Financial help specialists are seeing an increase in the numbers of borrowers with out of control credit card debt and unaffordable personal loan repayments. More and more consumers with debt problems are seeking advice on how to get out of debt, and be debt free. The situation does not look good, for a lot of people, and many commentators were waiting with anticipation for the governments latest budget announcement, in the hope that it may contain some practical solutions to the countries worsening personal debt crisis or, at least, some hopeful news for the future. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
The UK recession is now predicted to go on longer than was first thought, and this is likely to put a financial strain on a lot of overstretched consumers. During the last decade, the economic boom prompted many people to borrow money which they may now not be able to repay.
The news from the government looks bleak. Alistair Darling stated that the government will have to borrow £175 billion as the UK is facing it’s worst economic situation since the war. In a bid to raise more money from taxes, he announced a new 50% tax rate for high earners, added 2p to the price of fuel as well as 7p on a packet of cigarettes and a penny on a pint of beer.
In his budget announcement, the chancellor confirmed that the UK’s debt would rise to 79% of GDP over the next 4 years – a record post war level. The gloomy news was not welcomed by the city, with the pound falling in value against other currencies.
