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Government warns about rising credit card debt Debt - the 12-month view Amount of `bad debt` written off reaches 16-year high Deeper into debt: middle-class poverty Debt taken on by individuals increased in January Debt Relief Order (DRO) rules may be changed Overdrafts: five million Britons `permanently` in debt Mortgage lending drops to decade low The cost of debt falls Two thirds hope to have cleared mortgage debt by 50 40% of people approaching retirement `saddled with debt` Repossession `may be best` for homeowners struggling with debt Bankruptcies in Scotland - the worst may be yet to come Good news for people with energy debts US: new law provides debt-free date More debt taken on than repaid in December Savings rise as consumers pay down debt Household debt `could trigger another downturn` More families could fall into debt with energy companies Recession ends

Low earners in debt `at risk of homelessness`

12/11/2009

According to research by the Resolution Foundation thinktank, a quarter of low-income households are spending more than a quarter of their monthly income servicing their debts, the Guardian reports.

Published this morning - before the unemployment figures were released - the article in the Guardian stated that: `Britain`s 14.3 million low earners are in danger of being sucked into a whirlpool of poverty as official figures are expected to show today that the number of unemployed has passed through 2.5 million for the first time in 15 years.`

At 9:30 a.m. the Office for National Statistics revealed that unemployment in fact reached 2.46 million - 7.8% - by the end of September.

Research by the thinktank suggests that low-income households (with an average income of £15,800) are `walking an increasingly precarious financial tightrope`, with 24% spending over a quarter of their monthly income servicing debt - twice as many as three years ago.

The research also found that almost a third of low-income households have high loan-to-value mortgage debts and are in negative equity (i.e. their mortgage debt is greater than the value of their property) - making them particularly vulnerable to homelessness if they were to lose their job.

The foundation is stressing the importance of debt advice and is calling for high-street banks to `involve themselves more in debt counselling` as soon as households with a low income fall behind on their mortgage payments.

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Government warns about rising credit card debt 05/03/2010 - The latest figures from the Bank of England (BoE) have Debt - the 12-month view 04/03/2010 - In January, UK citizens - between them - borrowed £500 Amount of `bad debt` written off reaches 16-year high 03/03/2010 - The latest figures from the Bank of England (BoE) suggest Deeper into debt: middle-class poverty 02/03/2010 - The recession has also affected a lot of people with