Rate conscious yet unwilling to act
Fears associated to future interest rate rises are said to affect almost 50% of the UK’s population. However, recent research reveals that less than a third of people have taken the necessary steps required to protect their financial commitments from further market activity.
According to the study, around 30% of people are concerned that future rate changes will adversely affect their financial position, whereas an additional 20% of people state that the prospect of further changes to the countries economy haunts their day to day lives. In spite of this, only a very small percentage of consumers are actively buying financial products such as mortgages and personal loans, on the basis that said product offers some form of protection against further interest rises.
One expert suggested that rate conscious consumers might find a secured consolidation loan hugely beneficial, providing the product was tagged to a fixed rate. By consolidating any outstanding financial commitments into one single loan would allow the consumer to avoid any detriment associated to interest rises, and could also reduce their monthly outgoings by a substantial amount in some cases.
In addition, the study further revealed that rate related woes seemed to affect older generations, with the least affected band being those people between the ages of 18-26.
