The current global financial crisis hit the world hard and fast. This one is bad enough that the poor and low income classes are not the only ones that are suffering. Millions of middle class citizens in the United Kingdom and some residents in the lower upper class are starting to feel the adverse effects of the recession and the credit crunch, and the more affluent the area people live in, the worse the debt seems to be getting. According to research conducted by the debt advice charity Transact, some counties in the United Kingdom have already seen debt advice agencies increase the number of consumers they are trying to help by 200% in the last year alone. Tunbridge Wells, Cambridge, and Horsham are just three areas that have been negatively affected in a big way.

Information collected by Transact and other debt charities are showing a trend that point towards wealthier middle class consumers being hurt by the credit crunch in ways that never happened before. People such as one particular retired bank manager in Sussex are having difficulties trying to keep on top of £110,000 of credit card and loan debt on an annual salary of £40,000. Before the recession the retiree didn't have a problem doing this, but with the cost of living increasing exponentially, things have changed. The same thing has happened to an IT Manager from the Midlands who is trying to make it on a £28,500 annual salary, with the same amount in unsecured debt and CCJs that have been against him.

The drop in house prices and the rise in the amount of mortgage payments consumers are making each month is part of the overall problem, and this is what is contributing to the sudden and unexpected insolvency of the middle class citizens in the United Kingdom. The upper class residents of the country have been using the recession to make improvements on their own homes in the hope that when the country comes out of it they will have gained growth equity in the homes themselves to cover the costs of the improvements they have made. Unfortunately, the amount of secured and unsecured debt is high and with large amounts of money invested in property, households that have overstretched themselves cannot even get out of debt by moving to a smaller home. The drop in housing prices will not get them the money they need by selling their current home.

The sad truth about the middle class and lower upper class starting to feel the effects of the crunch is that it is not surprising that this happened. Consumers who earn more money spend more, and they usually wind up running up large amounts of debt that will spiral out of control if they are not careful. The surveys done by these debt advice charities show, if nothing else, that being in debt and dealing with any level of debt is not confined to a single class. Every one is being affected by it in one way or another, with the middle class becoming the newest target of inflation.

Debt happens because people tend to live beyond their means on credit that was cheap and easy to get or due to unforeseen circumstances. With the credit crunch tightening its grip around consumers, everyone - no matter what class - needs to reassess their finances to make sure they are paying their essential bills first and not facing more pressing problems, such as foreclosures and repossessions.