• The average household debt will increase by £0.24 today (it grew by £11.11 a day in January 2008)
• 386 people today will be declared insolvent or bankrupt. This is equivalent to 1 person every 3.72 minutes
• 1,000 people are seeking some form of formal debt rescheduling every working day.
• 230,137 unsolicited telephone calls made to UK consumers daily by debt management and personal loan companies
• In the last 12 months consumers saved an average of £2.76 every day
• 2,000 Consumer County Court Judgements (CCJs) were issued every day in the first 3 months of 2009
• 128 properties were repossessed every day during the last 3 months to end September 2009. The Council of Mortgage lenders estimates this will increase to approximately 132 a day throughout 2009.
• Unemployment increased by 1,400 people every day during 12 months to end November 2009.
• 1,995 people reported they had become redundant every day during 3 months to end November 2009.
• 300 young people (16 – 24s) have become a NEET (not in education, employment or training) every day during the last 12 months. The increase has been 1,348 a day during Q3 2009.
• £373m is the amount that the Government Public Sector net debt (PSDN) will grow today (equivalent to £4,316 per second).
• £75m is the interest the Government has to pay each day on the UKs net debt of £870.0bn. This is projected to rise to £121.6m a day (£44.4bn) in 2010 – 2011 financial year.
• 267 mortgage possession claims will be issued and 188 mortgage possession orders will be made today
• 368 landlord possession claims will be issued and 253 landlord possession orders will be made today.
• The UK population is projected to grow by 1,100 people a day over the next decade
• 21.9m plastic card purchase transactions will be made today with a total value of £1.05bn.
• 8.1m cash withdrawals will be made today with a total value of £530m
• Citizen Advice Bureaus dealt with 9,300 new debt problems every day in England and Wales
• The average car will cost £15.13 to run today

The UK economy has exited recession, after figures showed the economy had grown by a weaker-than-expected 0.1% in the last three months of 2009. The economy had previously contracted for six consecutive quarters - the longest period since quarterly figures were first recorded in 1955.

The Ernst & Young Item Club winter 2010 economic outlook for business warns that the UK faces a difficult decade of adjustment, starting with a lacklustre recovery. GDP growth will struggle to reach 1% this year, with the first half particularly weak. Growth picks up to 2.5% in 2011 and 3% in prospect for 2012.

There were 5.84 million working age benefit claimants at May 2009. This is an increase of 694,000 in the year.

UK base rate fell to a 315 year low when the official bank rate was reduced to 0.5% on 5th March 2009.

There were 4,716 compulsory liquidations and creditors’ voluntary liquidations in total in England and Wales in the third quarter of 2009 (on a seasonally adjusted basis). This was an increase of 14.6% on the same period a year ago. In the twelve months ending Q3 2009, approximately 1 in 114 active companies (or 0.9%) went into liquidation. Additionally, there were 1,578 other corporate insolvencies in the third quarter of 2009 (not seasonally adjusted) comprising 410 receiverships, 974 administrations and 194 company voluntary arrangements. In total these represented an increase of 9.3% on the same period a year ago.

In December 2009 the public sector net debt (PSND) increased to £870.0bn, equivalent to 61.7% of gross domestic product and equivalent to ~ £34,524 per household. PSND has increased £136bn in 12 months (equivalent to a growth of £4,316 per second or £5,401 per household). Net borrowing for the month was £15.7bn. The interest paid on this debt by the Government in April to December was £20.6bn which is equivalent to ~ £1,090 per household / annum.

According to the UK 2009 Pre Budget report the public sector net debt (PSND), including unrealised losses from financial sector interventions, increases over the period to 2014-15 to £1,473bn (£58,920 per household).

The number of unemployed people in the three months to November 2009 was 2.46 million (7.8%), down 7,000 from the previous three months and up 511,000 (1,400 a day) over the year. 182,000 people (1,995 a day) reported they had become redundant in the three months down 31,000 from the previous three months and down 46,000 from a year earlier.

There is a gap of 850,000 between the number of people who are currently unemployed and the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance benefit (1.61m).

In the year to December, the consumer prices index (CPI) rose by 2.9 per cent, up from 1.9 per cent in November. In the year to December RPI rose by 2.4 per cent, up from 0.3 per cent in November - the largest monthly rise in the annual rate of RPI inflation since 1979.

New car registrations in December were up 38.9% to 150,936 units. Full year registrations were down 6.4% to 1,994,999 units, the lowest level since 1995. Scrappage accounted for 20.8% of all new car registrations in December.

UK retail sales values rose 4.8% on a like-for-like basis and rose 6.0% on a total basis, from December 2008.

