Spiraling UK Credit Card Debt Affecting Divorce Rates
According to a new report recently published by Debt Free Direct, debt that is acquired in the joint name of your partner now accounts for 28% of all personal bankruptcies in the UK.
Typically this debt is made during times when both parties to the relationship believe that the relationship will never end. More often than not, these debt has been made using joint credit cards, where the credit card has both a primary and secondary user. With divorce rates being three times higher among bankrupts, the message is clear: if you want your relationship to stand the test of time, then think very carefully before agreeing to have a joint credit card account.
Recent evidence appears to show that uncontrolled credit card spending is now a major problem among younger women in the UK. It is not necessarily the case that women have less reason to control their credit card spending than men, but the daily situations that women in relationships face normally means they turn to their credit card to pay for household items more often than men.
Unchecked, however, and the end of the month credit card statement, which typically is in the man’s name, will likely cause a shock and possibly an ensuing argument over the amount being spent. Added to this is the fact women are far less likely to be in a position to financially get themselves out of the UK credit card debt trap without the help of the man. In some cases, concerned with the spiraling level of credit card debt means the man has to cut the woman’s access to the joint credit card off, with all the problems that follow such a move to follow.
However, even where men do not cut off access to the UK credit card, mounting credit card debt payments generally results in financial hardship of the male primary cardholder, which in turn can lead to credit card defaults and, finally, action being brought by the UK credit card issuer to reclaim the debt.
So far as the man is concerned, the woes he is experiencing here have primarily been brought about because of the UK credit card spending habits of his partner, not him. In turn, this puts intense pressure on the couple’s relationship and, unfortunately, more often than not this is now ending up in the divorce courts.
The obvious lesson to learn from this is if you are going to agree to have a joint credit card with your loved one, you need to be communicating with each other so that the other knows exactly how much is being spent on the card and so that you can mutually agree that you can afford the purchases being made on the credit card.
While mutual consent as to the amount of debt you are creating as a couple is no assurance that you won’t end up bankrupt or divorced, it should hopefully reduce both of these possible scenarios as each of you is clearly aware of what your financial position is and so there is less grounds on which to argue about how and who got you into the mess you are in.
Richard Smith
9th August 2006
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