According to a BBC report today, Britons borrow on average twice as much as their European cousins. What is this deadly love affair all about? Read on for an insight into the disaster rollercoaster ride we all seem to be embarking upon
According to the BBC website, people in the UK are borrowing on average almost twice that of citizens in other western European countries, a report has found.
Unsecured UK lending, such as credit cards, was £216bn ($408bn; 319bn euros) in 2005 - more than a third of all new non-mortgage borrowing in Europe. The average British resident owes £3,175, business research firm Datamonitor said. Total UK personal debt, including mortgages, is about £1.2 trillion.
The report, which looks at the market for borrowing via personal loans, hire purchase, credit cards and overdrafts in 16 European countries, said that the UK had an "insatiable appetite for credit". The average European owed just £1,558 in unsecured debt.
We can all be accused of getting somewhat blasé over the scale of the problem, which is understandable when the numbers are so mind-bogglingly huge! let's just try to put it into a bit of perspective; £1.2 Trillion is £1,200,000,000.00 which is a pretty big number by any standard!
Why are Britons obsessed with debt? I think it's more a case of Britons are obsessed with Capitalism, but don't have the wealth, resource or infrastructure to sustain demand. We have seen the trend of following on the petticoat tails of our North Atlantic cousins in the US. However, even the worlds' (until now) biggest economy, has caught a severe cold at best. At worst it's in intensive care fighting for it's existence!
The US is a manufacturing nation and as such, has the potential to begin engineering it's way out of recession. It also has massive reserves of oil, gold and other valuable resources including technical skills and know-how. In the UK we are somewhat lacking as a manufacturer. Almost all our industry has gone as we outsource more and produce less.
People in the UK have been encouraged and almost forcibly cajoled into adopting a lifestyle way above their means. This has in a large part been down to the actions of retailers and the financiers behind them. as an example over the last few years we have all been made aware of the demise of cash in our economy.
As an example, if you go to buy a new TV and say you want to pay in cash, it's almost as if you're a cross between Atilla the Hun and Randle Patrick McMurphy (as played by Jack Nicholson in "One flew over the cuckoos nest." The reason for this is quite logical and comes down (as many things in our society do) to hard, cold cash and profitability.
If the retailer sells you a TV for cash, they might make a profit of £20.00 but if they sell you a finance package, they could stand to increase it to £50.00 or even more. It therefore stands to reason that they would rather you took the finance. If they can convince people they can afford to make the payments, they make two sales!
People have been misguided and tricked into believing they were better off than they actually were. They have been advised and pressured into buying homes they couldn't really afford to own and maintain in order to escalate the already hyped up prices even further. Why do this? The great god "Profit" again. The ones who gained the most? The ones lending the money and those dealing with the sale of property of course.
The time of reckoning has dawned and it seems we're in for a pretty rough ride to try and get back on track. Prices are spiralling either upwards for goods and essential services, or downwards for properties and vehicles. Wages have stagnated for years and we're already being warned not to expect a pay increase because of the harm it may do to the economy.
At last the UK population seem to be understanding the wisdom of the words, "Only spend what you can afford," which should stand for the Government as well as the populous. The rate of national borrowing is at an all time high and likely to go higher. The figures not only don't balance, they're getting further apart.
We need to look at waste management in the UK and by this I am not talking about refuse collections. Our country is mal-managed and there are enormous inefficiencies, particularly in areas such as local Government and the health service. In many cases there are as many managers and supervisors as actual workers. No wonder the costs are therefore out of control and excessively high.
People should be paid on results, not qualifications or friendships. The whole system needs a massive shake-up if we're to get back to being a competitive and prosperous nation. Good normally comes out of adversity and this shock wake-up call should be a trigger for prompting positive and far reaching action to put us back where we belong; a leading world figure.
There need to be new ways of providing housing, health care and services. Tougher laws to protect people from the lawless minority who cost the most and deliver least. New ways of teaching standards so children can aspire to be the best they can at all they do and feel motivated to do so. We need to put the pride back in Briton!!!
If you are struggling from the effects of the current credit crisis, maybe our website can help you. Check it out at:
www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
It's totally FREE charity debt help for those who need it most.
Free debt help charity that enables anybody with an unsecured debt problem to manage and control it themselves. Simple to use but very powerful and totally free from charge. There are 3 simple steps to debt freedom, take the first one now!
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Is Personal Finance Too Easy To Come By?
