When it comes to living beyond one’s means, Americans are legendary. But that doesn’t mean we’re alone. In fact, the Financial Times has recently reported that Europeans are going through pretty much the same debt fallout that Americans are experiencing, due to many of the same factors - namely, overspending and easy credit.
Now European lenders are preparing for a tsunami of debt default similar to the one that hit American banks last Fall. Some estimates expect that 7% of Europe’s consumer debt will go bad. With total consumer debt topping $2.5 trillion, that’s a lot of default waiting to happen.
The same article reveals that households in the UK have a higher percentage of debt to disposable income than US consumers. Still, debt default in the UK is expected to be about half that of America.
If you have a heavy debt load and think you might be in danger of defaulting on your credit cards, call your company’s card services division and let them know what’s going on. They might set you up with a payment plan that will help keep your payments at a manageable level.
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