CREDIT CARDS

Credit cards to ease inflation anxieties

With inflation hitting the highest level for three years (5.2% in September), seven out of ten Brits (71%) said they will turn to other financial sources to fund rising bills, according to a new study.

In a poll recently conducted by a leading comparative site, British consumers stated that savings (42.4%), overdraft (16.9%) and credit cards (11.6%) are the resources they would turn to in case of serious struggles to cover increasing living costs.

A lucky 23.6% of Brits said they can still manage their monthly income for the moment. However, this is not the general trend. Research results show that 26% of UK adults (almost 13 million people) admit they get instantly stressed or worried whenever they receive a bill.

Reasons for these concerns are different. Over half (54%) said the biggest cause was the simple fact that bills just keep rising and 31% confessed they panic because they have more money going out of their current account than they have coming in every month.

Credit cards reliance

Inflation is not the only reason why Brits use credit cards. A recent study predicted that Brits might have to rely on credit cards to afford the coming Christmas season.

The research, published by a leading comparison site, revealed that general Christmas costs have risen by 15% since 2009 and that, because of this, 55% of UK consumers suggested their Christmas holiday will be much more subdued this year.

Furthermore, the report also suggested that families failing to save any money for the holiday season will increase their use of credit cards or even loans.

“The rising cost of living is something UK adults have had to bear the brunt of over the last 12 months, with rising energy, fuel and food costs putting significant pressure on the nations' wallets,” said Kevin Mountford, head of banking at MoneySupermarket.com.

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Tags: consumer price inflation CPI, credit card comparison, CREDIT CARDS, credit cards reliance, inflation