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`Shopaholics` take on combined debts of over £13bn

Around 4 million women in Britain have racked up combined debts of over £13bn due to their shopping habits, according to research from uSwitch.com.

The average female `shopaholic` - defined by uSwitch.com as "someone who has 50% or more as a proportion of their unsecured debt attributable to fashion purchases" -carries a personal shopping debt of £3,353. This is almost three times the £1,147 national average.

74% of shopaholics use a combination of credit cards, store cards, overdrafts and loans to fund their purchases. 41% say they ignore their overdraft limit when it comes to `must-have` items.

It takes a female shopaholic over 7 months to repay what they owe on average, compared with just over 5 months for the average female shopper.

A debt expert at the IVA Advisory Centre said: "Many of us enjoy shopping from time to time, and for some people it can become a real hobby. That needn`t be an issue as long as the shopper can afford it, but most people would agree that a lot of the money spent could be put to better use.

"We would recommend that anyone who enjoys shopping a bit too much sets themselves a strict budget, so they know how much they can safely spend without taking on more debt than they can comfortably afford to repay.

"Of course, the safest course of action is to avoid debt altogether."

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The IVA Advisory Centre is a licensed Insolvency Practice, offering expert debt advice as well as IVAs and a comprehensive range of other debt solutions. If you are in debt and would like to explore your options, contact one of our advisers today.