A report from the BBC today has outlined the findings of a report by the Griffiths Commission on Personal Debt. They want an end to aggressive marketing techniques for credit products, saying debt is too easy to come by.
A representative of Sterling Trust UK Ltd expanded on this and added the following; statement; "In years gone by banks and responsible lending institutions frowned on what they called "Loan Sharks." These are basically people who have few or no morals and flout the law for financial gain.
Over the last few years, due to the phenomenal rise in the amount of credit and proportionately in the amount of adverse credit i.e. lending to people who have missed, reduced or defaulted on payments previously; the divide has narrowed. Banks have looked on enviously at the huge profits made by lending to people with poor credit ratings and decided that they were missing out on a highly lucrative slice of the market.
The upshot of all this is that under extreme pressure from their shareholders to increase profits, banks and other lenders have relaxed lending criteria. This has led to the cost of borrowing plummeting and the ease of access increasing, helping to fuel the current credit crisis. In the meantime however, the banks have all recorded record profits because of all the real costs of borrowing such as overdraft and other charges. So don't feel too sorry for them.
At the same time we have seen a greed and panic fuelled escalation in house prices, which has long been forecast as unsustainable and unrealistic. For the average man (or woman) in the street who has one house and use it as their main residence, they never make any money on their property.
If you don't believe this, imagine the following scenario and then tell me how you would make money! Imagine for a second that you live in a semi-detached property. It matters not whether it's a house, bungalow etc, or what the location is. Your property is number 2 and the adjacent one is number 4.
For any reason you care to imagine, you decide you want to move from number 2 to number 4. The prices are identical as are the properties (just a mirror image) the mortgage payments and everything else. With legal fees, searches, moving costs etc it costs you £5 - £10,000 to move. I defy anyone to show me where there is a profit in that....
Unless of course you are from the Inland Revenue (Stamp Duty and other taxes), an estate agent (sale fees, valuation fees etc.), a solicitor or conveyancer (legal costs), or a mortgage lender (no need for explanation). It then becomes maybe a little bit clearer why they are the very ones prompting, cajoling and encouraging us to leap for the rungs of that slippery property ladder. This might seem a cynical view, but unfortunately there is an awful lot of truth in the analysis and that same truth is now beginning to dawn in millions of impoverished households around the UK.
People need to forget about any feelings of embarrassment, stigma, misgivings etc and if they are struggling with debt, reach out for help. We are able to offer an olive branch that is easy and painless to grasp. Because we are a charity and have no charges whatsoever we can help people that are often unreachable. Our site does all the work so people can manage their debts themselves with confidence.
For further infomation just log on to www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
Free debt help charity that enables anybody with an unsecured debt problem to manage and control it themselves. Simple to use but very powerful and totally free from charge. There are 3 simple steps to debt freedom, take the first one now!
A representative of Sterling Trust UK Ltd expanded on this and added the following; statement; "In years gone by banks and responsible lending institutions frowned on what they called "Loan Sharks." These are basically people who have few or no morals and flout the law for financial gain.
Over the last few years, due to the phenomenal rise in the amount of credit and proportionately in the amount of adverse credit i.e. lending to people who have missed, reduced or defaulted on payments previously; the divide has narrowed. Banks have looked on enviously at the huge profits made by lending to people with poor credit ratings and decided that they were missing out on a highly lucrative slice of the market.
The upshot of all this is that under extreme pressure from their shareholders to increase profits, banks and other lenders have relaxed lending criteria. This has led to the cost of borrowing plummeting and the ease of access increasing, helping to fuel the current credit crisis. In the meantime however, the banks have all recorded record profits because of all the real costs of borrowing such as overdraft and other charges. So don't feel too sorry for them.
At the same time we have seen a greed and panic fuelled escalation in house prices, which has long been forecast as unsustainable and unrealistic. For the average man (or woman) in the street who has one house and use it as their main residence, they never make any money on their property.
If you don't believe this, imagine the following scenario and then tell me how you would make money! Imagine for a second that you live in a semi-detached property. It matters not whether it's a house, bungalow etc, or what the location is. Your property is number 2 and the adjacent one is number 4.
For any reason you care to imagine, you decide you want to move from number 2 to number 4. The prices are identical as are the properties (just a mirror image) the mortgage payments and everything else. With legal fees, searches, moving costs etc it costs you £5 - £10,000 to move. I defy anyone to show me where there is a profit in that....
