Tuesday 8th May, 2007 

What amount of debt would start to worry us? Me, anything above £3000 and I'm losing sleep but recent reports indicate a certain degree of ambivalence to large debts.

The answer, according to CreditExpert.co.uk, is that six million of us, a fifth of the adult population would not bat an eyelid to debts of £15,000 and under. So when would we start worrying? According to Experian's research 1.4million consumers, 5% of the population, would start to worry if their debt levels were to reach the £50k mark. This is worrying in the light of recent figures which indicated that the average income level is £23,000 a year. Assuming a very generous disposable income of £5,000 would mean that the average person paying off a £50k could do so in 10 years if the interest rates were frozen!

This worrying trend exposes those people who have unmanageable debt and doesn't recognise the warning signs. Consumers should be worrying about their debt levels well before the £50k mark. With an imminent interest rate raise on the horizon is this cavalier attitude misplaced? Only time will tell.