19 June 2007
Research from Abbey Savings has revealed that 79% of Britons were hit by an unexpected expense last year and that over half over them used their credit cards to fund their way out.
The biggest expense where consumers had to rely on their plastic was home repairs, with 36% of Britons spending 1,206 each in the last 12 months - costing 19.2 billion in total.
Surprise bills, taxes and fees made up the majority of the other unexpected outgoings, costing an average of 773 each time.
Consumers are increasingly relying on credit cards to help pay for their forgetfulness too it would appear, with 4.3 billion being spent on forgotten wedding anniversaries and birthdays and a whopping298.2 million being spent on parking tickets.
Regionally, those living in the south-east of England were the worst at budgeting, with 83% experiencing a surprise expense.
Those living in Wales and the south-west however, were the better budgeters with just 69% experiencing an unexpected expense over the last year - compared with a national average of 79%.
Though credit cards can provide one of the best ways of obtaining large sums of money in a short space of time, if the interest rate is too high consumers could end up paying over the odds for what was supposed to be a simply repair or anniversary present.
© 2008 Adfero Ltd
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