The Policy Exchange says most people are aware that Britain has a huge national debt which is growing during the current fiscal crisis. But what many people do not know is that we have a second national debt – one that is kept out of government figures and hidden from view. This is the public sector pension debt, which has grown as successive governments have continued to promise public sector workers defined benefit pensions, often worth two thirds of final salary, index-linked for life. It is now equivalent to 78% of GDP (£1.1trillion) with the cost of servicing the debt each year to pay for these unfunded schemes now at £45.2 billion.

Research from Post Office Christmas Club has revealed that for more than 14m people (29%) the cost of Christmas shopping, entertaining and socialising has resulted in increased stress over finances. Worryingly, of the almost 5m people who had to increase their debts to cover Christmas, over a third (37%) are going to have to make cut backs on essentials such as food and utility bills in order to repay debts.

Scottish Widows estimates that 11.3m UK households (44%) are dependent on more than one salary to cover bills. Of the 6.6m UK households with dependent children, 4m are reliant on two or more salaries (60%).

CCCS expects more people to come to it for help over the next year as calls to its free debt helpline have risen throughout 2009. The debt charity said that expected public sector redundancies in addition to the growth in private sector cutbacks will be some of the causes of people being unable to repay their debts in 2010. Calls to the free CCCS debt helpline went up by 25 percent in 2009, with the helpline receiving 86,573 calls in the fourth quarter compared to 69,431 for the first quarter. This increase reflects a longer trend which saw calls go up by over 68,000 from 2008 to 2009, with the helpline receiving 267,180 calls in 2008 and 335,323 in 2009.

Ofgem's quarterly social obligations report highlights a 13% increase in the number of electricity customers entering into new debt repayment arrangements and a 21% increase in those making similar arrangements for gas in Q3 compared with Q2 2009. Average level of debt is 20% higher year on year (Q3 2009 compared with Q3 2008).

The ONS Wealth and Assets Survey estimated that one in ten of all households (2.5m) were in arrears on at least one credit commitment in 2006/2008. This increased to 13% among households with any borrowing commitments, that is, a mortgage or non-mortgage borrowing. It was higher still among those with any non-mortgage borrowing, whether or not they also had a mortgage (17%).

In a sign that Britons are facing increasing difficulties keeping their finances under control, bad debts from credit cards leapt from £812m to £1.6bn in the third quarter, said the Bank of England. The rise meant that the total amount written off by UK banks in that quarter set a new record at £4.3bn. In the first nine months of the year, banks have already written off more than they did in the whole of 2008 - itself a record year for write-downs.

According to leading debt charity Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), lower income households (with net incomes of less than £20,000) are finding it increasingly hard to repay their debts. The average debt for CCCS clients with low incomes is £18,375 and many are trapped in a budget deficit, spending averagely over £113 more than they earn each month.

The Insolvency Service said there were 35,242 individual insolvencies in England and Wales (386 people a day or 1 every 3.72 minutes) in the third quarter of 2009 on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was an increase of 6.6% on the previous quarter and an increase of 28.2% on the same period a year ago. These are currently at the highest levels on record.

Personal insolvencies now have a run rate of more than 120,000 per annum. In addition to these reported insolvencies, PwC estimates there will be between 100,000 and 150,000 Debt Management Plans this year. Taking these combined debt solutions into account suggests that, on average, around 1,000 people are seeking some form of formal debt rescheduling every working day.

11,700 properties were taken into possession in the third quarter, up slightly from 11,400 in the previous quarter, and 5% higher than the number in the third quarter of 2008. This equates to 128 properties being repossessed every day or 1 property being repossessed every 11.2 minutes.  

At the end of September 194,600 mortgages, 1.77% of the total, were in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding mortgage balance. This compares with 204,200 cases (1.86% of all mortgages) at the end of June.

The FSA estimate that at the end of Q3 there were 395,000 loan accounts in reportable arrears (> 1.5% of current loan balance), a decrease of 2% from Q2 but a rise of 16% from Q3 2008. At the end of Q3, loans in arrears represented 3.61% of the value of the loan book, up from 2.93% a year earlier.

Research from Shelter and Money Advice Trust shows that a massive 1.3m low-income households are struggling or falling behind with their finances and many feel under mental and emotional strain. Four in ten (39%), equivalent to around 600,000 households, feel their debts are harming their physical and mental well-being, rising to almost 50% in households with children

AXA research estimates that 1.4m (5%) admit they have taken time off work in the last 12 months as a result of money worries; 1.2m (4%) spend more than four hours a day feeling anxious; seven in ten admit they spend time at work worrying about their finance, with almost a third (31%) spending up to 15 minutes a day worrying.

