LONDON (Bywire News) - As the so-called “cost of living crisis” bites further, the financial comparison website Compare the Market has released the results of its latest household financial confidence survey. They make for unsettling reading – and moreover, what’s happened to the UK when it’s left to comedy meerkats to really find out how government policy is impacting people?
Compare the misery
Compare the Market has run its regular household financial confidence survey again. The polling was done on April 6-7 with over 2,100 people taking part. For its last report, the website conducted polling in early February. Director at Compare the Market Alex Hasty said at the time:
“Rising living costs are a massive cause for concern for millions of households across the UK. The current cost of living crisis is also showing no signs of ending yet… There is understandably an increasing sense of pessimism among many households over their finances”.
Now, it appears that pessimism has gotten worse.
Damning figures
Compare the Market’s latest survey found that for families with children living at home:
- 50% have spent some or all of their savings built up during lockdown.
- 41% said they struggled with their bills.
- 39% do not feel confident that they will be able to meet payments or stay on top of household finances.
- 37% are likely to take on extra debt to afford everyday bills.
- 27% do not feel confident about their financial future.
Across all household types (not just those with kids), Compare the Market found:
- 57% do not feel confident that their savings will last them the rest of the year, or will cover future rises in the cost of living.
- 53% are driving less to cope with the cost of fuel.
- 54% are cutting back on eating out.
- 48% are spending less on clothes.
- 44% are spending less on holidays.
- 40% have now spent some or all of their savings built up during lockdown.
- 36% are walking or cycling more instead of using their car.
- 32% are cutting back on food.
- 21% are likely to take on extra debt to afford everyday bills.
But it was the changes in responses since February that were the most telling. For families with children, there has been a:
- 24% increase in those saying they struggled with their bills.
- 22% increase in those not feeling confident that they will be able to meet payments or stay on top of household finances.
It all paints a bleak picture of the state of families’ lives in the UK.
Down the rabbit hole
Hasty said:
“The rising cost of living is squeezing household finances and it’s becoming harder for families to manage day-to-day spending. People are not only cutting back on luxuries, such as meals out, but also reducing essential spending on energy, fuel, and food. Concerningly, many households are using up savings they built during lockdown or going into debt to meet costs”.
Moreover, it’s come to something when a financial comparison website is providing more real-world analysis of the current state of UK society than the government is. It’s almost beyond parody that this could be the case – but here we are.
Meerkats investigating the cost of living crisis while the government sits idly by and does nothing? Truly down the rabbit hole.
(Writing by Steve Topple, editing by Klaudia Fior)