What's going on?

The UK government�s debt hole hit an all-time high in November.

What does this mean?

If you think your overdraft is bad, check this out: the British government just racked up another �22 billion ($27 billion) in net debt � that�s the difference between what it spent and what it made from taxes. The government�s debt pile will be about 10% bigger in a year�s time if the big spenders keep that up, so they�re not exactly nailing the whole �shrink our debt� thing.

Let�s break that down. For starters, there�s the �7 billion ($8.5 billion) the government coughed up on interest payments. That�s �2 billion ($2.5 billion) more than last year, and still-rising interest rates will likely puff those bills up for a while. And for mains, there are budget-draining energy price cap schemes, which cost �5 billion more than last year. Those caps are sticking around till 2024, so if the government wants to appease the millions of public sector workers campaigning for pay increases, it�ll have to look elsewhere for spare change.

Why should I care?

Zooming out: Governments love spending.
The British government�s only been in surplus � meaning it made more from taxes than it spent � a handful of times over the last 50 years. Naturally, that expensive habit could come back to bite, but the UK�s in the green (metaphorically only, mind you) for now: the country�s debt is worth about 100% of its economy, which puts it in a better spot than the US, France, Spain, Italy, and Canada. That�s� reassuring.

The bigger picture: Perspective matters.
That 100% stat might sound like tons, but the UK makes the equivalent of 30% of the country�s total economy from taxes. Now get this: that income-to-debt ratio sits comfortably within the range that mortgage lenders would accept for everyday folks � roughly four to five times your gross salary. And despite the mounting IOUs, the UK government�s still a way safer bet for lenders than your average Joe.