Consumer debt ‘becoming a lifestyle’

Posted 2008-03-27

Brits are so obsessed with borrowing money that the UK has been described by one wealth management firm as embodying a debt lifestyle. Addidi Wealth has said that even with the credit crunch making it increasingly difficult for consumers to borrow money, many Brits are showing little willingness to adopt a more financially responsible outlook. Asked whether the UK is a debt-ridden society, Addidi Wealth director Anna Sofat said: "I think we have been … living on perhaps a large percentage of debt and we have something of a lifestyle, to some extent, of debt." She went on to say that while interest rates are creeping up relatively slowly, they are combining with already unfavourable economic conditions such as rising inflation and falling household disposable incomes. This, Ms Sofat continued, has resulted in "a real increase" in interest rates on essential borrowing such as mortgages, personal loans and secured loans. "If you tried to borrow right now to re-finance your existing debt, its really hard," she concluded.

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