Consumer debt must be “whittled down”

Debt management by consumers is needed to fight the recession, it has been suggested.

According to David Kuo of Fool.co.uk, restoring the confidence of consumers is an important task in the current economic slowdown, particularly as personal debt levels continue to rise.

“This debt, which now stands at over £1.4 trillion, must be whittled down if consumers are to have certainty in their own futures,” he said.

Commenting on the Gfk NOP UK Consumer Confidence Index, Mr Kuo called on the government to act quickly to rebuild confidence and said that measures already implemented have so far “done little”.

He added that people must be “agile” enough to repay their debts quickly.

In related news, Beccy Boden Wilks, a spokesperson for the Money Advice Trust, recently said that the need for debt advice is increasing, with the charity receiving double the amount of calls over the past year.

By Rosie Park