Direct loans to consumers increased for the third consecutive month in January, up by 27% in value on the same month a year earlier, figures from the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) show. Overall consumer finance also showed improvement, with the total value 5% higher than it was in January...

We won’t actually know the contents of the 2011 Budget until this afternoon, when Chancellor George Osborne starts delivering it at 12:30 – but a lot of information about it has already been ‘leaked’. So we know, for example, that it’s expected to contain some good news for...

16 million workers (56%) in the UK expect a pay freeze this year, a study by uSwitch.com has found, despite inflation increasing to 4.4% last month. The comparison site added that the vast majority of those who have received a pay increase this year have found that it doesn’t match up to inflation,...

UK mothers will cut a combined £1.3 billion from their savings budgets this year as they struggle to afford rising costs of living, according to research by Family Investments. In its first ever ‘UK Mums’ Budget’ survey, the financial solutions company found that almost half of mums (47%)...

Homeowners could significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to repay their mortgage debt by ‘overpaying’ even a small amount each month, research by Barclays has shown. An overpayment of £50 a month (based on a 25-year, £150,000 repayment mortgage tracking 2.49% above the base rate) would...

For the first time in two years, it looks like the number of households starting to struggle with their mortgage payments is on the way up. New figures from the FSA (Financial Services Authority) show that in the final three months of 2010 (called Q4 – or fourth quarter of the year), about 38,800...

42% of homeowners are worried about their ability to keep up with their mortgage payments when the base rate rises, according to moneysupermarket.com. Last week, the Bank of England decided to hold its base rate at 0.5% for the 24th month in a row – but there is continuing speculation over when the...

The average debt on a household energy bill currently stands at £126, meaning billpayers owe a combined £624 million to their suppliers, research by uSwitch.com indicates. This is 4.5% lower than last year (£132), the comparison site claims, but 10.5% higher than in 2008 (£114), despite the fact that...

One in four homeowners are unaware that interest rates are at a historic low, according to housing and homelessness charity Shelter, meaning they could be unprepared for future rate rises. In a survey of more than 1,500 mortgage holders, 25% believed that interest rates are either the same as or higher than...

Carrying debt into retirement can be particularly risky – when a household’s income drops, the debts which used to be manageable can quickly become a real problem. So the latest Real Retirement Report from Aviva makes worrying reading, indicating that debt is a ‘growing issue’ among...