Two-fifths of key workers have taken on a side hustle or overtime to make ends meet

3rd May 2023 Arrears and Recoveries |

Two-fifths (43%) of key workers in the UK have been forced to take on additional part-time work on top of their full time role, or work extra overtime shifts to make ends meet, new research from responsible lender, Creditspring, shows. The data shows significantly higher levels of financial vulnerability among key workers, with nearly half…

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Renters lose confidence in covering housing costs

Research from HSBC and housing charity Shelter has found that one in five people feel less confident than they did six months ago about being able to pay their rent or mortgage on time for the rest of the year. The survey of more than 2,100 adults across the UK shows that those in the…

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Two-fifths of 35 to 44-year-olds have had to borrow to make ends meet

A study by the Resolution Foundation think-tank almost two-fifths of 35 to 44-year-olds have had to borrow to make ends meet amid the cost-of-living crisis. The research found that 37% of people in the age bracket relied on formal lending, such as credit cards, overdrafts or loans in March. This was more than double the…

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Consumers battle to manage credit card finances

Latest data from FICO on UK credit card trends has illustrated the financial balancing act many consumers are facing. Average card spend has increased month-on-month and year-on-year. Higher prices for day-to-day purchases will be reflected in this increase. UK consumers are also paying off less of their outstanding balance, indicating the squeeze on personal budgets.…

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Money Statistics: April 2023

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for April 2023 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,839.3 billion at the end of February 2023. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,510 and per adult was £34,582, around 105.3% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…

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One in five people with a mental health problem are also in debt

Money and mental health are strongly linked, with a report from the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute showing one in five people (18%) living with a mental health problem are also in problem debt and are also 1.5 times as likely to struggle with bills and credit commitments. A report titled ‘Mental Health and…

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Almost one in four consumers are financially vulnerable

New research from Tink has found that almost one in four (23%) consumers are ‘financially vulnerable’, with the majority (56%) expecting their situation to get worse over the next 12 months. The research also found that 56% say the situation will worsen as they expect their discretionary income to fall over the next 12 months.…

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Third of homeowners struggling with mortgage cost increases

Nearly a third of homeowners (30%) are struggling to cover the increased cost of borrowing having seen the monthly cost of their mortgage increase by hundreds of pounds a month following interest rate rises, according to new research by Barrows and Forrester. The survey of 2,304 current homeowners with a mortgage found that 57% have…

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Personal insolvencies increased by 38.9% in March

Latest quarterly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency numbers increased by 38.9% in March 2023 to a total of 11,438 compared to February’s total of 8,237, and decreased by 1% compared to March 2022’s figure of 11,554. Personal insolvencies increased by 4.4% when compared to March 2021’s total…

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Government announces new council to drive forward savings for household bills

18th April 2023 Arrears and Recoveries |

A new Smart Data Council has been set up to help lower bills for consumers and small firms by making it easier to switch utility providers, the Department for Business and Trade has announced. The loyalty penalty, the difference between what loyal and new consumers pay for the same service, currently sits at £1,114 a…

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Banks see increase in defaults

Data from the Bank of England shows that banks and building societies have seen an increase in defaults. In the three months to February, lenders said that default rates on secured loans to households, such as mortgages, and unsecured loans, such as credit cards, increased and are expected to increase further in the next three…

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Below-inflation minimum wage rise won’t lift the pressure on hard-pressed families 

31st March 2023 Arrears and Recoveries |

This weekend’s increase in the minimum wage won’t ‘lift the pressure’ on hard-pressed families, the TUC has warned. The TUC highlighted that the minimum wage will rise below inflation and far lower than soaring food prices. Analysis by the union body shows that minimum wage workers will miss out on £124 this year as a…

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Unsecured debt levels rise by 25%

Debt charity StepChange has released its client data for February 2023, which shows monthly client volumes continue to rise, they were 19% higher in February 2023 (16,076) compared to February 2022 (13,543). StepChange says the average (mean) unsecured debt per client has increased by 25% from £11,176 in 2021 to £13,941 in 2022.  There was also…

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