dazc

Consolidate all your loans into one easily affordable monthly repayment - for the rest of your life.

Then you will have more money to spend each month in which to create the same spiralling situation again. The banks will love it. The temptation to spend will always be there.

Reality

The banks must take some of the blame for getting their customers so far into debt. I know everybody should be strong willed and wait for "stuff" until they can afford it - but in the society we live in today this is very hard (especially for the very young).

Banks should loan money in a responsible manner and ensure their customers can afford what they're being given !

Current lending "policies" appear to be the same as your traditional loan sharks - get them so far into debt they'll be paying us interest for the rest of their lives !

+Doc+

Cut your suit according to your cloth.....as me ma` always said.
Always worked for me.

weapon69

I agree with you to a point. E.g when i applied for my CC at 18 they knew i didn't have a full time job, i wasn't earning xx amount of money to pay it off comfortably. They should make sure that people have the earnings to be able to afford it. I had a part time job and i was a student and with a grand on my CC paying off 15quid a month i thought that was good
They shouldn't give them to people under 21 IMO.

Reality

When I was approx 21 you had to apply to extend your credit limit and it was rarely granted unless you could prove your earnings had increased since you first got your credit card.

Couple of years later the banks would just send a letter saying they had increased your credit limit for you as they had noticed you got to the limit.

I suspect they don't even bother telling you they've increased it nowadays !

All this borrowing without any hope of repaying will end in tears - it wouldn't suprise me if 90% of economic "growth" in the last 5 years has been down to personal debt growing - maybe someone has the figures ??