One in 10 'live beyond
their means'

Credit cards, loans and overdrafts are being used to plug a spending gap by one in 10 people, according to a survey.

These consumers are living beyond their means and spending more than they earn, according to YouGov's research. Approximately 11% of people surveyed spend more than they have coming in on a monthly basis, while a quarter (26%) break even and just over half (53%) have less than £100 to spare come the end of the month.

Of those who are living beyond their means, just under half (48%) relied on their overdraft to bridge the gap, while about a third (34%) used credit cards to cover their outgoings and one in five (19%) borrowed from friends and family.

Around one in four used their savings to cover overspending and one in 10 took out a loan or increased their mortgage.

More than half of people did not expect to receive a pay rise this year, and those who did thought it would average just 1.9%. A third of people also expected to be worse off this year than they were last year, despite the UK pulling out of recession.

Copyright © Press Association 2010
All articles are copyright The Press Association 2010. News articles provided by The Press Association for Family Investments. Whilst every care it taken to ensure accuracy of editorial content, Family Investments takes no responsibility for any errors or omissions. The views expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of Family Investments.

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