With interest rates edging up,and people borrowing more and more on mortgages,credit cards etc, is there a real danger thousands of people can fall into bankruptcy and lose not only cash but their homes and self repect. Millions owe over £5,000 on unsecured loans, millions more over £10,000, do some people just keep borrowing to keep up with the Jones's or is debt a fact of life today.

 

Individual bankruptcies are now at 100,000 per year. Is there an easy way of getting out of the debt cycle without going bankrupt.

people are thick, they have no concept of basic finances, they are greedy, materialistic, and live for today. that might be all well and good, but frivolity today could mean hardship tomorrow.

 

i hate thatcherite sayings, but my mum n dad always told me long before thatcher 'live within your means'. sound advice.

A lot of this debt is gonna be as a result of having to pay back Student Loans though, nothing to do with people 'being thick' as you put it Rob, quite the opposite in fact......

depends upon the % of students are included in that data...

depends upon the % of students are included in that data...

 

Surely they would have to be included, otherwise it's flawed data. People who leave higher education are facing an average of something like £15-20,000 debts when you take into account things such as the loan itself and bank overdrafts as well...

 

Considering that in my old University alone there are something like 16.000 students, that is a hell of a lot of students when you look at it nationally and a hell of a lot of debt if the average student debt is £15k.....

 

And the fact that the Govt seems to be encouraging this is pretty bloody shameful.... <_<

I have a lot of sympathy with students, having to start their working life with a load of debt already. As for the rest, I agree, we now live in a society where you spend now and worry about paying for it later :rolleyes: Not for me though, if I can't afford something, I'd rather wait until I can. Guess it's the way I was brought up :)

I have no sympathy with students.They chose to go to University.Student loans are far better than grants.Why should the tax-payer have to subsidise them? They can pay it back as they start on higher incomes than none graduates.No I didn't go to Uni.