Dec 09
21
Three-fifths of Irish women say “no” to more debt
While almost one in two Irish women hold a personal loan (46%) and credit card (47%), three-fifths in 10 (61%) claim to have no outstanding debt.
Of the 39% of women with outstanding debt, the average amount of their debt, (excluding mortgages) is €4,000.
Of those women who do not currently hold a personal loan or credit card, 8% intend to take out a personal loan over the next 12 months, with only 3% likely to take out a credit card.
Encouragingly, of those women who do not currently hold a savings account, 20% plan to open one within the next 12 months.
Three-fifths (63%) claim that they would be uncomfortable with getting into debt in the current economic climate with almost 9 in 10 (87%) considering it important to clear off debts every month.
Female financial priorities for the year ahead suggest a more discerning and prudent female consumer emerging. The key financial priority for Irish women in the year ahead is to pay back a personal loan (18%) with a further 11% intending to pay off existing credit card debt.
These facts arise from an independent survey carried out by Amárach Research on behalf of Halifax in 2009, in which a nationally representative sample of 754 respondents aged 15–74 were interviewed.
