Why Brits are still plastic fantastic
British consumers are still relying heavily on various forms of unsecured credit to buy non-essential items, reveals a new report from VoucherCodes.co.uk. The report highlights that shoppers are more likely to turn to credit cards and overdrafts than to their savings to buy non-essential items.
Nine out of ten UK adults worry about how much money they have, with the majority blaming the soaring cost of essential bills such as utilities and groceries for the lack of monetary wiggle room. As a result, fewer than half of UK adults are able to pay for their non-essential purchases such as meals out, new clothes and gadgets with cash (44%). More than a third are turning to unsecured credit such as credit cards (31%) and overdrafts (6%). The report also showed that 45% of UK adults are unable to pay off their monthly credit card bills and with the nation’s unsecured debt reaching £139bn it is clearly still a big issue with consumers.
Gadgets
Despite this, the most popular non-essential item that consumers choose to purchase is a new tablet or mobile phone (17%).
Women and money
Women are better at managing their credit however, with two thirds of females managing to pay off their monthly credit card bills (62%), compared to only half of men who manage to pay off the monthly credit card debt (51%).
The report also highlighted that one in 10 adults spontaneously buy non-essential items but do not think about the financial consequences (10%) and 20% assume that one day they will earn enough to pay it off.
Anita Naik, lifestyle editor of VoucherCodes.co.ukcommented: “With the average UK adult having £3,167 of borrowed debt, consumers need to be smart and savvy about the way they shop and look out for ways to reduce costs of essential and non-essential items. If they buy something using a credit card and don’t have a competitive product they could end up paying over the odds when the interest stacks up. There are plenty of options available to consumers to reduce these bills and make their money go further rather than having to cut back on quality or their needs. Voucher codes websites are an easily accessible way to get deals and discounts to enable you to make the best savings on essentials and so making that special treat more of a reality.”
