32% of Brits Have Increased Their Debt in the Past Year, New Survey Finds
- 32% of Brits have increased their debt in the past year
- A new nationally representative survey has been conducted on over 2,000 people
- 47% of those surveyed believe inflation has contributed to their debt
- Consumer Expert Tom Church shares 3 tips for debt management
A new nationally representative survey commissioned by LatestDeals.co.uk has found that 32% of Brits have increased their debt in the past year. The survey, which polled over 2,000 respondents from across the country, found over a third are in more debt.
Almost half, 47% of those surveyed, believe record-high inflation has contributed to their level of debt. The research indicates that inflation is having a significant impact on people’s finances. The survey was conducted by Find Out Now.
Commenting on the survey findings, Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said, “Record inflation of 10% and the cost-of-living crisis is pushing more people into debt. A third of Brits, in this nationally representative survey, say their debt has increased.”
“This problem is made worse by the fact that interest rates are increasing. The cost of borrowing is going up so debt is more expensive. Many families may be facing a debt spiral.”
“In our money-saving community, LatestDeals.co.uk, we’ve seen a huge rise in discussion about switching supermarkets, and in separate research of 4,000 people we found 54% now shop at discount retailers Aldi and Lidl, the highest proportion I’ve seen to date.”
“We’ve also seen a huge rise in people searching for cheaper alternatives to household products. Using price comparison tools and vouchers are more sought after than ever.”
“On the other hand, it’s good to see that some families have not increased their debt despite these challenging economic pressures. It seems some people have been good at adapting and shown resilience to the times.”
3 TIPS FOR REDUCING DEBT
Tom shared three quick tips for reducing debt:
- Get a Balance Transfer Credit Card: move any expensive debt where you’re paying interest onto a new credit card with 0% interest. This will allow you to pay off more of the debt faster.
- Prioritise the most expensive debt: If you have multiple credit cards, you may have different debts you need to pay off. You should always focus on paying off the most expensive debt first. If your cards have the same interest rate, just focus on the highest debt.
- Talk with your credit card provider: If you’re unable to obtain a 0% balance transfer card and find it difficult to pay more than the minimum amount each month, it’s advisable to contact your credit card provider. Discussing a credit card repayment plan with your lender can help you concentrate on paying off your debt. If the monthly payments for this plan are too high, you can negotiate a more manageable plan with your card provider.
It's scary to see how many people are in debt and in need of support. People don't reach out because they're scared to open that can of worms, if you will. It's not easy with the cost of living crisis, everything going up, except our pay!
Some local councils are paying more on debt interest than services and every single working person has government debt to the tune of about £80k or more. This is a similar situation to many countries of Europe like France, Spain, Portugal, Greece and to a lesser extent Italy and a few others. It's just a mad situation caused by incompetent and corrupt politicians and people's lack of economic sense.