This morning's figures from the Bank of England show why most macroeconomists weren't bothered by that story earlier this week that British consumers had more debt than other Europeans.
The numbers (table A4.1) show that households' bank and building society deposits now stand at £845bn - equivalent to just over 12 months disposable income.
What's more, these deposits have grown by £64.4bn in the last 12 months, whilst non-mortgage debt (table A5.2) has grown just £13.6bn; mortgage debt has risen £104.5bn.
These figures suggest that households in general are in a healthy financial position. Of course, some are in massive debt. But others are waist-high in the spondulicks. These could well increase their spending as the highly indebted retrench.
This might be already happening. Annual net growth in consumer credit has more than halved in the last two years - from 14.4% to 6.6% - but retail sales are still booming.
Most macroeconomists, then, are relaxed about British households' finances. Not that this makes the headlines. "Economy muddles through" doesn't sell as many dead trees as "We're doomed."
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