The estimated number of households in fuel poverty in the UK rose between 2006 and 2007 by 0.5 million, to stand at around 4 million (around 16 per cent of all households).

Citizens Advice Bureaux in England & Wales deal with 9,300 new debt problems every working day. Debt and benefit problems are currently growing at an annual rate of 21%.

A recent profile of CAB clients revealed that CAB debt clients owe an average of £16,971, an amount it would take an average of 93 years to pay off at a rate they can afford. The most common reasons for debt were low income, over-commitment, illness or disability and job loss. But irresponsible lending, poor financial skills and increases in the cost of living had also played a significant part in people’s debt problems.

The latest Post Office Consumer Credit Report. reveals that more than 12m adults (38%) intend to use their credit card in January for daily purchases such as grocery shopping - an 8% increase on last year - reflecting the extent to which the recession impacted on people's finances during 2009.

Shelter estimate that more than one million householders have used credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent in the last 12 months.

According to the BBA the proportion of balances bearing interest fell, by 0.2% to 66.6%.

Total credit card debt in December 2009 was £54.5bn. The UK collective credit limit on credit cards is £158bn, which is an average credit card limit of £5,129 per person.

PricewaterhouseCoopers in their precious plastic 2010 report estimate that the average borrowing per credit card has increased by 5% and has surpassed £1,000 for the first time.

The average interest rate on credit card lending is currently 17.79%, which is 17.29% above base rate (0.5%).

There were 146.3m debit, credit or charge cards in circulation in the UK at the end of 2008 according to APACS. An average 254 plastic card purchases were made in the UK every second during Q3 2009 using debit and credit cards (equal to £12,367 /second). 94 cash withdrawals were made every second (equal to £6,233 / second) from UK’s 63,400 cash machines during Q3 2009.

There are more credit cards in the UK than people according to APACS. At the end of 2008 there were 71.3m credit and charge cards in the UK compared with around 60 million people in the country.

The proportion of 18-24 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) increased by 113,000 in the last 12 months to end Q3 2009 and now stands at 933,000 (19.7%). The proportion of 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) stood at 261,000 (13.4%) at the end of Q3 2009. The total of 16 – 24 classed as NEETS now stands at 1.082m which is the highest on record.

AXA estimate that a fifth of 18-24 year-olds drink alcohol to take their mind off their financial concerns.

The unemployment rate for 18 to 24 year olds decreased by 12,000 (-1.6%) on the quarter and increased 111,000 (18%) in the last 12 months to reach 728,000. This means that 17.7% of all 18 to 24 year olds are unemployed. 304,000 (42%) have been unemployed for longer than 6 months.

Research from Sainsbury’s Finance highlights that over half of undergraduate students (53%) in the UK are to be given financial assistance by their parents to see them through the financial burden of university.  The average amount of parental financial support given to undergraduates is £8,070 per student during their university life. 

The UK's largest survey of student finance, published by Push.co.uk, reveals that students who started at university last year can expect to owe nearly £21,200 by the time they leave and new students should reckon on at least £2,000 more than that.

Older consumers have grown into a market force to be reckoned with‚ says Age Concern and Help the Aged‚ as new figures reveal the amount of money spent annually by people over the age of 65 in the UK is set to hit the £100 billion mark.

There are currently 398,000 elderly people in residential care. In the UK the average annual fee for a single room in a private residential home is £24,492, and for a nursing home it is £35,100.

The average equivalised income of retired households is 61% of that of non-retired households.

MGM Advantage estimates that the average retired household where the main occupant is aged 65-74 needs to find an extra £429 a year to maintain the standard of living they enjoyed 12 months ago

In recent years, CCCS has seen a steady increase in the average age of clients coming to it for help with debts, with the proportion of clients aged 60 and over doubling from 5% in 2004 to 10% in 2008. These clients tend to have higher debt levels and regularly undergo income fluctuations due to changes in circumstance, illness or retirement.

At May 2009, there were 12.5m people of state pension age claiming a DWP benefit, an increase of 221,000 since May 2008. Of these, 66% were claiming State Pension (SP) only.

The proportion of people aged 55 and above planning to work beyond the state pension age has jumped to 71%, compared to 40% in a CIPD survey two years ago suggesting that the recession has shrunk pension pots, savings, investments and house values.

The number of people aged 50+ out of work is 385‚000‚ which is an increase of 4.2% over the last quarter and an increase of 30.4% (90‚000) over last year. The number of people over state pension age in work continues to rise – with an increase of 9,000 in the three months to the end of November to 1.43 million, a rise of 71,000 (5.3%) over the previous year.

