Have you learned to control your budget?

If nothing else the last two years has taught many people in the UK the importance of controlling their budgets. In the boom times, when jobs were aplenty and wages were rising, many people over extended their finances racking up large amounts of debt on credit cards and personal loans. However, with the economy booming at the time it was easy to finance these debts although many people appear to have been paying the bare minimum repayments.

As the credit crunch emanated from America and a worldwide recession began we saw unemployment begin to rise, household incomes came under pressure and it became more and more apparent that many people had overextended themselves in the good times. As incomes came under pressure and credit card rates started to rise, a larger percentage of household income in the UK was being used to finance debt.

We can only hope that those in the UK who have suffered financial hardship or been on the verge of serious financial problems have learned their lesson. However, history shows that businesses and consumers often have very short memories when the boom times return and credit becomes more readily available to the masses again. But surely the serious nature of the recent recession can finally break this historic trend?