Monday, August 15, 2011
Category:
Secured Loans
According to Nielsen and the British Retail Consortium (BRC), ‘the proportion of British shoppers who feel they have no spare cash has reached a new all-time high of 32 per cent’.
Although confidence amongst British consumers reportedly increased last quarter, it is believed that the rise may be short-lived. This is because the Consumer Confidence Survey revealed that the spending intentions of consumers are ‘stuck at an all-time low’.
Findings have shown that factors that affect personal finances and household budgets will pose the greatest concern for consumers in the next six months, with the most significant concern being utility bill increases. Concerns about the economy and fuel price increases were found to rank in second and third places, respectively. According to the results of the survey, 71 percent of people said that they have altered their shopping habits in response to rising costs, in a bid to reduce household expenditure. Amongst this group, 65 percent have reportedly started buying cheaper grocery brands.
Britain’s consumer confidence index reportedly increased from 67 in quarter one to 72 in quarter two, as a greater number of people ‘felt a little better about their job prospects and personal finances’. However, the figure reportedly remains lower than it was throughout 2010. When it comes to the state of consumers’ personal finances, findings have shown that there is now optimism amongst 35 percent of people, which marks a six percent increase from quarter one. However, it was also found that 60 percent of British consumers remain ‘gloomy’ about the state of their personal finances.
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Homeowners whose finances are tight at the moment could consider taking out a secured loan. One of many finance options available, a secured loan could be used to tie up any existing debts for example. By consolidating debts, borrowers could reduce their monthly outgoings – thus freeing up useful money each month. Homeowners who would like to work out their monthly secured loan repayments could do so by using a
secured loan calculator. However, if opting for a secured loan to consolidate debt, it should be remembered that consolidating your debt may increase the amount you pay back overall and extend the repayment periods of your debts.
