Consumers 'more cautious about borrowing and spending'

People have become increasingly cautious about borrowing and spending, a leading debt advice charity has claimed.

Joanna Elson, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, said more calls have been received by the National Debtline as a result of restrictions in lending.

She claimed that while there will always be people who borrow more than they can afford, people's general view of debt has changed.

Ms Elson said consumers are more readily thinking through the consequences of getting themselves in debt.

She was commenting after the latest debt statistics from Credit Action showed that the average owed by every UK adult is £30,258 including mortgages.

This represents 131 per cent of average annual earnings.

Ms Elson also believes that the next government could do a lot to help deal with the problem.

"Free independent money advice will help enormously. We also think educating our young to ensure that levels of debt like this never occur again is vital," she said.

Moneyextra.com recommends you take independent financial advice before acting on any article

Back

2010-05-07 13:47:47 © Moneyextra.com