Disturbing reports have been revealed by the parenting website mumsnet.com, suggesting that a significant number of British mothers are turning in desperation to payday loan companies and loan sharks, just so that they can put food on the table. Some are even going hungry themselves to ensure their kids have enough to eat each week.
The figures reveal a worrying trend where seventy per cent of all families are struggling financially in one way or another. 5% of families are regularly turning to payday loan companies in order to find enough money to tied them over, while 25% are using credit cards on a regular basis and 10% are turning to doorstep lenders, also known as “loan sharks.”
The parenting website’s figures reveal that many families are finding it increasingly difficult to afford the cost of living. The most important items that families are struggling to pay for are travel costs, phone bills and childcare costs.
Of the people used in the website’s survey, 17% said that they could not afford childcare, 40% are concerned about the cost of traveling and 30% cannot cover the cost pf their phone bills. 4% of those interviewed had said that they had even reported to moving house in order to save money. Those people who were regularly turning to instant cash loans to finance their bills were often digging themselves further into debt.
Sally Russell, founder of mumsnet, said that the results painted a shocking picture of modern Britain and said it was a “crisis that needed exposing”. She also said that mums in Britain today should not have to forgo food themselves in order to have enough food for their children.
Ms Russell went on to say that, in her opinion, if the economic situation worsened it would be a “catastrophe” for the nation.
She cited the website’s own figures to report that one in ten families needed an extra hundred pounds a week in order to get by. This amount was often acquired by seeking short term loans. The commonest ways of doing this included turning to using a credit card, loan sharks and using an instant cash loan company.