The results are in from our latest survey

Credit crunch hits CreditChoices users

15-May-2009, Garnet Roach garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

More than half of CreditChoices.co.uk users are feeling the squeeze as a result of the ongoing credit crunch according to our latest survey (15-05-08).

Even as credit becomes even harder to get, the cost of living is increasing with 52 per cent of you spending more on food than you did a year ago and 41 per cent of you having to fork out an increasing amount on rent or mortgage repayments.

Today’s higher cost of living means that a growing number of people now have less to spend on luxuries or to put away in as savings.

Spending on luxuries like going on holiday, eating out and even buying CDs and DVDs has fallen according to our users with almost half cutting down on eating out and holidays and 51 per cent reducing the amount they spend on CDs and DVDs.

The credit crunch is also affecting the amount you have left at the end of the month, with a third of people saving less now and 21 per cent not managing to put anything aside at all.

One user said: “The cost of living increasing means less to spend. I’m also out of pocket after losing the 10 per cent tax bracket.”

“The cost of living has gone up drastically leaving me with nothing to spend on luxuries or savings,” said another.

Chris Eagle, CreditChoices.co.uk commercial manager, advised consumers to budget for the ongoing credit crisis. “Many people have become accustomed to rely on credit to get them through the month,” he said. “But now people are finding themselves being turned down for loans or having their credit card limits cut.

“Write up a budget that includes as little credit as possible,” he advised, “and if you are struggling to keep up with any repayments don’t just ignore them or take on more debt to pay them off - talk to your lenders and see if they can freeze or reduce your repayments for a while, or seek professional advice from the Citizens Advice Bureau or the National Debtline.”