Are you in the ‘I deserve it’ debt trap?

New designer shoes, a serious frappuccino habit, facials and blow-dries: a luxury treat is never a bad thing – until your credit cards start bouncing higher than an Olympic athlete. Welcome to the world of ‘I deserve it’ debt

I fancy treating myself.’ ‘I work hard, why shouldn’t I spend hard?’ ‘I’m worth it.’ Hands up if any of those thoughts have opened your wallet in the past week. If so, you could be joining the 43% of UK women who have been caught up in ‘I deserve it’ debt.

With so many of us under pressure to combine work, family and a social life – especially during a credit crunch – it’s no wonder we’re seeing a rise in IDI debt.

And it isn’t just because we’re bingeing on Balenciaga. Sure, there’s the odd designer treat – after all we’re juggling longer hours in the office with the demands of our home lives, so it’s not surprising we want a quick retail fix. But it’s also the tiny ‘sod it’ moments that snowball, making a disastrous difference to our bank balance, and resulting in more women than ever being declared bankrupt.

As our quality of life has improved, so have our expectations. Mobile phones, laptops and camcorders are now everyday items, not gameshow prizes, so it’s no wonder we’re upgrading every area of our lives. It’s no longer enough to buy fruit and veg, we want an organic hamper delivered to our door. Fitness DVDs at home are not as glamorous as pricy gym memberships and personal trainers.

And somehow we own more shoes than there are days of the month.

Then consider our daily luxuries – the designer coffee that costs four times as much as a normal cup, the lunchtime branded pasta salads that have replaced a home-made sandwich, and the money we spray away on fake tans. All of which is fine and fabulous until our spending outweighs our income and that – with the recent increases in mortgage payments, childcare and even food shopping – is becoming more common.

To read the full feature, order the current issue of Eve magazine