Unless of course you are from the Inland Revenue (Stamp Duty and other taxes), an estate agent (sale fees, valuation fees etc.), a solicitor or conveyancer (legal costs), or a mortgage lender (no need for explanation). It then becomes maybe a little bit clearer why they are the very ones prompting, cajoling and encouraging us to leap for the rungs of that slippery property ladder. This might seem a cynical view, but unfortunately there is an awful lot of truth in the analysis and that same truth is now beginning to dawn in millions of impoverished households around the UK.
People need to forget about any feelings of embarrassment, stigma, misgivings etc and if they are struggling with debt, reach out for help. We are able to offer an olive branch that is easy and painless to grasp. Because we are a charity and have no charges whatsoever we can help people that are often unreachable. Our site does all the work so people can manage their debts themselves with confidence.
For further infomation just log on to www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
Free debt help charity that enables anybody with an unsecured debt problem to manage and control it themselves. Simple to use but very powerful and totally free from charge. There are 3 simple steps to debt freedom, take the first one now!
Friday, 22 August 2008
Credit Crisis or Financial Rebirth? - Sterling Trust Debt Charity Shows The Way
The current credit crisis seems to be slowing, but the economy is incredibly frail and many things could tip the balance either way. Interest hikes versus inflation? Which is the lesser of two evils? One thing's sure borrowing just got harder!
There are so many conlficting opinions and prognoses on the potential outcome of our current economic downturn, that nobody quite knows what to believe. If house prices continue to plummet and as yet there seems to be no sign of them slowing, then the economy is sure to shrink. A lot of the UK personal debt mountain is attributable to secured borrowing against property. If the value continues to fall and repossessions increase as is forecast, what will become of the lenders who are desperate for injections of cash, but unable to liquidate their grwoing property portfolio? Will lending get tighter? Interest rates higher?
People are going to have to live with the fact the freely available credit at low rates is; for the time being at least, very much a thing of the past! Confidence is at an extremely low ebb and confidence whether from consumer or lender is the only thing likely to drive our economy forward. The UK is going to see a radical shakeup of the finance industry from within. The lenders will not be quite so gung-ho about their business models and reticent to plunge themselves back into the same chasm where they now find themselves.
A carefully structured policy needs to be adopted by the credit industry, Government, regulators, bank chiefs and consumers alike. We need a rethink of what constitutes necessity and what is luxury. Many Britons seems to have lost sight of this and all the latest modern gadgets etc are all of a sudden essential. As the PM Gordon Brown has stated, we need to look very carefully at the amount of waste in our country. By being more prudent and careful, we can all "Make the money go further."
Personal debt needs to be put firmly under control. Failure to do so means debt controls the consumer. That is why we find couples having to work 4 or 5 jobs between them just to meet the bills and feed their family. This is in part to blame for the breakdown in our social fabric. There's a real stigma about asking for help though. It would seem that people will only ask for any form of assistance when the situation is desperate and often there is little hope of redemption.
Anybody suffering from personal debt should do the sensible thing and seek professional advice and help at the earliest opportunity. All financial bodies state that if you have any kind of difficulty repaying your debts you should go to them for help. However, as a charity we are approached by a constant stream of people who have tried to do so and been rebuffed. The general consensus is that the response they get is, "Pay up or else!" The sympathetic ear seems to be profoundly deaf!!!
If you find yourself a victim of the credit crunch, have difficulty meeting your repayments and feel as though you might be fighting a losing battle, please visit our website and check out how we can help you, totally free of any charge. As a debt charity we pride ourselves in offering a first class totally free service that is simple to use and freely available. Our address is www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
By using the site you will be taking a huge step towrds getting your finances back on track and taking an element of control in your life. None of the information is ever disclosed and everythig is secured using 128bit encryption technology. Do the right thing now and get the help you deserve.
Free debt help charity that enables anybody with an unsecured debt problem to manage and control it themselves. Simple to use but very powerful and totally free from charge. There are 3 simple steps to debt freedom, take the first one now!
www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
There are so many conlficting opinions and prognoses on the potential outcome of our current economic downturn, that nobody quite knows what to believe. If house prices continue to plummet and as yet there seems to be no sign of them slowing, then the economy is sure to shrink. A lot of the UK personal debt mountain is attributable to secured borrowing against property. If the value continues to fall and repossessions increase as is forecast, what will become of the lenders who are desperate for injections of cash, but unable to liquidate their grwoing property portfolio? Will lending get tighter? Interest rates higher?
