Debt. It’s a scary word packed with all sorts of cultural shame, embarrassment, and confusion.
Debt is widespread and can creep into every part of our lives, causing us constant worry, sparking mental health issues, breaking up relationships, and preventing us from making plans for the future.
But all the emotions around it mean that even when people are in an absolute crisis, they’re still reluctant to ask for help – whether that’s due to fear of the situation being worse than it seems or the horror of having to admit that your money situation isn’t so peachy.
We don’t receive financial education in schools, so it’s not surprising that many of us feel clueless when it comes to handling our money, and yet it feels embarrassing to admit you don’t really get what an ISA is and how much debt is ‘normal’.
That’s why here on Metro.co.uk, we’re declaring November as Debt Month.
Over the month ahead we’re going to be publishing all sorts of content around the topic of debt, from simple explainers to improve our financial literacy to features exploring our culture of debt and first-person pieces from people opening up about how they got into large amounts of debt.
You can expect to see expert advice and easy-to-understand breakdowns of the basics of debt alongside deepdives into the lives of debt influencers and super savers sharing how they escaped the debt cycle.
We want to open up the conversation around debt and get everyone feeling a little more comfortable talking about their money – and asking for help when they need it.
8.3 million people in the UK are unable to pay off debts or household bills, according to a report from the National Audit Office in 2018, and a lot of those people are millennials still in the early stages of their careers.
Young people are struggling to save (research from LV found that 55% of millennials fall short of the Money Advice Service’s recommended savings amount of 90 days’ worth of outgoings), terrified of debt, and all too often silently stuck in damaging patterns of living month to month, unable to save because they’re held back by masses of debt – whether that’s student debt, authorised overdrafts, expensive deposits on rented properties, or short-term high-interest loans.
Money Advice Trust’s survey of 2,042 18 to 24-year-olds found that 37% are already in debt, owing an average of £2,989 excluding student loans and mortgages.51% of under 25s report they regularly worry about money and 21% are losing sleep as a result.
Millennials have even been described as generation debt, which isn’t exactly a label we’re keen on.
So the situation is serious and it’s causing us a load of stress. Let’s confront the problem head on and get all our misunderstandings about debt sorted in preparation for the new year ahead.
Check back on the lifestyle page or head straight to our Debt Month tag each day to learn and chat about all things debt. It’s not as scary as it sounds, promise.
Debt Month
This article is part of a month-long focus in November all about debt.
Scary word, we know, but we're hoping if we tackle this head on we'll be able to reduce the shame around money struggles and help everyone improve their understanding of their finances.
Throughout November we'll be publishing first-person accounts of debt, features, advice, and explainers.
If you have a story to share, a topic you want us to cover, or a question that needs answering, get in touch at MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
source https://metro.co.uk/2019/11/01/why-were-talking-about-debt-this-month-11017937/
0 Comments