Thousands die of hunger daily. Not so in Britain. According to most report issued by Credit Action organization, about a third of groceries, bought by an average British household, ends up in the garbage. This is the most optimistic note of the report. Although it is hardly reasonable to expect report on personal debt to be a fun, cheerful reading, figures presented are staggering. At the end of April 2007 total UK personal debt stood at Ј1,325bn, and kept growing hourly. It has been established that random additional borrowing equates Ј313m daily, plus card transactions that run up an additional Ј1.3bn, plus national online shopping bill of Ј82m, and finally a modest Ј1bn in mortgages given daily by banks and other financial institutions. Those who are curious about UK debt figure as of today – Hail the brave ones! - add the numbers first, than multiply by the number of days.

Report from Datamonitor names Britain the most debt-ridden nation, accountable for a third of all unsecured debt in the European Union. High cost of living is partially responsible for this phenomena, it should not, however, serve as an escape goat for an inept borrowing. Credit Action reports that total credit card debt in April 2007 was Ј54.0bn – at an average interest rate of 17.1% (about 11.5% above Bank of England rate), with about 75.1% of the credit cards bearing interest. Given these facts, it is a small wonder what “According to a recent report by the Legal Services Research Centre (LSRC) 89% of debt clients interviewed reported worrying about their money problems ‘most’ or ‘all’ of the time.” Some clients required therapy and medication as a result of stress associated with the money problems; about quarter of the population went shopping to chase away the blues caused by such stress, generating more millions (nationwide) in personal debt. It is estimated four fifths of UK customers revealed regular overspending; ten percent were unable to make payments on time, while another ten boasted of taking advantage of a brilliant solution to take out a new credit card, so as to make payments on another.

Over the past three years close to six million Britons opted for a different solution to their debt problems by taking out secured debt consolidation loan. Repayment of secured loan is guaranteed by the borrower’s equity which serves as a collateral. Secured loan may be secured by a vehicle, property, or valuable papers. Government agencies, and debt-help agencies alike, caution against secured loans, especially those secured on property, for a failure to make repayments will result in the loss of the collateral. Compared to the prospect of repaying debt at an average interest rate of 17.1%, however, secured loans, ranging from 5.9% to 7.3% APR might offer a better solution. Considering that the price of an average home increases by about Ј46 daily, secured debt consolidation loans, are well worth a thought.

In a bid to aid those, suffering from bad credit history, bad credit secured loans appeared on the financial markets. Given statistics and numbers above, as well as the calculations the writer was too scared to carry out, perhaps that’s not as good of an idea as it sounds. It could be argued however, what there is value to the concept of giving second chances – for a price. While getting a credit card to pay off another one is akin to “the war to end all wars”, secured debt consolidation loan seems to offer a tentative solution. Alternatively, we all could eat a little less.