Debt is a Learned Habit
Millions of Brits are now deep in debt and not ashamed of owing money. In fact, it is more of a stigma to rent and remain out of debt, or even build wealth, than it is to be hopelessly in debt and forced into bankruptcy.
Debt is now the norm in the UK. Teenagers start to build debt while still at school, and not on student loans, but on clothing and luxury items.
College students owe an average of £28,000.
Married couples owe their combined wages for four to five years to come. In many households, this debt excludes the mortgage.
The current figures claim that the UK personal debt levels increases £1,950,000 every 3.85 minutes according to Credit Action, a national money education charity.
“Our passion is to help people stay in control, rather than let money control them and disrupt their lives through over indebtedness,” says a spokesperson.
A Conservative Party poll suggested that as many as 9 million people are struggling to cope with serious debt problems. However, the Bank of England counters by claiming that 53 per cent of the people they polled expect to clear their debts by the end of 2007, excluding their mortgages.
This is hard for some watchdog groups to believe. Currently, there are more credit cards than people. APACS states that, in 2005, there were 74.6 million credit and charge cards compared with 60 million people.
The Financial Services Authority said that almost a third of all teens and young adults between 16-24 years old cannot manage a weekly budget.
The Authority, a statutory body set up under the Financial Services and Markets Act, said that 94 percent of all 16-year-olds believe it is important to know how to manage money, but only 53 percent are taught how to do so.