Brits spend 15% of their annual wage on credit card purchases
The British obsession with credit cards is on the increase. Our reliance on credit now means that we spend an average of 15% of our annual salary on credit card purchases, which adds up to a mammoth £150,000 across a typical working lifespan. The little piece of plastic is relied on to book holidays, pay bills, run cars and fund entertainment. We even pull out our cards to pay for everyday items like petrol and food, resulting in an average plastic spend of £3,540 a year, despite the average wage being just £23,244.
Many of us are even guilty of running up debts on our cards simply to fuel our egos. A quarter of people surveyed by life assistance firm CPP are the proud owners of gold cards, with 12% signing up solely for the effect it has on the aesthetics of their wallet and 14% admit they believe a wallet full of cards looks impressive.
On the flipside, we are starting to wise up and become savvy to the deals on offer and as a result 40% of the UK will swap cards around to maintain zero interest on their borrowings. The average deal chaser will change their cards every nine months, and own a total of 59 cards during their working life.
Most of us even try to keep within our budgets. Women, who still take home lower wages than men, earning an average of just £20,124 a year compared to £25,324, own fewer credit cards than their husbands. Those living in the North East also tend to rely less on credit than their cousins in London, where wages are around £9,000 higher.
Credit cards are definitely a part of our everyday life but that surely opens up the possibility of abuse. Around 13% of Brits say they have been the victims of credit card theft and a whopping 80% are very aware of the dangers of credit card fraud and identity theft. A huge 95% of us insist on cutting or shredding our old cards before throwing them away.
CPP's head of Card Protection Zoe Manton said: "It's incredible to think credit card users could get through as many as 59 credit cards in their life. This highlights how vital it is to take out a good protection policy to eliminate any risk of card fraud or identity theft."