Debt freedom comes at 50

The average Brit celebrates freedom from debt at the age of 50, according to new research.

Excluding mortgages, the average Briton has a personal debt of £10,306 - £12,631 for men and £7,982 for women – and clearing this debt comes from a mixture wages, investments and good luck from inheritance and lottery wins, according to research from the free personal finance exhibition Your Money Matters.

For men financial independence comes at the age of 52 and three months, while for women it is at 42 years and 11 months.

"As the cost of living continues to increase, we’re being forced to save through our 20s and delay the major milestones of life until our 30s. We’re not having kids until 30 or getting married till 31. And can you blame us?

"Kids cost £186,000 each and you get little change from £20,000 from a wedding," said Cesarina Holm-Kander, financial expert and host of Channel 4's Your Money or Your Wife.

"On top of that, the average cost of a house is now well over £200,000 so we’re not even getting on the housing ladder until the grand old age of 34."

She explained while a mortgage was necessary to get on the property ladder, personal debt did not have to be "a fact of life".

However, the biggest financial vice people commit, according to Ms Holm-Kander, was failing to look at their finances in detail and treating financial matters as separate from their day-to-day life.

She advises people to draw up a monthly budget of their incomings and outgoings and try to put cash aside each month – so unexpected expenses such as mechanics bills do not end up being put the credit card.

People should also shop around for the best insurance, credit cards, and loans, as Ms Holm-Kander estimates the average household could save £5,000 annually by shopping round for the best deals on financial products.

Ms Holm-Kander expects 2008 to be the year when people open their eyes to the problem of their finances, with the credit crunch making borrowing harder becoming a wake-up call, as the days of easy credit pass.

She advises people to focus on their most expensive debts first to get on the road to becoming debt free.

Across the country 'Debt Independence Day' comes earliest in London, at 42 and 11 months, and latest in Wales, at 53 years and one month.

Debt Independence Day across the country:

• London – 42 and 11 months
• North-east England – 48 and one month
• East Anglia – 48 and eight months
• North-west England – 49 and two months
• Scotland – 49 and six months
• South-west England – 50 and three months
• Midlands – 50 and eight months
• Yorkshire – 52 and one month
• Northern Ireland – 52 and six months
• Wales – 53 years and one month

Your Money Matters will be at London’s ExCeL from February 2nd to 3rd, 2008. Entrance is free.

More details of the show, the expert speakers attending, including Cesarina Holm-Kander, workshops and seminars are available at the Your Money Matters website.