Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2006 5:00 pm
Almost half of young people say that peer pressure is at fault for pushing them into debt, a survey suggests.
National Savings & Investments asked 3,000 people whether the influence of friends was a cause of overspending.
Of those aged between 16 and 24 - a generation that some say is known for its "live now, pay later" lifestyle - 44% said it was.
But NS&I also said peer pressure waned rapidly among older people, with only 5% of the over-55s admitting to it.
Across all age groups from 16 up, 15% agreed that their friends "influence you to overspend".
NS&I said it was concerned that the research suggested "damaging implications for consumer debt and future savings habits", and threatened young people's long-term financial health.
But the survey also found that among those questioned, 58% were saving regularly - a rise from 55% the last time that NS&I had performed this research.
The figure reinforces a detail buried in the thousands of pages of research and statistics published along with Chancellor Gordon Brown's recent pre-budget report.
More than 16 million people - one in four or more of the population - now hold one of the individual savings accounts (ISAs) launched by the government in 1999, saving in total £181bn.
This is almost as much money as is owed in total on credit cards, overdrafts, unsecured bank loans and hire purchase agreements.
Source: BBC News Online
Please post any news stories about IVAs here:
http://www.iva.co.uk/forum/default.asp?CAT_ID=5
National Savings & Investments asked 3,000 people whether the influence of friends was a cause of overspending.
Of those aged between 16 and 24 - a generation that some say is known for its "live now, pay later" lifestyle - 44% said it was.
But NS&I also said peer pressure waned rapidly among older people, with only 5% of the over-55s admitting to it.
Across all age groups from 16 up, 15% agreed that their friends "influence you to overspend".
NS&I said it was concerned that the research suggested "damaging implications for consumer debt and future savings habits", and threatened young people's long-term financial health.
But the survey also found that among those questioned, 58% were saving regularly - a rise from 55% the last time that NS&I had performed this research.
The figure reinforces a detail buried in the thousands of pages of research and statistics published along with Chancellor Gordon Brown's recent pre-budget report.
More than 16 million people - one in four or more of the population - now hold one of the individual savings accounts (ISAs) launched by the government in 1999, saving in total £181bn.
This is almost as much money as is owed in total on credit cards, overdrafts, unsecured bank loans and hire purchase agreements.
Source: BBC News Online
Please post any news stories about IVAs here:
http://www.iva.co.uk/forum/default.asp?CAT_ID=5