The global credit crisis is not only striking the working class in Britain, it is slowly eating its way through the middle-class. Debts mount every day and with inflation rising drastically, the cost of living is depriving more and more people of luxuries as prices of food and daily essentials sore.

Gordon Brown addressed the nation at the start of the year warning Britain’s that 2008 would be a tough year economically. Fuel bills are on the rise and although oldest and poorest people are feeling the impact the hardest, day-to-day expense are now affecting the professional class also.

Rises in mortgage, loans and credit card interest rates are posing a more significant squeeze amongst higher income earners. The counselling service found that the middle class are spending 44% of their salary on their rent or mortgages alone whilst households of the poorest spend a mere 8%. The average fuel bill has risen to over £1000 a year and with it rises the level of debt owed to lenders.

On Tuesday the credit reference agency, Experian, published a debt map of Britain, revealing the level of credit card debt. Northern Ireland owe the least, with an average debt of £2,291, while residents of Chester-lee-Street owe an average of £5,248.

The down turn in the property market has put second home owners and older people who have taken equity out of their homes at risk from rising living costs according to Credit Action, a debt charity. Exposing them to the negative effects of expensive mortgage rates. The director of Credit Action, Chris Tapp said,“ This is a new era for the UK’s debt crisis. Previously, debt problems were confined to people with credit cards and loans. Now everyone is struggling with essentials, such as utilities and mortgages.”

UBS Wealth Management Research confirmed the struggling economy in the UK revealing that London is the most expensive city in the world to live in. Although Londoners are the seventh most highly paid employees on a global scale, their purchasing power does not reflect the extent that their ability in buying. In fact, UBS research puts Londoners 26th out of 71 cities in terms of what their salaries can buy them.

Moreover the crisis seems to be affecting younger people in British society. According to a report published on the Times Online, Home Office figures have been leaked revealing that schoolgirls, half of which are from middle-class families, are now turning to shoplifting. Teenagers who were previously given gifts in abundance, often high tech gadgets, are apparently stealing goods from shops to replace the sudden reluctance of their parents to buy them as they struggle to pay debts and bills.

Charity, Crisis Counselling for Alleged Shoplifters, carried out research revealing that 48% of shoplifting teenagers come from affluent backgrounds. The Chairman of CCAS, Harry Kauffer said: “The trouble is that the bubble has burst for middle-class families who until recently had been able to borrow to meet their children’s demands. But the credit crunch has resulted in their no longer being able to give their children everything they want. As a result, these children have resorted to shoplifting.”

Perhaps becoming an expat is a temporary solution in this time of turmoil. The decline in the US dollar makes New York a relatively cheap place to live in. Until the British economy recovers from borrowing excess amounts on credit cards and loans alike, a year or two in the US may help.