It has been claimed recently by a leading debt charity that many households are set to feel the financial squeeze as a result of a range of factors that is affecting affordability for many individuals and households. The warning comes from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service, which has said that middle earning families are likely to be most affected.

Amongst the factors that are thought to come into the equation are rising interest rates, fewer tax credits, and higher tax thresholds. According to the CCCS many vulnerable families would continue to struggle in terms of their finances, and this was especially true of families or households with a lot of children.

Homeowners are said to have a higher level of unsecured debt than those renting a property according the CCCS data. Almost half a million households were assessed as part of the study by the debt charity. The data showed that the typical age of the person seeking help from the charity was now forty two years, and the age of those in the most debt was between fifty and fifty nine years.

The CCCS said that a rise of just 2 percent on the interest rate could result in the average monthly mortgage increasing by £307, which would put additional strain on households.

The charity said: “The picture is undoubtedly bleak and it seems likely that many more families, including better-off ones, will be increasingly prone to over-indebtedness in the months ahead. It is also not a uniform picture across the country: public sector cuts in terms of jobs, spending and benefits will weigh disproportionately on certain groups of people. The incidence of unmanageable debt bears down harder on specific parts of the country, such as London and Yorkshire.”