Scottish Widows estimates that one in six (15%) retired people in the UK have an outstanding mortgage, with an average debt of £50,100. They also estimate that a third (34%) are in the red on loans and credit cards and the average outstanding non mortgage debt amongst retired people with debt is £7,344.

More than one in 10 workers (16%) who have a pension say that during the past five years they have reduced the amount they contribute or have stopped saving into it altogether, according to the Prudential.

On average someone who requires care in a residential care home may expect to pay in the region of £25,000 per annum.

There are more people of state pensionable age than under-16s. There were 11.5 million people aged under 16 in mid-2008 compared to 11.8 million people above state pensionable age

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According to the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) the average house price in the UK in November 2009 now stands at £200,454 (£206,435 in England).

UK annual house price inflation increased by 0.6%.
Annual house price inflation in London increased by 1.1%.

The average Mortgage Interest rate is 3.59%.

According to the Halifax house prices recorded their biggest increase in the latest decade with a real rise (adjusted to allow for general price inflation by applying the retail price index (RPI)) of 62% during the 2000s; marginally ahead of the 61% increase in the 1980s. The worst performing decade for house prices was the 1990s when prices fell by 22% in real terms. Owner-occupation in the UK has increased by 25% from 43% in 1961 to 68% in 2008. The biggest rise in owner-occupation occurred in the 1980s following the introduction of the Right to Buy scheme.

Homeowners rate buying a house as more stressful than having a child. House buying tops the table of ‘most stressful life experiences' with one in four (24%) homeowners finding it the most demanding and stressful thing they have done, according to research from Unbiased.co.uk.

Homeowners in England and Wales saw a 20% drop in the proportion of their take-home pay spent on monthly mortgage repayments in 2009, according to the latest mortgage affordability research released by Woolwich.

UK house prices will not reach their autumn 2007 peaks for at least another five years, according to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club. They also expect that house prices will fall again in the first half of 2010.

The ONS Wealth and Assets Survey estimated total wealth (including private pension wealth) in Great Britain in 2006/08 at £9.0 trillion. Property wealth (net) and private pension wealth each accounted for 39% of total wealth in 2006/08 (£3.5 trillion), while financial wealth (net) and physical wealth each contributed 11% (£1.0 trillion).

Over two-thirds of households in Great Britain owned their home in 2006/08; 32% of households did not own their home, 30% owned their home outright and 38% were buying with the help of a mortgage.

Council of Mortgage Lenders research suggests that about 900,000 home-owners currently have some degree of negative equity, although the majority of these - around two thirds - face only modest shortfalls of less than 10% (equating to around £6,000 for those first-time buyers with negative equity, and £8,000 for other home-buyers). A further 565,000 homeowners have just 5% equity, and in total an estimated two million UK mortgage borrowers would not be able to raise a 10% deposit from their equity should they decide to sell their house.

John Charcol estimate there are another ½m with equity only between 10% and 15% which means in total that there are about 2½m households who can’t move (unless they sell up and rent).

Gross mortgage lending reached an estimated £13.7bn in December, a 14% rise from £12.1bn in November and up 3% on December 2008, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. This is the first time the annual monthly comparison has been in positive territory since October 2007. However, other than in 2008, this is still the lowest figure for December since 2001 (£13.4bn).

Nationwide said that house prices rose by 1.2% in January and are up 8.6% year-on-year. Unless there is a fall in property values in February, annual house price inflation is likely to move into double-digit territory next month for the first time since May 2007.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said that the seasonally adjusted net balance of surveyors reporting rising rather than falling prices over the last three months was 30%. There were an average of 19 completed sales per surveyor during the last 3 months.

Rightmove said average national asking prices increased by £800 (0.4%) this month and they estimate national average asking prices standing still during 2010.

House purchase mortgage approval numbers in December were 45,897 which were 102.2% higher than a year ago and 7.9% higher than 2 years ago. The average loan approved for house purchase in December was £141,100, some 21.5% higher than a year earlier.

Existing home sales across the United States (including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops) decreased 16.7% over last month but rose 15.0% year on year in December 2009. The average price increased 1.5% year on year to $178,300. RealtyTrac® said there were a total of 349,519 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on  U.S. properties in December 2009, a 14% jump in total properties from last month and a 15% increase in total properties from December 2008. The report also shows that one in 45 of all U.S. housing units received at least one foreclosure filing in 2009.

The average house price in the UK in November 2009 for first time buyers now stands at £147,569 which is an annual increase of 3.9%.

Paragon Mortgages' Trends research reveals that 10% of landlords want to expand their portfolio in the first three months of 2010. Of those looking to purchase, terraced housing is by far the most popular choice of property.

