates, and it adds up:

• Electricity. NERSA-approved municipal tariff increases took effect on 1 July 2026: 8.63% in Johannesburg, 8.8% in Tshwane, 9% in eThekwini, 12.7% in Ekurhuleni and between 6.7% and 7.5% in Cape Town.
• Medical aid. 2026 contribution increases among the largest open schemes ranged from 6.8% to 9.9%, according to Alexforbes data reported by BusinessTech.
• Subscriptions. Standard Bank found that, on average, low-income households spend R336 a month on subscriptions and middle-income earners R482, while many high-income individuals spend well over R1,000.
• Renewals. Insurance policies, contracts and annual memberships often renew automatically, sometimes at a new price nobody checked.

None of this is a reason to cancel the things you enjoy. As Standard Bank's Doret Jooste said, "We all deserve to spend a portion of our incomes on things that bring joy and comfort." The point is to know what you're paying, and when it changes.

This isn't about budgeting. It's about knowing your home.

Your running costs are part of your home's story, just like knowing when the geyser was replaced or which plumber you trust. The number matters in moments you can't always plan for:

• when you move, renovate or buy a second property
• when you rent out a cottage or keep a holiday home and want to see what it costs on its own
• when someone else in the family takes over the household admin
• when something happens and the people you love need to know what gets paid, to whom and how

Knowing your number also lets you plan. If you know the insurance renews in March and electricity goes up in July, those months stop being surprises. You can see them coming and make room for them.

Don't be the only one who knows how the bills are run

In many homes, one person quietly runs the household accounts. They know which debit orders go off when, which account the rates are paid from, when the car insurance renews and who to call about the alarm. Everyone else just knows that things get paid.

That works, until it doesn't. If that person is suddenly in hospital, travelling for work for weeks, or something worse happens, the other main member of the household is left trying to work it all out from bank statements and old emails, often at the hardest possible time. Accounts go unpaid, cover lapses, and services get cut off, not because the money isn't there, but because nobody else knew how it all worked.

So make sure at least one other adult in your home knows:

• which bills and accounts exist, and who each one is with
• how each one is paid: debit order, card, EFT or prepaid, and from which account
• the account or policy reference numbers, and who to contact
• when the big ones renew or go up
• where the policies and important documents are kept

Never share passwords or PINs this way. The point is that someone else knows what exists and how it runs, not that they can log in as you.

A 30-minute year-end check of your home running costs

1. List every regular cost. Start with the home: rates and taxes, water, electricity, levies, home insurance, security and armed response, internet. Then the people and things in it: medical aid, life cover, school fees and activities, cellphone contracts, domestic and garden help, the pool, vehicle insurance, licence and tracking, pet insurance, subscriptions.
2. Turn everything into a monthly figure. Divide yearly costs by 12 and quarterly costs by 3. That one total is your number.
3. Note the renewal and increase dates. Insurance renewals, contract end dates and the month each cost usually goes up.
4. Mark what's paused or no longer needed. The gym you stopped using, the second streaming service, the cover on a car you've sold.
5. Note who manages each one and how it's paid. Debit order, card, EFT or prepaid, and the account or policy reference.
6. Keep it where the household can find it, and walk someone through it. Not in one person's head or inbox. Sit down with your partner or another adult in the home and go through the list together.
7. Plan for what's coming. Mark the months when the bigger renewals and increases land, so you can plan for them rather than react to them.

Then keep it current as you go. We wrote about why that matters in Keep your household information up to date.

How Axario Home helps

Axario Home isn't a budgeting app, and it doesn't connect to your bank. It's where you keep the running of your home in one place, including what it costs:

• Bills & running costs in one place. Record the provider, amount, how often it's paid, the renewal date, the annual increase date, how it's paid and the reference number. Link each cost to a home, vehicle, pet, item or family member.
• Your monthly number. See your household's monthly and yearly total, with yearly and quarterly costs converted to a monthly amount, broken down by group and by type.
• Each home on its own. A holiday home or rental cottage shows its own running costs on its Financials page.
• Renewals you won't miss. Tap "Remind me" on a renewal date and Axario Home reminds you in the app or by email.
• Paused, not forgotten. Pause a cost you've stopped for now, without losing the details.
• Bills and meter readings. Log a bill and Axario Home reads the amount from a photo. Record meter readings to see what you actually used.
• A quick start. Import your costs from a spreadsheet using the template, and download a running costs PDF whenever you need it.
• Shared with your household. Invite your partner or another adult, and they can see the household's running costs, who manages each one and how it's paid, so it's not all in one person's head. Costs linked to a specific family member stay visible only to the household's Owners and Admins.
• Ready if something happens. The "If something happens" pack brings your policies, wills, insurance, emergency contacts, financial and legal contacts, and where important things are kept into one place, ready to print or download. Policies and wills are kept for Owners and Admins only, so make your partner an Admin if they should be able to see everything.

Know your number before January does. Start your free 14-day Axario Home trial.

Frequently asked questions

How do I work out what my home costs to run each month? List every regular household cost, divide yearly costs by 12 and quarterly costs by 3, and add them to your monthly costs. The total is your monthly running cost.

Which household costs are easiest to forget? Yearly and irregular costs: vehicle licences, annual subscriptions and memberships, insurance renewals, and costs that go up once a year, like electricity tariffs and medical aid.

Is Axario Home a budgeting app? No. Axario Home helps you run your home: your records, running costs, renewal dates and reminders. It doesn't connect to your bank or track day-to-day spending.

Why should someone else in my household know how the bills are paid? If the person who runs the household accounts is ill, away or something unforeseen happens, the other main member of the household needs to know which accounts exist, how they're paid and where the documents are, so nothing lapses or gets cut off.

Can I see the running costs of a second property separately? Yes. Each home in Axario Home shows its own running costs on its Financials page, so a holiday home or rental can be seen on its own.

Sources

• Debt Rescue: almost 60% of survey respondents say they are worse off after December (22 Jan 2026)
• EWN: Brace for higher electricity bills from 1 July (25 Jun 2026)
• BusinessTech: 2026 medical aid increases, Alexforbes data (4 Nov 2025)
• Standard Bank: Soaring subscription bills may indicate subscription fatigue in SA households (22 May 2025)