Credit Card Debt In The UK

Most people have credit cards in this country and now they are becoming the number one reason that here in the UK we are becoming a nation in debt. We owe more than £1 trillion and £180 million of this can be atributed to credit cards.

We used to use credit cards to purchase large items such as televisions and furniture. Increasingly people are using these cards to pay bills and for food shopping.

Many people transfer their balance accross to alternative cards on a regular basis. The reason for this is to take advantage of the many great introductory deals credit card companies offer. 0% balance on transfers for 6 months, 12 months and even upto 18 months.

But this for many people only makes their problem worse. So you have a card which is maxed out. So you think ok I will transfer it to another card at 0%. Great so at least you are not paying interest on your debt. But with 2 cards and one with nothing on it, 6 months down the line you have some money troubles a bill comes in you cannot afford or a friend ask you to go on holiday with them and you get the credit card out to finance it.

So really you are in more debt than you were to start with.

If you are having money troubles then you could consider bankrupcy. It sounds a little harsh, but last year the government made it much easier and after as little as a year you can start borrowing again. This new law has been widely critisied as many individuals use it to default on their debt. Surely we need to not encourage this care free attitude but to teach people not to borrow beyond their financial capabilities.