Money News
It has been estimated that more than a million of us missed paying a bill in January following December's extravagancies. More than 330,000 of us missed a credit card repayment and almost 150,000 were unable to pay the council tax bill.
What this means is that you either haven't been able to keep to your budget or you don't have a budget at all! Spend less than you earn and save for a rainy day and you can't go wrong but we all know in the real world it's not quite like that. Council tax, household bills and interest rates have been going up as fast as Beckham's salary.
The Financial Services Authority reckons that a million of us are regularly falling behind with payments on bills and credit cards; and two million are constantly struggling to make ends meet.
It's no secret that the UK is the debt capital of Europe with £1.2 trillion outstanding in personal debt including mortgages. And as debt levels have risen, so too have insolvencies. Last year 107,288 people in England and Wales either declared themselves bankrupt or took out an Individual Voluntary Arrrangement, a rise of almost 60% against 2005.
Home repossessions are also rising, reaching 8,140 in the first half of 2006, up from 5,690 in the same period in 2005 and the highest figure since the first half of 2001.
Read more: Won't pay? Can't pay! What to do about your bills
08 February 2007 © Moneyextra.com
Moneyextra.com recommends you should consider taking independent financial advice before acting on any article. Please contact us for help with your individual circumstances if any assistance is required.