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70 days to pay interest on loans

Today is Debt Freedom Day - on average people in the UK have been working for the last 70 days solid to earn enough money just to service the interest on credit card and loan debt, let alone re-paying the actual debt itself.

In 2007 Debt Freedom Day was the 1st February, meaning UK borrowers only spent 31 days servicing? debts.

According to Unbiased.co.uk, personal loan levels in the UK increased to £9.8 billion, from £2.6 billion last year.

Furthermore, the same time average interest rates on personal loans are now 0.5 per cent higher, which means that Brits pay almost £1.5 billion in interest payments alone.

David Elms, chief executive of Unbiased.co.uk said: "This year's Debt Freedom Day is a real warning for UK consumers.

"While Debt Freedom Day is of course a hypothetical point in the financial calendar, people should pay attention to it. In the current economic client is has never been more important for people to realise just how much it costs to service their debts and to ensure they have adequate funds available to do so."

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