People are going to have to live with the fact the freely available credit at low rates is; for the time being at least, very much a thing of the past! Confidence is at an extremely low ebb and confidence whether from consumer or lender is the only thing likely to drive our economy forward. The UK is going to see a radical shakeup of the finance industry from within. The lenders will not be quite so gung-ho about their business models and reticent to plunge themselves back into the same chasm where they now find themselves.
A carefully structured policy needs to be adopted by the credit industry, Government, regulators, bank chiefs and consumers alike. We need a rethink of what constitutes necessity and what is luxury. Many Britons seems to have lost sight of this and all the latest modern gadgets etc are all of a sudden essential. As the PM Gordon Brown has stated, we need to look very carefully at the amount of waste in our country. By being more prudent and careful, we can all "Make the money go further."
Personal debt needs to be put firmly under control. Failure to do so means debt controls the consumer. That is why we find couples having to work 4 or 5 jobs between them just to meet the bills and feed their family. This is in part to blame for the breakdown in our social fabric. There's a real stigma about asking for help though. It would seem that people will only ask for any form of assistance when the situation is desperate and often there is little hope of redemption.
Anybody suffering from personal debt should do the sensible thing and seek professional advice and help at the earliest opportunity. All financial bodies state that if you have any kind of difficulty repaying your debts you should go to them for help. However, as a charity we are approached by a constant stream of people who have tried to do so and been rebuffed. The general consensus is that the response they get is, "Pay up or else!" The sympathetic ear seems to be profoundly deaf!!!
If you find yourself a victim of the credit crunch, have difficulty meeting your repayments and feel as though you might be fighting a losing battle, please visit our website and check out how we can help you, totally free of any charge. As a debt charity we pride ourselves in offering a first class totally free service that is simple to use and freely available. Our address is www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
By using the site you will be taking a huge step towrds getting your finances back on track and taking an element of control in your life. None of the information is ever disclosed and everythig is secured using 128bit encryption technology. Do the right thing now and get the help you deserve.
Free debt help charity that enables anybody with an unsecured debt problem to manage and control it themselves. Simple to use but very powerful and totally free from charge. There are 3 simple steps to debt freedom, take the first one now!
www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
Thursday, 21 August 2008
Debt Relief Lifeline now offered to beleagured Britons
At last there's some good news for desperate Britons who have fallen foul of the "Credit Crunch." Free expert debt help is available form a totally new UK based charity. Find everything you need to get yourself out of debt totally free of any charge!
Debt is the biggest cause of social depravation and breakdown in the UK. Millions are at their wits end as they reach the end of their fixed rate discounted mortgage deals, wages are being squeezed, inflation is spiralling everywhere you look and credit is much harder to come by as investors shrink back in fear.
It's fantastic news then that a totally new UK based debt charity has been launched with the sole intent of helping people burdened by insurmountable debt problems to find relief in their time of need, totally free of any charge.
UK based Sterling Trust is the latest offering for beleagured Britons who are finding it ever increasingly difficult to make ends meet. The are totally unique in their approach and what they offer. By registering and entering all their details into the charity website (which is totally secured) people can access all the letters and forms they should need to negotiate their own debt management plan with their creditors.
The site looks and feels great and works very well indeed. In just a few minutes it's possible to enter all your details and be ready to start downloading and printing all the paperwork you need. The forms look very professional and state quite clearly that they have been prepared by a charitable debt organisation, therefore the creditors should be far more willing to accept a payment offer than from a paid for debt management company.
Because Sterling Trust is a charity and makes no charge whatsoever for any of it's services, they are currently seeking endorsements, help and sponsorship. If anyone is willing to help in any way with this great cause and to make a difference to the lives of impoverished britons, they would love to hear from you. Just a simple link on a website or the use of a brand name by way of endorsement would mean so much to them and they would be eternally grateful.
So if you either need help, or would like to offer some, please get in touch with them. Together we really can make a difference.
Free debt help charity that enables anybody with an unsecured debt problem to manage and control it themselves. Simple to use but very powerful and totally free from charge. There are 3 simple steps to debt freedom, take the first one now! Visit
www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
Debt is the biggest cause of social depravation and breakdown in the UK. Millions are at their wits end as they reach the end of their fixed rate discounted mortgage deals, wages are being squeezed, inflation is spiralling everywhere you look and credit is much harder to come by as investors shrink back in fear.
It's fantastic news then that a totally new UK based debt charity has been launched with the sole intent of helping people burdened by insurmountable debt problems to find relief in their time of need, totally free of any charge.
