Hedonistic 'Friends generation' more debts than anyone

Young couples between the age of 30 and 34 who have enjoyed a hedonistic lifestyle have bigger debts than any other age group, a report has revealed.

A typical household in their early thirties has debts of nearly £60,000, which completely overshadows any other age group's borrowings.

And the average figure is even bigger for thirtysomethings - dubbed "the Friends generation" - if those who do not own a home are excluded.

"Super-size" mortgages of an average of £93,400 push their total borrowings to an average of £100,000.

Many of the "Friends generation" rack up big debts because they have bought a home, but do not yet have young children so are still spending a large amount of money on socialising.

The report, from banking giant Alliance & Leicester, reveals a catalogue of financial problems which this age group suffer from.

More than £1 in every £10 which they earn is spent on interest payments to keep their long list of creditors are bay.

They have built up a lethal number of debts. Thypically, they owe £2,500 on credit cards, £2,600 in personal loans and a £500 overdraft.

The report warned: "They are most likely to only make the minimum credit card repayment - and the least likely to pay in full.

"They are amongst the highest regular users of overdrafts.

"And they are the age group most likely to have a personal loan - but also the most likely to miss their monthly loan repayments."

It is the mortgage which proves the biggest problem for many of the "Friends generation", a nickname inspired by the hit US television series which started in the 1990s.

The average age to buy your first home is 29 which means that people aged 30 to 34 have a massive home loan to repay.

Their mortgage will gradually come down but the monthly repayments are at their highest at this age.

By the age of 60, the report found about two-thirds own their home outright having finally paid off their home loan.

For those who still have a mortgage at this age, they owe less than £50,000.

Chris Rhodes, director of retail banking, said: "The early 30s are a transitional age where careers are taking off and before family responsibilities kick in.

"Many are buying their first homes at this point, but are also enjoying rapidly rising salaries and are keen to enjoy life to the full."

Britain's total debt mountain is a record £1.3 trillion, largely fuelled by the huge increase in the size of an average mortgage.

A decade ago, it was just £500 billion but the average mortgage has jumped to £150,000, taking total mortgage debt to over £1 trillion.