Richard Lane, Director of External Affairs at StepChange Debt Charity, for comments on the amount households have to live off after paying for essentials.

New YouGov polling by StepChange Debt Charity for Debt Awareness Week reveals the dire state of household finances over a year into the cost of living crisis, with people imminently facing higher council tax, less support with energy bills and increased rent or mortgage payments.

The representative survey examines the toll that the cost of living crisis has had on household incomes. Almost one in six UK adults (15%), equivalent to seven and half million people, has £20 or less left over each month after paying for essentials, with one in twelve (8%) people having no disposable income at all. This chimes with StepChange’s own client data which shows one third (33%) of new clients are in a negative budget, meaning that, after a debt advice session and budget counselling, their expenses exceed their income.

Richard Lane, Director of External Affairs at StepChange Debt Charity, said:

"We welcomed the government taking action in last week’s Budget to extend the Energy Price Guarantee for a further three months, however, these figures make clear it’s not just energy bills that are decimating household budgets. Millions of renters and mortgage holders are worried that simply meeting their rising housing payments is going to drive them into unmanageable debt. Inflation has skyrocketed and wages have not. More than a year on from the start of the cost of living crisis, financial resilience is clearly very low - too many people are left with little to nothing each month after covering their basic living costs."

Full release: One in six people has £20 or less to live on after paying for essentials each month

✉️ Press Office, 0207 391 4598 / press@stepchange.org