One in seven skipping meals and going without food

One in seven people in the UK are skipping meals or going without food, a new TUC poll has revealed today The poll carried out for the TUC by Opinium showed that 14% people across the UK are having to skip meals or go without food to make ends meet. However, in nearly 50 (47)…

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One in two people struggling to keep up with essential bills

A new survey by YouGov for StepChange Debt Charity finds that 45% of all British adults, equivalent to 23 million people,  have found it difficult to keep up with household bills and credit commitments in the last few months, up from 30% in October 2021 and 15% in March 2020. The figures mean the number…

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More than half of households not confident budget will help with living costs

30th September 2022 Arrears and Recoveries | #cost of living

Over half (56%) of UK households are not confident that measures outlined in the Government’s ‘mini-budget’  will help them cope better with rising living costs, according to Comparethemarket’s latest Household Financial Confidence Tracker. The findings come at a time when two in five (42%) households say they already struggled to pay bills in the last…

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People turn to cash as prices rise

New research by the Post Office indicates that people are turning back to cash to help them keep tighter control on their spending as living costs soar. Latest figures show that Post Offices handled £801 million in personal cash withdrawals in July, the most since records began five years ago, an increase of almost 8%…

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Over 50s are hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis

New research from the University of Edinburgh’s Smart Data Foundry, supported and funded by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust has found that as revealed that the over-50s are being hit hardest by the current financial crisis and could face a lifetime of financial insecurity. According to the report, economic inactivity rates have risen a third amongst…

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Consumers start to cut back on spending to combat rising cost of living

Consumer spending and the number of transactions made by households fell in June, according to Nationwide Building Society’s Spending Report. The latest data is the first real indication of how the cost-of-living crisis is pushing households to cut back on costs while they can. The latest spending data comes as Nationwide prepares to launch support…

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Over a third of parents worried about their finances suffering in the summer holidays

Soaring energy costs and rising food and fuel prices are set to put an extra burden on families’ budgets over the school holidays, which begin this week with more parents being forced to turn to borrowing to make ends meet over the summer according to new research by Ste[Change. The research shows that parents are…

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Half of struggling families have no spending money after monthly bills

New research from national poverty charity, Turn2us, has highlighted the impact of soaring living costs as almost half its users (47%) report being left with nothing to live on each week after paying housing, council tax and utility bills. The survey, completed by 2,730 of the charity’s service users, found that the same group of…

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One in four families set to receive first cost of living payment

Almost one in four families across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are set to receive £326 the Government’s first cost of living payment today which will be sent directly to them with the second instalment of £324 sent later this year as part of the government’s £37 billion support package. Over eight million households…

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Households £8,800 a year worse off than those in France or Germany

Britain’s toxic combination of low growth and high inequality has left it trailing behind the comparable economies of Australia, Canada, France, Germany and the Netherlands, with disastrous consequences for low- and middle-income households according to a new report from the Resolution Foundation. The report notes that the country is approaching a decisive decade of economic…

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Half of people buying less food as prices soar

Some 49% of people surveyed by the Office for National Statistics say they had purchased less food than normal between 22 June and 3 July. This was up from 8% of those polled last September. Another 48% said they had been forced to spend more than usual on their food shopping. Overall, 91% of 2,300…

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Cost of living crisis slows retail sales growth

High levels of inflation and the deepening cost of living crisis have prompted further slowing of retail sales growth, according to new figures by accountancy and business advisory firm BDO LLP. The High Street Sales Tracker (HSST), total like-for-like (LFL) sales, combined in-store and online, increased by +8.4% in June compared to the equivalent month…

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Consumer sentiment falls as cost of living pressures grow

Consumer sentiment has continued to decline as the cost-of-living crisis escalates, according to the latest update to PwC’s Consumer Sentiment Survey. Sentiment is now at -36, falling a further 16 points from the last iteration in March. Sentiment is now lower than at the start of the first national lockdown in March 2020 (-26%) but still higher than…

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