Results of a survey carried by the Irish Mortgage Corporation have revealed that almost one-in-three Irish consumers admit they are having problems paying their bills.
Their Personal Budgeting Survey shows there has been a 59% increase on last year on the numbers struggling last year to meet their payments on mortgages, loans, credit cards and electricity bills. Close to three out of four consumers said they plan to reduce their spending further in 2010 to cope with higher charges, particularly rising mortgages rates. Ways of cutting back on spending included prioritizing paying off high-interest debts such as credit cards, more than a third said they will cancel their family holiday while one in four said they planning to cut their pension contributions. Not only that but the survey showed that one-in-five mortgage holders said they had been preparing for increases to their monthly repayments by saving...
The findings of the Irish Mortgage Corporation survey also indicated that some people were failing to dispense with the bad habits associated with the Celtic Tiger boom times, as the survey showed that 15% of respondents felt credit cards represented "good value for money" despite the fact many credit cards charge between 15% and 20% interest rates on revolving card balances!
