Half of adults expect to be worse off from the Budget

Days before the Chancellor delivers the Autumn Budget, more than half of adults (52%) expect it to leave them worse off, according to new research from Creditspring,  with just 12% expecting to be better off, so pessimists outnumber optimists by more than four to one.

The research shows that many households go into the Budget with no financial cushion left. One in six adults (17%) say they could not cover essential costs at all if their main household income stopped tomorrow, even using their savings. Nearly a third (31%) would run out of money within two weeks.

In just 12 months, the share of people who could pay an unexpected £200–£500 bill from savings has fallen by 20 percentage points, from 59% to 39%. Almost as many (37%) would now have to borrow in some capacity.

This comes as unexpected costs hit almost everyone. More than four in five adults (82%) faced at least one unplanned expense in the past year, and for more than four in ten adults overall, those bills came to £500 or more. Yet over half (53%) have less than £500 in emergency savings, and almost one in five (19%) have nothing set aside at all.

As a result, many are borrowing to pay for essentials. More than half of adults (53%) have used credit or borrowed money to pay for at least one essential in the past year. More than one in four (27%) have used it to buy food or groceries, and one in ten (11%) to pay for energy, heating or water. Others are selling what they own, almost one in five (19%) have sold personal belongings to cover bills in the past year.

Uncertainty about the Budget is already reshaping people’s plans. Two in five (41%) have cut back on everyday spending, 28% are reducing their Christmas budget, and 7% have withdrawn, or plan to withdraw, money from their pension early due to uncertainty around the budget.

For younger adults, the uncertainty is reaching life decisions too: one in seven 25–34-year-olds (15%) say they have delayed having children or starting a family until they see the outcome.

In the past year, more than one in four adults (27%) have lost sleep over money, and one in six (17%) have argued with a partner or family member about it.

Higher costs of essential goods (52%, up from 49%) and energy (51%, up from 47%) remain the top Budget worries, and help with energy bills is the public’s number one ask (46%). But concern about fuel has risen fastest: 37% now cite higher fuel costs as a worry, almost double last year’s 19%. A quarter (26%) want the Chancellor to cut fuel duty or extend the freeze.

Yorkshire and the Humber is the gloomiest region, with 59% expecting to be worse off after the Budget and more than one in five (21%) expecting to be much worse off. Even in Greater London, the least pessimistic region, 45% expect to lose out.

Savings gaps vary sharply across the country. The South West has the highest share of adults with no emergency savings at all (25%), compared with 10% in Greater London. In Scotland, the gap is stark as nearly a third of people in Glasgow (32%) have no emergency savings, almost three times the figure in Edinburgh (11%).

Tamsin Powell, Consumer Finance Expert at Creditspring, said “A year ago, most people could absorb a surprise bill from their savings. Today, most can’t. That is a dramatic shift in a very short space of time, and it means millions of households are going into this Budget with no margin for error.

“When one in four people are putting their food shopping on credit, people are selling their belongings to pay bills and young adults are putting off starting a family, the Budget can’t just be about long-term plans. It has to answer a much simpler question: can people afford the essentials this month?

“Households need clarity and practical support on energy, fuel and the cost of essentials. No surprises, no added uncertainty, and no assumption that everyone has a safety net to fall back on, because for a growing number of people, it’s already gone.”