Men have been hit hardest by the recession and over the past three years, a combination of higher unemployment, slowing income growth and rising household expenditure has led to a "massive increase" in the number seeking debt advice, a charity has claimed.
Figures compiled by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) show that since 2007, the number of men contacting the body has risen by 51 per cent.
Of these, nearly half said their debt was caused by a reduction in income, including being made unemployed.
Despite the average level of debt for a man dropping from £30,000 in 2007 to nearly £27,000 last year, higher living costs are making it harder for them to meet their obligations, with the average male CCCS client having a spending deficit of £42 in 2009.
Category Archives: debt
Men hit by recession
Energy price lottery
Home owners face a postcode lottery when it comes to energy prices, with some charged up to £189 more for their gas and electricity purely because of where they live, a new report has claimed.
Research carried out by uSwitch.com found that ScottishPower customers in Cardiff using the company’s Online Reward Energy tariff pay over £1,000 a year for dual fuel, whereas someone on the same pricing plan in Nottingham is charged £842.
Overall, the comparison site said, the south Wales energy region is the most expensive in the country, with the average annual bill for gas and electricity coming to £949.
The cheapest energy region was the East Midlands, where the typical cost of household fuel was £855 a year for online customers.
£s wasted on finance items
Consumers could be wasting thousands of pounds and risking being stuck with a bad credit rating by purchasing financial products "they simply don’t need", Which? Money Quarterly has warned.
The magazine named mobile phone insurance, extended warranties and payment protection insurance among its top ten "useless" items.
It also criticised store cards for their high rates of interest, saying that maintaining a balance of £1,000 at an average rate of 29.9 per cent would cost almost £300 a year in interest alone.
The government recently said it would give regulators more power to define and ban "excessive" interest rates on store cards.
Other products in the top ten included packaged accounts, with profits investments and debt management plans.
Families feel the pinch
The aftermath of the recession is taking its toll on UK families, with two million households saying they feel under severe strain on a daily basis due to money worries.
According to new survey for the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks, over one million families are arguing more because of the financial pressure they are under.
The study also found that 340,000 parents have seen older children return home because of money trouble or the need to save.
Another 513,000 households have grown-up children who have been unable to fly the nest because of the effects of the recession.
Professor Kevin Durkin of the Department of Psychology at the University of Strathclyde said that economic stress has "substantial effects" on family life, causing discord among parents, which in turn affects the quality of care their children receive.
Broadband costs overlooked
Over half of British broadband users could be paying over the odds for inferior services because they do not shop around for the best deals, according to a new study.
Research carried out by Broadbandchoices.co.uk showed that nearly 60 per cent of the 6,000 broadband customers questioned had not switched providers in the past three years.
Over the same period, the average price of a stand-alone broadband package has dropped by 34 per cent, while the typical connection speed had risen by 130 per cent.
The site’s product director Michael Phillips has said that while broadband is now perceived as an essential utility it is so often overlooked when households want to cut their monthly bills.