It seems that the recession is also hitting city executives hard, as the number of designer goodies being sold by people who have been made redundant has risen.
Trading website Gumtree reports that designer bags and mobile phones worth around £3,000 are being sold at knockdown prices, as redundant city bankers and executives raise cash by selling-off expensive goods.
Analysts at the classifieds website Gumtree.com, reported the number of electric guitars, scooters and designer handbags advertised by those made redundant had risen significantly. They report that since last year the sale of plasma screen televisions has increased by 70 per cent.
According to the Office for National Statistics, over 130,000 workers lost their jobs last year in the financial sector, with another 15,000 losing their jobs in the first three months of 2009.
Now many ex-City workers who enjoyed large salaries and bonuses during the boom years are being forced to alter their lifestyle drastically.
A Gumtree spokesperson said: “What we’ve been seeing over the past six months is unprecedented. There have been dramatic increases in extremely desirable products being offloaded on the site. The previously well-off are now desperate to shift these items quickly.”
One of the adverts reads: “I am sad to say I am selling my much-loved gorgeous Tamoretti retro 50cc scooter. I got it as I was moving to London and thought it would be handy to zip around but since have been made redundant.”
If this fails to keep their personal loans, overdrafts and credit card debts at bay, they may need to seek impartial debt help.
Debt advice organisations, such as Chiltern, Hamilton Locke and The Debt People, offer a number of ways for people struggling to maintain their unsecured balances to get out of debt.
These organisations offer a range of professional solutions to help people with debt problems, which includes Debt Management Plans (DMPs), Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) and Trust Deeds.
These work by gathering multiple repayments into one manageable monthly payment, which is distributed to all of your creditors on your behalf. This makes managing your finances simpler, as you only need to make one payment each month and your repayments are re-structured over a longer period of time to make them more affordable.
We also negotiate with your creditors to have interest and charges reduced or stopped, and we will handle all demand letters or calls from your creditors – so you don’t have to!
If, like many city executives who need to review their finances, you would like some free debt advice please call the number at the top of this page.