Under 25s rely on credit for living costs
03/08/2015
People under the age of 25 in the UK are turning to credit cards and loans to help them pay housing costs and utility bills, according to a report from the Debt Advisory Centre.
Almost a third of people aged between 18 and 25 have used credit to cover rent or mortgage payments, compared to an overall rate of 16% of adults who resorted to this. One fifth of 18 to 25 year olds admitted to being at least one month behind on their mortgage payments, which is more than double the rate for the average adult. Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, recently announced in his summer budget that the government will be scrapping automatic housing benefit for 18-21 year olds.
A quarter of young adults have also been forced to use a loan or credit card to pay utility bills, and a third worry about how they are going to pay their next bill.
Melanie Taylor, spokeswoman for Debt Advisory Centre, said:
“It is incredibly worrying to see such a high volume of young people struggling to make ends meet. Financial independence is something that should be encouraged, but clearly it is increasingly out of reach for many. As a society, we must ensure that we are equipping young people to make sensible financial decisions and giving them the means to do so.”
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