UK based Sterling Trust is the latest offering for beleagured Britons who are finding it ever increasingly difficult to make ends meet. The are totally unique in their approach and what they offer. By registering and entering all their details into the charity website (which is totally secured) people can access all the letters and forms they should need to negotiate their own debt management plan with their creditors.
The site looks and feels great and works very well indeed. In just a few minutes it's possible to enter all your details and be ready to start downloading and printing all the paperwork you need. The forms look very professional and state quite clearly that they have been prepared by a charitable debt organisation, therefore the creditors should be far more willing to accept a payment offer than from a paid for debt management company.
Because Sterling Trust is a charity and makes no charge whatsoever for any of it's services, they are currently seeking endorsements, help and sponsorship. If anyone is willing to help in any way with this great cause and to make a difference to the lives of impoverished britons, they would love to hear from you. Just a simple link on a website or the use of a brand name by way of endorsement would mean so much to them and they would be eternally grateful.
So if you either need help, or would like to offer some, please get in touch with them. Together we really can make a difference.
Free debt help charity that enables anybody with an unsecured debt problem to manage and control it themselves. Simple to use but very powerful and totally free from charge. There are 3 simple steps to debt freedom, take the first one now! Visit
www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
Totally Free debt Help website launched! Take control of your debts now, FREE OF ANY CHARGE!
The Sterling Trust website is a revelation for consumers mired in debt. It offers everything you will ever need to get yourself out of unsecured debt. Try it, love it, use it! This is what the UK has needed for a long time to offer a lifeline to those struggling with their personal debt problems.
Charitable organisation, Sterling Trust UK Ltd have launched a brand new debt solution which is totally free and very simple to use. The site looks good, feels user friendly and functions like a dream! By simply putting in all your personal details all the work is done for you! The site calculates all payment amounts, drafts the letters and forms and allows you to download and print them. Anybody can use it, it's totally secured using 128bit encryption and best of all, there is absolutely no charge whatsoever! This is the way forward for millions of people who are struggling to maintain payments to credit cards, unsecured loans, store cards, catalogues, overdrafts and even door-to-door collections such as Provident and Shopacheck. Malcolm Courcier from Sterling Trust stated, "We are extremely pleased with the site and proud to be leading the way in charitable debt solutions for the masses. For long enough we have been extremely concerned about the ever increasing debt burden on the UK consumer. The site will enable anyone with a genuine debt problem to regain control of their finances and their lives. As many of us will already be aware, personal, personal debt can cause physical and mental ill health leading to absenteeism, depression, stress related illness, relationship breakdown and even suicide. It's about time there was a way for people to get out of the debt spiral without having to rely on paying huge fees to a debt management company or waiting months to get an appointment with the CAB. What we have done is to put the power of control back in the hands of those who most need it."
Free debt help charity that enables anybody with an unsecured debt problem to manage and control it themselves. Simple to use but very powerful and totally free from charge. There are 3 simple steps to debt freedom, take the first one now!
Be debt free today - visit the new charity debt site - www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
Charitable organisation, Sterling Trust UK Ltd have launched a brand new debt solution which is totally free and very simple to use. The site looks good, feels user friendly and functions like a dream! By simply putting in all your personal details all the work is done for you! The site calculates all payment amounts, drafts the letters and forms and allows you to download and print them. Anybody can use it, it's totally secured using 128bit encryption and best of all, there is absolutely no charge whatsoever! This is the way forward for millions of people who are struggling to maintain payments to credit cards, unsecured loans, store cards, catalogues, overdrafts and even door-to-door collections such as Provident and Shopacheck. Malcolm Courcier from Sterling Trust stated, "We are extremely pleased with the site and proud to be leading the way in charitable debt solutions for the masses. For long enough we have been extremely concerned about the ever increasing debt burden on the UK consumer. The site will enable anyone with a genuine debt problem to regain control of their finances and their lives. As many of us will already be aware, personal, personal debt can cause physical and mental ill health leading to absenteeism, depression, stress related illness, relationship breakdown and even suicide. It's about time there was a way for people to get out of the debt spiral without having to rely on paying huge fees to a debt management company or waiting months to get an appointment with the CAB. What we have done is to put the power of control back in the hands of those who most need it."
Free debt help charity that enables anybody with an unsecured debt problem to manage and control it themselves. Simple to use but very powerful and totally free from charge. There are 3 simple steps to debt freedom, take the first one now!
Be debt free today - visit the new charity debt site - www.sterlingtrust.org.uk
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