Women Racking Up Big Debts From Shopping posted on 26 August 2010 | posted in General Category  | ( 0 ) Comments Four million British women have run up average debts of £3,400 as they aim to mirror the lifestyle of celebrities, it has been reported. However, it`s not just women who are taking on the debt - around seven million people in the country have an `unquenchable thirst for shopping`. That includes one in seven (three million) men, who are also classed as `shopaholics`, often racking up debt on credit cards, store cards and loans. While women are spending the most on high street clothes, men opt for designer attire - splashing out £570 a year on designer labels, almost double the £300 women are spending on similar items. Men are also taking on debt to cover the cost of grooming products - an area which used to be dominated by women. Darren Perks A Debt Advisor at Integrity said "It`s time for everyone to pay serious attention to their spending habits. Short-term debt solutions may seem an efficient way to fund spending, but they can also lead to long-term debt if not managed properly. "We are seeing a daily increase in people seeking debt help and advice, the 'WAG' effect is certainly very much a real thing and it is taking it's toll on people abusing their credit cards thinking that it won't matter. But in reality it does, and then they get hit with high interest and charges which means they start to miss repayments and fall behind with the credit companies. This ultimatley leads to their debts spiralling out of control". "We all use credit cards, often on a daily basis, but how can we be sure that we are not becoming over committed"? "A simple test is to not use your credit cards for a whole month, make the minimum payments on them, after you have paid all your other fixed costs such as mortgage, Council tax, utility bills, loans etc etc and then see if you can get through the month by just using the cash left from your wages. If you can get through the month without dipping into your credit cards then your finances are probably sound, however if you run out of cash part way through the month and have to use your cards for everyday expenses such as food and petrol then you need to take a long close look at your finances". "Start by completing a simple household income and expenditure form [excluding unsecured debt repayments] and if the money left over each month is not enough to cover your minimum contractual payments on your unsecured debt repayments then you really need to take action sooner rather than later".   Share this blog entry: Recommend this blog entry to a friend You can follow other blog entries via the RSS feed. You can also leave your own response. Site administrator reserves the right to reject any replies that are deemed inappropriate.

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