The proportion of first time buyers (FTBs) looking to put a foot on the property ladder has reached its lowest level for twelve months according to the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA). The monthly market survey of the NAEA members found that in December, only 19% of registered buyers were FTBs, the lowest since December 2008 when levels plummeted to 11%.

Surveyors expect to see rent rises in the New Year as the number of rental properties coming onto the market fell for the first time since January 2008, according to the latest RICS Lettings Survey.

Research conducted by the National Landlords Association (NLA), reveals nearly three quarters of landlords have experienced rental arrears. Worryingly, 43% of these occurred in the last 12 months.

The typical first-time buyer deposit in November was 25% (£38,000). The average first-time buyer borrowed 3.09 times their income and the average first-time buyer loan was £113,990. The proportion of gross income spent on interest payments was 14.4%.

For the third quarter in a row, there was a decline in the number of buy-to-let mortgages with arrears of more than 1.5% of the balance. In the last three months, the number has fallen from 22,900 to 20,500, representing 1.7% of outstanding buy-to-let mortgages.

The number of properties taken into possession rose in the third quarter, from 1,400 to 1,600, equivalent to 0.14% of all buy-to-let mortgages.

The number of households without bank accounts has been cut by half. The latest report on access to banking by the Financial Inclusion Taskforce shows that the number has fallen from 2 million in 2003/04 to less than 900,000 in 2007/08. The proportion of low-income households without a bank account has fallen sharply in recent years, from 20–25 per cent in the mid-1990s to 4 per cent in 2007–08

In a disturbing reflection of attitudes towards planning and financial literacy in the UK, more than a quarter of Brits are relying on winning the Lottery to help improve their financial situation. This is compared to just one in 20 who will seek professional help to improve their finances, according to a YouGov survey commissioned for Financial Planning Week 2009. The survey also found that:

• More than half of Brits said they were struggling to some degree to keep up with bills and credit commitments at the moment. However, on a positive note, only five per cent were actually falling behind.
• 43% of people often or sometimes struggle to make it to the next payday.
• Only a quarter of people (26%) have a budget they follow regularly
• Only 31% have made a Will, with 49% of those without one saying it’s because they’ve just not got round to doing it yet

 

63% of the population are more aware of their finances and are making an increased effort to look after their accounts as a result of the credit crunch, according to research by NS&I.

Gocompare.com research revealed that cat and dog owners spend on average £676.92 a year on each pet. The biggest outlay is for food, which costs on average £314.40 a year for each animal, followed by trips to the vet - £241.68, while the average annual bill for bedding, treats, toys and clothes comes in at a surprising £120.84.

Britons believe their average outgoings to be £892 per month. The reality is they're spending £486 more than this at £1378 per month according to the Reality Gap Report, commissioned by Bright Grey. If push came to shove, four in 10 people (43%) think they could use their savings to cover the bills if they lost their income source but the report reveals 38% of the UK's working population could not survive beyond one month on their savings alone.

The Office of National Statistics estimates that real household disposable income rose by 1.2% in the Q3 2009 following a 1.7% increase in Q2 2009. Real household disposable income rose by 5.2% when compared with the corresponding quarter of 2008.

Research, commissioned by price comparison website moneysupermarket.com revealed, on average, those in employment hang on for 27 days before going into their overdraft. The survey also showed over 10 million were overdrawn at least once in the past 12 months, including 2.1 million people who never come out of their overdraft. 5% of 45 to 54 year old workers were permanently overdrawn as against 15% of 18 to 24 year old employees

The average new family car now costs £5,523 annually to keep on the road, equating to £106 per week or 46p per mile.

The annual survey from Liverpool Victoria on the Cost of a Child shows that parents could spend £193,772 on raising a child from birth to the age of 21. This is equivalent to £9,227 a year, £769 a month or £25 a day.

Weddingplan estimates that couples looking to get married in 2009 can expect to pay a huge £21,089 on their big day.

The average monthly amount saved per head across the population in 2009 was £83.87 according to the NS&I’s Quarterly Savings Survey. The average amount saved as a percentage of income was 6.06% and the percentage of the Great British population regularly saving during 2009 was 47%.

Research from Abbey Savings has highlighted that over one in four (28%) British parents with young children have no savings or investments to use in times of difficulty or to use as a nest egg for their children's future. Indeed a further 20% of these parents have less than £1000 to fall back on.

TNS Omnibus found that 32% of people made redundant would fail to meet their current living expenses in the first month, with one in six defaulting immediately. Less than half (43%) of working adults questioned had sufficient funds in place to survive more than three months.