6 Conclusion

This course has explored personal debt within the UK. In Section 2, we examined overall levels of debt, before going on to explain how debt affects different households in different ways. Specifically, low-income households and families with children are more likely to get into difficulties, mostly linked to unsecured debt. We also noted how the number of people with debt problems increased in the late 2000s as circumstances in the economy led to many households having their available incomes reduced. Section 3 also explored the different costs associated with debt and highlighted the role of APR in making cost comparisons. The position of debt as a liability and the interrelationship between such liabilities and expenditure was explained in Section 4. Section 5 investigated the issues related to funding a purchase through debt, and again highlighted the role of an individual’s social and economic circumstances in shaping available choices.