Average British person only starts to worry about debt when it hits £6,000, survey claims

'People are not tackling their debt until it reaches thousands of pounds, and by this stage it is causing them to worry and may be difficult to control'

The average British person only considers themselves to be "in debt" once they are £3,882 in the red, according to poll (Getty/iStock)

The average Briton does not begin to worry about their debt until it hits £6,012, according to a new survey.

The poll of 2,000 adults also found more than one in six would need to owe more than £10,000 before they start to feel seriously concerned about their debt.

The average respondent only considered themselves to be "in debt" once they were £3,882 in the red.

Four in 10 of those polled said they were concerned about the amount of debt they are in, but almost said having some level of debt had become "so normal" they no longer saw it as a bad thing.

Three in 10 also agreed that having a credit card, loan or using an overdraft was just "a necessary part of everyday life".

“In today’s world it is normal for people to have some kind of debt," chief executive of Salary Finance, which commissioned the survey. “However, these stats are telling, in that people are not tackling their debt until it reaches thousands of pounds, and by this stage it is causing them to worry and may be difficult to control.

“When you’re already seriously in the red, a one-off unexpected expense can cause major issues, leading to missed payments, bad credit and a situation where people are forced to turn to high interest borrowing to stay afloat. When people fail to tackle their debt until it is of significant worry to them, they find it much more difficult to get out of a spiral of debt.”

The poll also found the average respondent had a total debt, excluding student loans and mortgages, of £6,936.

That included two credit cards with a total balance of £1,871.

One in five said they tended to dip into their overdraft during a typical month.

Three quarters said a mortgage was an example of good debt and a further 47 per cent said the same about student loans.

But while 61 per cent said dipping into your overdraft constituted bad borrowing, 18 per cent said it is "good debt".

Six in 10 said credit card debt is "debt you don't want".

However, 46 per cent of those polled said they find it "unusual" when someone does not have a credit card.

A third of British people have borrowed money to buy a car, one in 10 have taken a loan to go on holiday and 15 per cent have borrowed cash to pay off other debts, according to the survey.

Mr Sarkar added: “The survey shows that people should be careful they don’t take a wider acceptance of debt as a reason to get out of control with their finances. Not only does this lead to a spiral of debt and exclusion from many normal borrowing routes, but it also impacts on wellbeing, with people more likely to suffer from stress and even depression.

SWNS