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18 May 2006
Unmanageable debt is not always the result of a spending spree, claims a financial expert.
Although most consumers take a serious attitude towards lending, often a change of circumstances can put people in debt, warned marketing director of Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) company Cleardebt, Andrew Smith.
"We are in a culture where we get what we want now and we think about how to repay later," he commented.
"But when something hits us, like when a relationship breaks up and you end up with all the debt on your credit card, we don't have the financial elasticity to deal with it."
The culture of buy-now pay-later may work well when life is going to plan, but doesn't allow much room for error, something which needs to be considered when people are looking at their finances.
UK personal debt hit £1 trillion in 2005 according to data from PriceWaterhouseCoopers with government figures showing that 60,102 people went bankrupt or entered into IVAs between November 2004 and November 2005.
If you are worried about debt, the first thing to do is check your credit report and assess your financial situation.
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