Sunday, April 21, 2013

"Those In Debt Are No More Likely to Spend Irrationally Than the General Public"

The report is based on in-depth interviews with debt counsellors/advisors from the community and voluntary sector, debt clients, employees and former employees recruited from the finance sector, including high street banks, and a range of other relevant stakeholders. It revealed that debt problems tend to be the result of unexpected life events, rather than irrational spending. Those who are in debt are no more likely to spend irrationally than the general public, but they are often on very low incomes, it said. It also identified that while education around debt management might be worthwhile, "it fails to address the problems of incomes and standards of living which often drive the use and over use of personal credit". It said "a deeply problematic culture of irresponsible lending" has become widespread across the financial sector in recent years and includes practices of cold-calling customers in order to try to sell them credit, often under the guise of introducing services or assessing customers' needs.
-On the report "Responsible individuals and irresponsible institutions? Mental Health and the UK credit industry" published by the University of Brighton

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Mark Boyle: The Moneyless Man TED Talk

Quote of the Day

"...it's wrong to think of economics as money. The actual word itself actually revolves around meeting one's needs. Money is one way of meeting our needs, but it's only one way."-Mark Boyle, interview Mother Jones