Personal Finance - Have Consumers Had a Belly Full of Personal Debt?

For months, we were trigger-swipe happy, putting our groceries, clothes, holidays and service charges on our credit cards. We wanted mortgages, we took out loans, we watched Property Ladder and What Not To Wear. Whether you were born middle class, had middle class aspirations, you became middle class through your spending. Debt united people around the UK, we sympathised with each other on what we couldn't afford ? but it didn't matter, we still bought it. Soon everybody had a bottle of Jacob's Creek in their kitchen and olives and humous in the fridge.

Yet, it would seem as if a debt conscience is setting in. This morning, The Guardian printed a story based on the fact that Nationwide had reported a 0.2% decrease in the average house price, whilst the Times reported on a statement from the Bank of England, showing that credit-card borrowing was at its slowest rate for more than four years, with mortgage lending also very static.

According to the latest Department of Trade and Industry Survey, 5% of individuals reported finding their household's debt repayments a "heavy burden" and 4% of individuals are currently behind in payments for at least one credit commitment or domestic bill over the past three months.

According to Credit Action, in December 2004, 1.2 million electricity and 1 million gas domestic customers were behind in repaying their debts to their supplier. Additionally 20% of people say that they often neglect checking their bank balance because "they are too scared to find out how much money they have", according to Lloyds TSB.

Credit Action also reported that the number of people searching for help to manage their debts had almost doubled in May in 2005, compared to figures in May 2004 and a survey from Relate revealed that 44% of couples find money to be a contentious issue in their relationship and a quarter of people in debt are receiving treatment for stress, depression and anxiety from their GP.

It doesn't have to be all doom and gloom however. If you're lucky enough to have no outstanding debt, you can keep you finances in shape by exploiting the services of sites such as moneynet, which provide financial product price comparison information and extensive consumer information guides. If you have any outstanding debts, you can seek advice from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) or Citizens' Advice and financial comparison sites like lowermybills and moneynet also provide detailed research on debt consolidation loans and debt management.

Resources:

http://www.moneynet.co.uk/credit-card-guide/index.shtml

htt p://www.creditaction.org.uk/debtstats.htm

About Rachel

Rachel writes for the personalfinanosaurus Cashzilla

http://www.cashzilla.co.uk

Rachel has been writing personal finance related articles for six months and has learnt so much about mortgages and life insurance, that nobody invites her out to dinner anymore. :(

---

5 Ways to Absolutely Destroy Your Finances!

Ben Stein has a book called How to Ruin Your... Read More

Top 10+ Ways to Jumpstart your New Year?s Finances!

Of course, these don't have to be done in any... Read More

Honor Those Who Serve with Checking Account Supplies

Our global society has had a wake up call in... Read More

Financial Fitness - Are You Exercising the Right Muscles to become Financially Fit?

Are your financial muscles well toned and healthy or flabby... Read More

Affording a Home

Can you really afford a house? If so, how much... Read More

Tips To Save Money At The Supermarket

Are you interested in saving money off your grocery bills?... Read More

College Expenses: Seven Ways to Save on an Education

Many people graduate from college owing thousands of dollars in... Read More

10 Tips to Make Sure Your Financial Budget Will Succeed

You've analyzed your past expenses, put them into spreadsheets, loaded... Read More

Financing Collectibles for Fun and Profit

With the advent of the internet and especially auction services... Read More

The Good and the Bad of Money Management

Good money management needn't be difficult. In fact, there a... Read More

Save Your Money, Dont Give to Charity Scammers

**If it's Spam, it's a Scam!- If it sounds too... Read More

Why We Are Never Satisfied with What We Have

I have to admit, I do it too. I complain.... Read More

What is a Traditional IRA?

With a traditional Investment Retirement Account (IRA) you pay taxes... Read More

Financial Security

1) HOW TO LOOK FOR A JOBA) The Chronological Curriculum:1.... Read More

10 Tips To Save Money When Dining Out

Here are some tips that can help you save money... Read More

When do You Need a Financial Management Company on Your Side?

We live in a crazy world. Someone ought to sell... Read More

Save Money on your Clothing Budget. Tame the Closet Monster!

Reducing the clothing budget was a serious challenge for me.... Read More

Can You Afford Not To Look After Your Personal Finances?

Investing is a subject a lot of people don't want... Read More

Creating A Household Budget

Creating a budget can be a very difficult task. Although... Read More

Budgeting: A Tough Love Way to Handle Your Household Budget

Developing and living by a household budget is by far... Read More

Your Dry Cleaner?s Double Standard

Women are charged more for dry cleaning services. Don't fume,... Read More

10 Quick And Cheap Ways To Cut Your Heating Bill

When you received an energy (heating) bill last winter, were... Read More

Learning the Basics of Handling Money

With prices increasing all the time, saving money can be... Read More

Students Investing in Their Future Need to Manage Their Finances Today

With the A-level results coming out, the long wait for... Read More

How To Get Ahead On A Low Income

Do you struggle from week to week trying to make... Read More

How Electronic Checks Work ? Will Paper Checks Eventually Go Away?

Traditional checks probably won't disappear anytime soon, but processing checks... Read More

Planning Your Financial Future

Millions of people give a lot of thought to financial... Read More

Saving Money - Are You Doing Enough?

It is estimated that we, as consumers, waste an average... Read More

Check Facts and Figures

Are you a check fanatic? Don't worry, you aren't alone.... Read More

How To Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft

Identity theft is a serious crime that continues to grow.... Read More

Budgeting the Key to being Financially Stable

Single Mother's in need of Financial GuidanceBudgeting is key to... Read More

The Origins of Check Writing

People haven't always written checks to buy goods and services.... Read More

Bank On It: Places to Hide and Invest Money

Today I passed a thermometer at a bank that read... Read More