Consumers urged better debt management this year
Published: 7 January 2010 By MoneyHighStreet Staff Leave a Comment
Professional advice website Unbiased.co.uk has advised consumers to better manage their finances, particularly their debts. This as the firm launched its new Financial Calendar tool that allows users to create their personal finance calendar and assist them in keeping track of their financial dates.
Karen Barrett, Chief Executive of Unbiased.co.uk, said, “The new Financial Calendar gives consumers an easy to use tool to plan their finances and keep all of their financial dates in one place. The Microsoft Outlook calendar function, automatic updates and reminders ensure this tool offers an accessible and effective way for consumers to keep track of all their important financial dates.”
The calendar was launched as new data from the government has shown that total personal debt in the UK reached £1,459bn as of end November 2009, growing by 0.5 percent over the past 12 months.
However, total lending jumped £1.1bn in November, while secured lending also saw a rise by £1.5bn during the month; consumer credit lending fell by a net £0.4bn (total lending in Jan 2008 grew by £8.4bn).
Other key findings include: total secured lending on dwellings, £1,232bn, rising by 0.9% in the last 12 months; and total consumer credit lending to individuals stood at £227bn, or a drop by 0.5% annually. All data are as of end November 2009.
Barrett said that the calendar would allow users to jot down important financial dates so they would have their own financial planner. This can help the user to determine the maturity of any debts so they can plan how to manage their finances.
There is also the option to automatically update the Financial Calendar with important general financial dates, such as the end of the yearly ISA limit or the deadline for self assessment tax forms.
Meanwhile, data showed that the average amount owed by every UK adult is ~ £30,226 (including mortgages). This is 133% of average earnings.
Average outstanding mortgages for the 11.1m households who currently have mortgages now stands at ~ £110,951.
