I was quoted in the Atlanta Journal today, in an article looking at how our levels of personal debt now exceed GDP. It is well reported that the Americans have their own problems with personal debt in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage debacle. However, over the past week our friends across the pond have started taking more of an interest in the health of our own economy.
Earlier this week Alan Greenspan, the former head of the US Federal Reserve, was forecasting doom and gloom in the UK housing market and the potential for our interest rates to hit double figures. This followed the Tories recently claiming that "Under Labour our economic growth has been built on a mountain of debt".
Interest rates in the UK have been on the rise for the past couple of years. The recent worldwide 'credit crunch' is set to make mortgages much harder to obtain for people with anything less than a perfect credit history.
How much of a problem is it that the total level of personal debt in the UK now exceeds our GDP?
The majority of people I speak to give the impression that they are quite comfortable with our 'debt culture' and their own levels of personal debt, even though this probably holds them back from reaching other financial goals and objectives.
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