Living Beyond Our Means Takes Us Deeper Into Debt

A recent survey carried out by the internet bank Cahoot, a branch of Abbey, found that the majority of adults in the UK are still living beyond their means.

Cahoot found that 51% of the population in the UK spend more than they earn in some months while a more frightening statistic of 8% (1 in 12 adults) overspend each and every month.

The internet bank also found that we have no objections to financing any of our wants or needs using credit. 49% of us will use an overdraft to fund our spending while 48% of the population will use the overdraft just to make ends meet. Furthermore, 38% of us will dip into our savings to make ends meet while some even use a store card to finance their needs.

With this survey Cahoot has demonstrated that Britons certainly do like to treat themselves. On average, we spend approx one third of our take home pay on non-necessary luxury items, a staggering amount that must contribute to our overall debt.

The survey that Cahoot has carried out just shows how ignorant many of us are when our finances are called into question. A degree in rocket science is not required to know that if you spend more than you earn you will eventually your savings will be wiped out, debt will pile up and you will be in the financial mire.

Simple planning and sacrifice is required by many Britons who are still in debt and looking for ways out. If you could omit take-aways, eating out, shopping, cinema and other frivolous goods and services your finances should be in better health. Saving on these

Joseph Kenny
10/4/06

 

Like this news story? Grab our RSS credit card news feed updated on a daily basis.