Overdrafts top list of money worries

Image source, bbc

Image caption, Jonathan Lamb says he hasn't broken even in four years
  • Author, Catherine Burns
  • Role, Newsbeat Reporter

A major charity says overdrafts have become the biggest financial headache for young people. Citizen's Advice has told Newsbeat the other major worries are credit card debts and being made redundant.

It's like free money isn't it? At least that's what Jonathan Lamb thought when he got his first overdraft. Now he has two.

He said: "I got a student one, maxed that out, so I got another student overdraft with another bank, and I maxed that out too."

The Citizen's Advice Bureau says almost 15,000 under 25s came to them with similar problems in just one year.

Almost as many were worried about credit cards.

In the red

That's another issue for Jonathan. By the time he adds up his credit card and overdrafts, his debts rack up to more than 拢4,000.

But he says that's not the full extent of it: "Then there's my student loan, but let's not even talk about that.

"I haven't broken even for a good 4 years. I'm constantly living in my overdraft."

He has managed to whittle it down a bit, but it's not easy.

He reckons he lives off cheap food, like rice and peas. He's cut down his pub visits and never buys new clothes anymore.

The Citizen's Advice Bureau says redundancy is another big worry for young people.

They've seen a 152% leap in the number of people worried about losing their jobs.

Angela Corner is an advisor and says it can feel as if everyone is panicking at the moment.

But she says if you are worried about money, prevention is better than cure, so the best thing to do is get help early.