House price search
Enter your postcode here to find out how much your property is worth, based on Land Registry data.
RSS Feed
Daily news archive
Debt has decreased
3 July, 2008
The total average amount of debt has decreased steadily - although disposable incomes have dropped and it's taking people longer to become debt free, according to the latest Chiltern Debt Monitor.
The study found that the amount people have left to spend each month, once living expenses are accounted for, has dropped by almost £10 and it is taking an extra three months to clear debts, compared to August 2007.
This means that people in debt can realistically only afford to pay a quarter of their contractual credit commitments each month, down 1%.
However, people owe £1,274 less each on average than they did in August of last year, down from £26,662 to £25,388.
Chiltern's Nathan Gladwell says: "Our figures show that people are applying the brakes sooner with their spending, or seeking help earlier than they were previously which is a positive sign.”