Parents are raiding their kids’ savings to help cover the cost of rising household bills and to pay down debts, according to research by leading financial mutual, Scottish Friendly. A survey of 1,000 UK parents found more than one in five (22%) have withdrawn money from their children’s savings. The majority of those (64%) have…
Read moreHere is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for July 2023 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,840.1 billion at the end of May 2023. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,529 and per adult was £34,597, around 103.3% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending increased by…
Read moreLates figures from Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) have indicated that personal insolvency numbers in Scotland rose by nearly 2.9%, to a total of 2,098. The personal insolvency numbers in Scotland decreased by 40.5% when compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The number of personal insolvencies (bankruptcies and protected trust deeds) in Scotland for Q1 2023-2024…
Read moreA new Financial Lives survey from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has found that 7.4 million people unsuccessfully attempted to contact one or more of their financial services providers in the 12 months before May 2022, while less than half of adults said they had confidence in the UK financial services industry in general. With…
Read moreThe value of loans taken out from pawnbrokers has increased 41% in just a year, from £158 million in 2021 to £223 million in 2022 according to research by international audit, tax, and advisory firm Mazars. The figures also show that arrears on pawnbroker loans, high-interest loans secured with a personal item held as a…
Read moreNew research has revealed the impact rising mortgage costs are having on people’s mental health, as well as their finances. Findings from Mind, the mental health charity, show almost a third (29 per cent) of people (almost 14 million) in England and Wales have been affected by hearing about or experiencing increasing mortgage costs…
Read moreMoney Wellness is calling for the government to review school uniform grants, after 93% of parents said they were unaware there was any help available. A survey by the company found that 97% of families, already struggling with debt, were worried about being able to afford school uniform this September. The same number (97%) said…
Read moreAn increasing number of mortgage holders are unable to make ends meet as their essential costs soar and interest rate rises start to bite according to research by Citizens Advice. Mortgage holders who’ve had detailed budgeting help as part of Citizens Advice’s debt advice process have gone from being one of the most protected groups…
Read moreVoluntary terminations (VTs), voluntary surrenders and repossessions for cars rose in May 2023 to the highest level for nearly two years according to the Motor Auction Group (MAG). It is predicted that the figure will rise dramatically over the next 12 months as interest rates and the rising cost of living continues to negatively impact…
Read moreLatest UK Finance figures has shownn that outstanding balances on credit card accounts has grown by 9.5% over the past year. UK consumers held more than £61 billion in credit card debt at the end of April, up from £57 billion last year and £1.2 billion more than at the beginning of 2023. 49.6 per…
Read moreThe joint second largest fall in inflation since the start of the century in June – exceeding market expectations – will ease the pressure on further interest rate rises, and has ended the UK’s 18-month period of falling real wages, according to the Resolution Foundation. CPI inflation fell from 8.7 per cent in May to…
Read moreNew data from StepChange Scotland has revealed that around one in five (19%) mortgaged clients were in mortgage arrears in the second quarter of this year, up from almost one in seven (15%) in the second quarter of 2022. This is alongside a year-on-year rise in the proportion of mortgaged clients, which is up from…
Read moreRising interest rates have caused household wealth across Britain to fall by £2.1 trillion over the past year, but there are winners – concentrated among younger generations – as well as losers if higher rates are sustained, according to major new analysis by the Resolution Foundation and abrdn Financial Fairness Trust. The report notes that…
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