The Council Tax Advisors CIC (CTACIC) has revealed in the past week that Britain’s number one concern in 2015 is the high levels of personal debt. This revelation follows an article in This is Money magazine which suggested that twice as many people in Britain believe their financial situation will take a turn for the worse than those who believe it will improve.
With ever-increasing living costs, more people anticipate that they will find it difficult to cope financially in 2015 than ever before. Roughly one in five people believe it will be significantly more difficult to cope financially in 2015 than in previous years, whilst only one in ten suggest their financial situation is set to improve.
Despite increased costs of living, 36% of people believe their financial situations are due to a lack of expected and anticipated pay rises. Furthermore, 17% of those questioned feared they may be subjected to a pay cut in 2015.
Chris Richards, Managing Director of CTACIC, explained: “With the festive period well and truly behind us, it appears many people are waking up to the realities that face them in the coming twelve months.
“The figures from the study really help paint the picture of the general feeling of the average person in today’s society. Pessimism regarding finances – and with that anxiety and, in some cases, depression – appears to be a staple of many people’s lives and it makes for troubling reading. However, it is important people do not feel these are problems that leave them isolated from support.”
The growing number of people suffering from personal debt has had a knock-on effect on other consumers as well as businesses. However, there are options and solutions which can be tailored to the specific needs of the debtor.
A spokesperson at debt management specialists, InControl, has explained the importance of approaching all debt cases individually: “There is no one-size-fits-all solution to personal debt, so it is important to fully and comprehensively determine the scale and type of debts suffered by the individual. Only then can one develop a debt package which can help their personal needs and offer the support to get them out of the red and into the black.”
‘Change in financial state’ is the 16th most stressful life event according to the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale. The scale was developed in 1967 by psychiatrists to determine which common life events caused the highest levels of debt and subsequent illness.
