‘Bill Phobia’ Affects One in Four Brits

UK adults are so stretched financially because of the rising cost of living that 26 percent (or about 13 million people) say they instantly get stressed or worried whenever they receive a bill.

According to MoneySupermarket.com, the rising cost of bills for utilities and credit cards has led to increasing consumer worries on how they will pay every month.

Of those who feel stressed and worried about opening their bills, 54 percent said the biggest cause was the simple fact that bills just keep rising which means they struggle to know what they will be and how to deal with them.

Nearly a third or 31 percent of those worried say they panic because they have more money going out of their current accounts than they have coming in every month.

‘Bill Phobia’ is a concern now among Brits as 20 percent of those who are stressed when they receive a bill said that they actually delay opening and paying their bills because they are too afraid to tackle them.

Psychologist Donna Dawson commented on the rise in Bill Phobia amongst UK adults:

“It is human nature to want to avoid bad news and this is why people will put off opening bills. However, this can set up a vicious downward spiral whereby delaying the opening of bills can lead to not opening them at all, or even to throwing them away. This whole cycle of behavior is based on not feeling in control. The solution is to decide to take control right away and this includes a change in attitude in which you ‘anticipate’ what is coming, and ‘work out’ beforehand in your mind what you will do when it arrives.”

How about you? Do you scamper away when you see the postman about to deliver your bills? I do.