Wednesday 05 October 2016 7:59 pm

This is how many Brits have no clue how much credit card debt they have

More than a quarter (28 per cent) of Brits with a credit card do not know how much debt they have on it and the same proportion (28 per cent) of adults cannot recall how much money they have in their current account, according to a study out today.

The research, carried out by VoucherCodes.co.uk and YouGov, revealed how an alarming number of people are ignorant about the state of their own finances.

Even though a third (33 per cent) of the country have borrowed money this year and 37 per cent have some form of debt, over a quarter (28 per cent) do not know what they owe to banks and payday lenders and nearly half (47 per cent) are unclear on what they owe on their mortgage.

For the second year in a row, Londoners are the most oblivious with two in five (40 per cent) unaware of their current account balance. East Midlands residents are the shrewdest, on the other hand, with only 18 per cent in the dark.

Students and young adults also have a poor hold on their finances; the 18-24 year old demographic has the highest percentage of people unaware of their current account balance at 31 per cent.

The age of financial prudence, however, is dropping and 36 was found to be the average age where attitudes to money changed greatly. Being free of debt, owning a house and putting money into savings were the top three reasons that Brits felt financially secure.

Managing director at VoucherCodes.co.uk, Claire Davenport, commented: “Having an awareness of the money you have at your disposal, as well as your monthly outgoings is key to managing your finances and preventing yourself getting in unnecessary debt.

“While it’s good to see that the age people are sitting up and paying attention to their finances is dropping, it still seems that a large proportion of Brits are turning to borrowing in order to manage their finances.”