According to a new study, large numbers of indebted Brits do not fully appreciate the severity of their problems and are having hard times coping with the facts.

As a national average, UK citizens are balancing personal debts worth around £10,000 pounds. However, a recently conducted study amongst indebted consumers has revealed that the public’s perception of our national debt level equated to almost half of its true value. Analysts have suggested that although the survey was presumptive in its nature, it still accurately portrays Britain’s ignorance towards personal debt commitments, which is obviously worrying.

However, what did come as quite a surprise was the fact that very few homeowners were far wrong when guesstimating their current mortgage balance. Accordingly, around 85% of homeowners correctly guessed their outstanding balance to a tolerance of £5000. It would appear that people in the UK instinctively prioritise their mortgage commitments, pushing any other debts to the wayside.

The sheer scale of a mortgage coupled with the implications associated to missing payments is thought to be the ultimate reason why consumers are so attune to this particular debt, although missing or misbalancing other credit commitments can be just as detrimental to ones finances.

Consumers must realise that all debt should be treated equal, and should be accounted in the same vein as a mortgage. Problems tend to arise when people presume to know their total debt balance and account for that presumption, only to find out how off they were when the bills roll in.