Take control, expert urges UK consumers

British consumers need to take control of their own finances and realise that there is not a “bottomless pit” of resources for the entire country to draw from, one economic expert has insisted.

Grant Hughes Dip, director of the Charlwood Leigh independent advisory business, suggests that for the most part people are responsible for their own debt management problems and should therefore take responsibility for becoming debt free.

“Everything is down to personal choice. You either buy that house with a huge mortgage or you buy a smaller house; you either buy that iPod or you don’t,” said Mr Hughes Dip.

“Most people’s wages should be enough to keep them if they didn’t spend it on other things,” he added.

Debt management is a major problem for millions of UK consumers and personal debt levels rose by around 5.8 per cent over the past 12 months, according to data from Credit Action.