Supermarkets are engaged in a `petrol price war` – in some cases cutting prices more than once in a single week. It`s a move that will be welcomed by motorists everywhere, especially those struggling with debt or other financial problems.

Asda, for example, has cut prices twice in one week, as moneyhighstreet.com reported this morning. A litre of unleaded now costs 113.9p, while diesel costs 116.9p per litre.

The Express, meanwhile, tells us that Morrisons `fired the opening shots in another fuel price war yesterday by knocking 2p off a litre of petrol and diesel`, meaning that prices (at its 293 forecourts) have now dropped by 5p in one week.

Other supermarkets `are expected to follow`.

The moneyhighstreet.com article also refers to the latest Asda Income Tracker, which calculates that the average UK family`s weekly disposable income has fallen by 8 over the last year, while transport costs had risen by 11% in the 12 months leading up to April. Read more…

According to the OECD`s (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development`s) Factbook 2010 – `an annual digest of economic, social and environmental statistics` – household debt exceeded 120% of disposable income by the time the financial crisis hit in 2008, headlinemoney.co.uk reports.

This wasn`t just in Britain, though; household debt had passed this level in Canada, the US and Japan too.

The latest edition of the OECD`s Factbook is said to take a `special look at the causes and consequences of the crisis`.

A spokesperson for Debt Advisers Direct commented: “The OECD`s findings indicate just how serious things were as household debt increased in the run-up to the economic crisis.

“The UK may be out of recession now, but the problems certainly aren`t over, and many people are still struggling with their debts. Read more…

Research from Moneysupermarket.com has found that nearly 5 million Britons are regularly going into debt on their credit cards to pay household bills, headlinemoney.co.uk reports.

The figures revealed that a further 2.5 million consumers withdraw cash using their credit cards, which could lead to combined charges of up to 90m a year.

A spokesperson for Debt Advisers Direct said: “We would advise anyone using their credit card to pay for expenses such as household bills to be very cautious.

“The fact that people are regularly taking on debt on their cards to cover the cost of their bills suggests that either they aren`t setting enough money aside at the start of the month, or they simply don`t have enough money coming in to pay their bills.

“We would advise anyone who feels they have to take on debt in this manner to seek debt advice as soon as they can. The sooner they take action, the sooner a solution can be found.”

Figures from Moneysupermarket.com have shown that the number of different mortgages on the market has surpassed the 3,000 mark for the first time in 15 months, the Telegraph reports.

As it stands, there are currently 3,100 different mortgage deals available – 42% more than when the market fell to its low point in July 2009.

However, the amount of choice on offer to consumers looking to take on secured debt in this manner is still a lot lower than it was before the credit crunch began – with 28,413 different mortgages on offer in mid-2007.

Mortgage manager at Moneysupermarket.com, Hannah-Mercedes Skenfield, said: “The financial crisis really hit the mortgage market hard, with the number of products falling by a massive 92%.

“After a period of uncertainty in the market, in 2010 we have started to see confidence return, and although we are still a long way off the highs of 2007, it is encouraging for consumers that banks and building societies are starting to return to the market.”

In April, according to the Bank of England, the total outstanding amount of secured debt (like mortgages) rose by 490bn, as people borrowed more than they repaid. Read more…

Without `urgent action` to curb borrowing, the UK`s national debt would hit 1.4t within five years, Prime Minister David Cameron has said.

Already at 770bn, the national debt is still growing, thanks to the 156bn budget deficit (basically, this means that as a country, we`re spending more than we earn).

Mr Cameron has warned of the changes that need to be made to reduce the deficit, pointing out that if the debt were allowed to reach 1.4t, the country would be paying 70bn in interest every year, as The Telegraph reports.

“Today we spend more on debt interest than we do on running schools in England,” he said. “But 70 billion means spending more on debt interest than we currently do on running schools in England plus climate change plus transport. Interest payments of 70 billion mean that for every single pound you pay in tax, 10 pence would be spent on interest.”

There are worries, however, that cutting back on spending too quickly could also endanger the country`s fragile economic growth. Read more…