Using credit cards to pay household bills?

Friday 28th March, 2008 

According to the Association of Payment Clearing Services (APACS )£32.5 billion was spent on credit cards in the period October to December 2007. This equates to around £700 per person which is the highest but one for any period in history.

It is certainly not unusual to expect this level of high spending on the run up to Christmas. Usually this type of spending is the hallmark of a strong economy. However, what is unusual is that the level of spending on credit cards was not reflected in the shops this Christmas.

So where did all the money go? The most likely place where the money has gone is servicing debts and paying for household items. This form of debt management is quite worrying because it shows a lack of control of finances. No one should be using their credit cards to pay for food, heating etc or to pay a loan but they do! Unfortunately the use of credit cards has become so habitual for many they see nothing wrong with this, but they are only storing up trouble for the future.

At Debtwatchdog we encourage everyone to take control of their spending as this is the key to good debt management. If you feel that you are losing control of your spending and are worried about your debt levels visit our debt forum for help and advice.