As the prospect of financial difficulties loom above the heads of many UK citizens, a recent poll has revealed that tens of thousands of people are apprehensive with regards to their future financial position.

Accordingly, over two fifths of those surveyed stated that the condition of their future finances were cause for graver concerns than any other aspect of their day to day lives. Although, as an almost direct contradiction to the research, a large percentage of said responders admitted that the act of spending money was also one of their biggest personal comforts.

One expert stated that today’s consumers are extremely fickle. On one hand they are becoming increasingly stressed by the prospect of sinking into a financial abyss, where on the other hand they are happy to continue spending. Unfortunately, unless people stand up and face the fact that they have a problem, it will not go away or indeed, get any better.

It has also been discovered that the average indebted Brit owes around £30,000, which represents an increase of 110% over the last 1.5 decades.

According to recent research by one of the UK’s premier independent market analysis firms, astonishingly large numbers of Britain’s youth are said to be completely oblivious to there mounting debt dilemmas.

It has been discovered that almost half of all 19 – 25 year olds actively admit to being unable to guesstimate their creditor commitments, to the nearest £400 worth of debt. The news officially marks our younger generations as being the most irresponsible demographic when it comes to issues of personal finances. 

A representative from the research firm suggested that the results further support the argument for the introduction of debt lessons into schools. It is also fairly obvious that the UK’s younger demographic have little to no interest in saving their cash and/or budgeting for the future.

One expert also suggested that today’s consumer appears to accept debt as a way of life, and many people are actually setting themselves debt thresholds for the running of their day-to-day lives. In essence, we no longer budget around our earnings, opting instead to use credit as our ultimate financial boundary.

One of the UK’s most prevalent financial advice firms has recently stated that consumer debt levels in the UK are fast becoming chaotic.

Financial specialists CDV have suggested that consumers procrastinate far to much with regards to actually tackling their debt problems, and it would appear that many indebted individuals are only acting on their situation once it becomes to late. Our countries rapidly changing financial climate is reportedly causing many consumers serious problems with regards to their secured debts, with many homeowners reporting that their mortgage repayments are becoming unmanageable.

A spokesperson for CDV commented that it is high time that our countries indebted populous stood up and took action in order to combat their debt problems. It was also suggested that the Governments recent suggestion regarding the introduction debt management lessons into schools should be further spread to the adult population in the form of night classes.

A recent study has revealed that almost 8 and a half million people are struggling with what the government classes as “serious debt”.

Accordingly, almost 20% of indebted Brits have at least £11,000.00 in outstanding credit agreements, which are represented by a rise of almost 30% in the first quarter of this year. It has also been discovered that serious debt appears to affect men considerably worse than it does women, with approximately 20% of indebted males owing a minimum of £11,000.00.

The actual level of personal debt also seems to vary quite dramatically depending on whereabouts in Britain you look. Statistically, Scotland is worse affected by consumer debt than England, which was also reflected in the survey. Almost 25% of Scots owe a minimum of 11,000, and around 30% of these people admit to struggling with their credit commitments.

As a means to tackle personal debt, experts have advised consumers to consider the following debt solutions, usually in the following order: -

1. Try to better organise your finances through budgeting
2. A consolidation loan
3. A Debt Management plan
4. IVA or Bankruptcy

It is advisable for any indebted person to seek professional advice before they decide which of the above methods would be suitable, and it is also worth noting that the suitability of an IVA or Bankruptcy very much depend on individual circumstances and should only be considered in extreme cases.

A debt consolidation loan can be an extremely effective way to manage your debts, however you must learn to sever ties with any other unsecured credit provider in order for it to be successful.

That’s the advice given to debtors by one of the UK’s leading financial advisory firms. Accordingly, more than 40% of indebted people who apply and successfully qualify for a debt consolidation loan, hinder any chance of success by pursing their reliance on other forms of credit.

There are two reasons why this type of action is bad. The first and most obvious is that by continuing to apply for credit effectively renders the consolidation loan useless, as your monthly financial commitments increase almost immediately after the consolidation loan has reduced them.

The second reason is slightly less obvious, but by continuing to apply for credit and continuingly defaulting on your agreements can be devastating to your credit profile. This can be a major hindrance if you are advised to take a consolidation loan as a solution to your problem at a later stage, and are declined due to your past behaviour.

The general rule of thumb is to only use credit to control your credit if you are deadly serious about resolving your situation. If you feel that you cannot trust yourself with additional forms of credit then stay well away. Statistically, consumers struggling with debt are almost 60% more likely to require an IVA at a later date, through the mismanagement of such loans.

A recent survey conducted by one of the UK’s leading debt advice sites has discovered that the identification of a practical solution to the countries current debt crisis, is of paramount importance to Brits in today’s modern society.

Reportedly, over 35% of UK residents consider our nations debt problem to be more case sensitive than active threats of terrorism, practical healthcare reforms or changes in CO2 production in order to curb damage to the environment.

In addition, a staggering 85% of people believe that certain forms of credit such as credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts should be approved more sparingly, and around 10% of people believe that serious debt solutions such as IVA’s and Bankruptcy are also entered into to easily by the indebted.

Numerous representatives from different sectors of the debt industry are currently in talks with Government officials, in an attempt to reach an amicable solution in order to defuse the bomb that is consumer debt.