The average Brit doesn’t consider themselves to be ‘in debt’ until they owe £45,000, according to new research.
A study into the financial behaviour of 2,000 adults revealed Brits are only concerned about their financial situation when the mountain of debt reaches a peak of £45,454.26. Four in ten admit they rely on credit cards to see them through the whole month, and usually have a balance of at least £3,000 debt to pay.
Some 12 per cent live permanently in their overdraft and sadly never manage to make it back into the black. Most people dip into their overdraft less than halfway through the month, steadily working their way towards their £900 limit.
Dennie Morris, Managing Editor of talkRADIO, a personality-driven station which launches today and tackles all the hot topics of the day, said: “It is hugely concerning that it takes so many people until they owe more than £45,000 to really feel the pinch, and to try and tackle their debt.
“talkRADIO’s research highlights that the days are long gone when an overdraft was for emergency borrowing only and a credit card was something we pulled out when there was no other option.
These days it’s perfectly acceptable to rely on finance or loans to purchase bigger items, and to lean on overdrafts and credit cards to get through a normal month of spending.”
Six in ten people would think nothing of buying a car on finance, while others are happy borrowing money for home improvements, new bathroom or kitchen suites, medical expenses or furnishings. A fifth of Brits are even unperturbed about getting a loan to pay off bills or other debts incurred elsewhere.
But 65 per cent of folk claim that despite their debts, they are currently fairly relaxed about their financial situation. Two thirds of people think the days are gone when people would save up for a long time for something they wanted, and more than half of those think it’s quite unusual if someone doesn’t have a credit card to fall back on when times are hard.
Dennie adds: “The Chancellor has just announced his budget for 2016, so debt is high on the agenda and a key issue for the British public, making for interesting timing of these findings.
“The public’s attitude towards debt means that some people are happy never to climb out of the red and also divulge active encouragement to borrow more from lenders, which are worrying facts to quote.
“The level of confusion that talkRADIO’s research highlights between ‘good debt’ and bad is also pretty appalling, with so many of those questioned thinking of bank loans and finance as a good thing, a point that surely needs to be addressed in the future.
“talkRADIO launches today and these are the kind of topics that we won’t be shying away from.”
