Brits don't consider themselves 'in debt' until they owe £45,000

How much money would you have to owe before you consider yourself officially 'in debt'?

New research from talkRADIO shows that people these days have taken on a relaxed approach to borrowing and owing money, to the extent where people don't consider themselves 'in debt' until they owe as much as £45,000.

Of those polled, 37% admitted that even if they can't afford something initially they will find a way of getting it. This usually involves relying on a credit card, loan or dipping into overdrafts.

Worryingly, almost half of those polled claim they rely on their credit cards to get them through the month, while another third said they end up spending most of the month in their overdraft.

But amazingly it is only when debts reach the height of £45,454 that people panic and force themselves to take action.

While 34% said they would scrimp and save to be able to afford something, the same number of people said they would happily borrow money to afford the things they want that are too expensive.

Despite their debts, 64% of people claimed to be pretty relaxed about their financial situation.

Considering these findings, two thirds of people think the days when people would save up for something they wanted are long gone and more than half of those think it's unusual for someone not to have a credit card to rely on.

When looking at the different types of debt that people find themselves in, council tax debt and utilities companies chasing you for payments are considered among the worst kinds of debt to be in.

Meanwhile bank loans, mortgages and students loans are thought to be 'good debts'.

When it comes to paying off debts, 30% of people have had to take action to enable themselves to pay off money they owe and of those 40% became more frugal to make ends meet.