UK Debt: September 2023 statistics

Snapshot of UK debt September 2023

• Inflation rate falls slightly to 6.7% 
• There has been quite a dramatic increase in petrol by 5.6 pence per litre in August 2023 after months of it decreasing 
• Average credit card debt per household stood at £2,376 in July 2023 
• The average total debt per household is £65,661 in July 2023 
• Total unsecured debt stands at £4,047 per adult in July 2023 which hasn’t moved
• 0.2% increase in the average first time buyer house price to the year to July 2023

UK Personal Debt

Remember that you can view the statistics from last month here in order to compare with the September 2023 debt statistics.

• The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,661 or £34,666 per adult. This is around 103.3% of average earnings which is a decrease from last month
• 271 people per day were declared bankrupt or insolvent in England and Wales from June to August. This equates to one person every 5 minutes and 19 seconds
• The Citizens Advice Bureau dealt with 2,347 debt issues every day
• 6.7 properties were repossessed every day in April to June, which was one every 3 hours and 35 minutes
• 1,109 people a day reported they had become redundant between May and July
• Government debt increased by £339 million per day in the three months to August 2023
• The number of people unemployed increased by 658 per day in the year to July 2023
• The UK population shrunk by an estimated 151 people per day between 2020 and 2021

The headline for this month’s statistics from the Money Charity was that bills are piling up for UK households. Indeed, the statistics show that the fall in the rate of inflation has slowed, with a decrease of just 0.1% last month at the same time as petrol rising fast.

The Money Charity also highlighted that the reported figures are only estimates and therefore the reality is much more difficult for many. 1 in 4 people have stated that they are behind on at least one bill and Citizens Advice Bureau reported that they are seeing the most calls come through in their history. They have even stated that their callers are living on empty and the Money Charity further strengthens this view with stating that the rising costs are having a negative effect on households’ financial resilience, which is a person’s ability to cope with an unexpected financial shock. Their reports show that 17% of UK adults have £0 or less in their current accounts the day before payday.

If the past year has had a negative impact on your financial situation, or you are facing increasing debt costs over the next few months, feel free to call us for a discussion on what debt solutions could be available to suit your personal situation.