How is the economic downturn affecting consumers in the UK?
A Consumers 2012 report on consumer spending habits found that some Brits are having to take drastic measures just to get by.
Perhaps the most surprising result is that a fifth of the 2,000 surveyed people had gone in to debt to pay for everyday essentials like food.
One in four people have recently had to use savings to buy food or other daily essentials.
One in five have gone into debt to buy them.
According to Credit Action’s Debt Statistic the outstanding personal debt stood at £1.456 trillion at the end of January 2012.
- Average household debt in the UK (including mortgages) was £55,988 in January.
- The average amount owed per UK adult (including mortgages) was £29,634 in January.
- £173m was the daily amount of interest paid on personal debt in January
On this interactive map you can also see which places are at the biggest risk of poverty across England.
How poor is your area – and how much worse will it get?
