Residents of Wales are among the most likely in the UK to be seriously overstretched financially according to the latest research from leading debt management provider Chiltern.
Nearly one in 25 people who live in Wales say their finances are seriously overstretched, almost double the UK average and second only to Lancashire.
However, Welsh people are also among the least likely to pay off only the minimum balance on their credit or store cards each month – this means they are making more effort to pay off their credit card bills than in many other areas of the country.
Chiltern’s Joanne Gill says: “The vast majority of people in Wales are fairly comfortable with their finances but for a significant minority things are a struggle and for one in 25 finances are causing real problems.
“With more interest rate rises predicted their situation looks set to get worse, but there is a way out and people should seek help if they find that paying their debts each month is eating into their necessary expenditure, like housing, food and travel.
“The worst thing people can do is ignore money worries and the longer people bury their head in the sand the more they will end up owing.”
Key Findings
• One in 25 people (3.9 per cent) in Wales said their finances were seriously overstretched second to Lancashire (4.1 per cent) and against a UK average of one in 45 (2.2 per cent).
• Only one in 14 (6.9 per cent) people in Wales pays off the minimum balance on store cards each month, second to Yorkshire where one in 19 (5.2 per cent) pay off the minimum each month. Across the UK the average is one in 10 (9.8 per cent)
• Welsh folk are slightly less likely than average to pay off their credit and store card balances in full each month, 36.2 per cent against an average of 37.8 per cent and just 22.1 per cent in Scotland.
Chiltern Debt Management provides an informal solution to help people manage their debts. This involves working with the customer to produce a budget detailing income and necessary expenditure, like housing, food, clothes, bills and transport.
The money left over, once living costs have been accounted for, is known as the disposable income. This is shared proportionately between the customer’s creditors until the client becomes debt free or a change in circumstances means they are able to resume contractual payments to the creditors.
Research Findings
Household finances by gender
| Gender | Struggling | Over-stretched | Paying in full | Minimum payments |
| Female | 14.2% | 2.0% | 36.9% | 11.6% |
| Male | 7.7% | 2.5% | 38.8% | 7.8% |
| Average | 10.9% | 2.2% | 37.8% | 9.8% |
Household finances by age
| Age | Struggling | Over-stretched | Paying in full | Minimum payments |
| 16 – 24 | 11.2% | 0% | 23% | 7.9% |
| 25 – 34 | 10.6% | 1.7% | 37% | 11.5% |
| 35 – 44 | 11.4% | 3.1% | 43.8% | 10.7% |
| 45 – 54 | 14.8% | 4.9% | 42.3% | 13.7% |
| 55 – 64 | 12.5% | 2.2% | 44.8% | 9.8% |
| 65+ | 6.9% | 1.4% | 36.1% | 5.4% |
| Average | 11% | 2.2% | 37.8% | 9.8% |
Household finances by region
| Region | Struggling | Overstretched | Paying in full | Minimum payments |
| East Anglia | 11.2% | 0.7% | 48.4% | 12.1% |
| Lancashire | 14.6% | 4.1% | 28.9% | 14.8% |
| London | 13.2% | 2.0% | 45.8% | 7.7% |
| Midlands | 8.1% | 1.1% | 35.6% | 10.2% |
| North East | 6.2% | 0.8% | 43.6% | 9.4% |
| Scotland | 8.1% | 2.0% | 22.1% | 10.1% |
| Southern | 15.4% | 1.2% | 42.7% | 10.6% |
| Wales | 9.7% | 3.9% | 36.2% | 6.9% |
| Yorkshire | 6.5% | 2.5% | 39.6% | 5.2% |
| Average | 11% | 2.2% | 37.8% | 9.8% |