Monday 30 June 2008

Desperate consumers pile on the credit card debt

In May, consumers added ₤556 million to their credit card balances, the highest amount for a year. The May numbers have the air of desperation about them. Given that household savings are at all time lows, the May spendfest looks like one last sad fling before reality kicks in and people finally get the message that it is time to stop spending.

The end is close, my friends, it is very close.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Or maybe the May spendfest means that many thought:

"Let's take maximum advantage of the huge retail discounts currently being offered, as we all know we should delay a first property purchase or a move upmarket for a few years. By then it will only require a fraction of what it presently costs to make a move in the property market. We won't need much money then for property purchase - so we can splurge on the great bargains in the sales now!"

B. in C.

Mark Wadsworth said...

Are they using credit cards to pay off mortgages?

Anonymous said...

I expected Christmas 2007 to be the last fling of the dice. Turns out I was a bit early.

Nick

Anonymous said...

The more we pile onto the cards, the more painful the shakeout. We should have stopped last xmas.

Anonymous said...

How cruel... how do you expect these people to get rich if they don't spend, spend, spend? That's how it works, isn't it? You buy what you want when you want - because whatever debts your run-up now, they'll pale into insignificance in a couple of years - once you've had a few pay rises...

Anonymous said...

Totally depressing - its still spend,spend,spend.

Anonymous said...

One really needs to view the high May figure in the light of the low April figure.

Anonymous said...

I've been using a company called Credit Card Zappers.

They can lower some of your debt by taking off interest and other fees.

Anonymous said...

Look, I've been doing my best to keep the economy afloat during these difficult times.

In any case, why not take advantage of the sales and pay off the card at the end of the month? That way you get value for money today,instead of finding your savings have been inflated away in years to come.

A David

Anonymous said...

Economy is facing real hard challenges and adding more in credit card debt is making it more volatile, I would suggest, Economy need to increase Productivity and decrease no productive expenses.
Thanks.

Credit Card Debt

Anonymous said...

Credit card debt is a problem for many people and is a major contributor to personal debt. Funding your lifestyle with a credit card is easy but the hard part is paying it off and clearing the debt.