- A quarter of Brits are relying on winning the lottery to improve their personal finances(1)
- Brits underestimate their monthly outgoings by almost £500 a month. They believe their outgoings are £892 a month on average. In reality they’re £1,378(2)
- £57,789 is the average household debt in the UK(3)
- Economic insecurity is rife: 22pc say they are in too much debt to feel secure. Another 22pc are burying their head in the sand by trying not to think about their personal finances(4)
- Less than half the population (48pc) are actively saving for retirement by paying into a pension(5)
- Two thirds of people in the UK have not made a will. Half (49pc) said they just haven’t got round to doing it yet(1)
- 90pc of the population have less than £100 a month left over each month after paying the bills (11pc live beyond their means, 26pc break even, and 53pc have up to £100 left)(6)
- 10pc of British adults (5m people) are permanently overdrawn(7)
- 14m Brits use credit cards to fund their day-to-day living expenses(7)
- One in five people is lying to their partner about how much debt they’re in(8)
- Every 4 minutes someone is declared insolvent or bankrupt (3)
Sources
1: YouGov survey commissioned by the Institute for Financial Planning (IFP) and NS&I Financial Planning Week, 2009
2: The Reality Gap Report, commissioned by Bright Grey and cited on Creditaction.org.uk
3: Creditaction.org.uk September 2010 debt statistics
4: Scottish Widows, cited on Creditaction.org.uk
5: Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) survey
6: YouGov survey commissioned by USwitch, March 2010
7: Moneysupermarket.com research
8: Post Office research, cited on Creditaction.org.uk