Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • +44 (0)20 7454 5110
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
Return to PR Newswire homepage
  • News
  • Products
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All Public Company News
      • All Multimedia News
      • View All News Releases

      • Regulatory News

      • D/A/CH Regulatory News
      • UK Regulatory News
      • View All Regulatory News

  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads & Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking & Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film & Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers & Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalisation
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls & Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil & Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defence
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation & Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking & Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers & Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines & Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics & Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture & Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewellery
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film & Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks & Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels & Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Animal Welfare
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Economic News, Trends & Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • Labour & Union
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Public Safety
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Overview
  • Distribution
  • Paid Placement
  • Multichannel Amplification
  • Disclosure Services
  • SocialBoost
  • Rooms
    • MediaRoom
    • ESG Rooms
  • AI Tools
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships
  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PR Newswire UK provides press release distribution, targeting, monitoring, and marketing services
  • Send a Release
    • Phone

    • +44 (0)20 7454 5110 from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT

    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us

      +44 (0)20 7454 5110
      from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT

  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • News in Focus
    • Browse News Releases
    • Regulatory News
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
    • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Overview
  • Distribution
  • Paid Placement
  • Multichannel Amplification
  • Disclosure Services
  • Cision Communications Cloud®
  • AI Tools
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships
  • Client Login
  • Send a Release
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists

A £50 Rise in Monthly Costs Would Push a Third of Brits to Financial Breaking Point


News provided by

moneysupermarket.com

23 Aug, 2012, 16:02 GMT

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

CHESTER, England, August 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

  • One in five adults say their finances are now so stretched they have reached their 'Affordability Tipping Point' 
  • SSE price hike and Santander SVR rise could push Brits further into the red
  • Nearly half of Brits relying more on credit to make it through the month
  • 80 per cent of households now on a budget regardless of income bracket

With the news thousands of households will be struck with price rises across their mortgage repayments and utility bills, many UK homeowners could be pushed over the edge of their 'Affordability Tipping Point'.

Household finances in the UK are now so stretched that over a third of the adult population (36 per cent) believe a rise in monthly outgoings of £50 or less would push them to financial breaking point. Of these, one in five say they are now sitting on the brink, finding it impossible to meet their monthly bills and costs.

The figures are taken from the MoneySupermarket.com Affordability Tipping Point research, which measures the 'pounds and pence' point at which household outgoings rise to overtake income. The report also reveals that Brits have, on average, seen their household outgoings rise by £56 a week over the last six months, suggesting that this £50 monthly 'tipping point' limit could literally be just around the corner for millions as the cost of living continues to rise.

The credit creep - While many Brits are cutting back where they can, the report shows that 44 per cent of adults have increased their use of credit over the last year to help them make it through each month.  A quarter of adults (24 per cent) say they have relied more on credit cards and 17 per cent have turned to authorised overdrafts to help them meet regular household outgoings, while 13 per cent have relied on hand outs from friends and family.

Budgeting nation - According to the research, the majority of households in the UK (79 per cent) are now on a budget irrespective of demographic, income bracket or family set up. Just under a third of adults (30 per cent) said the rising cost of food has been the biggest pull on their purse strings, up from 23 per cent in 2011.  A quarter of adults (25 per cent) said the rising cost of utility bills has had the biggest impact on their budgeting up from 19 per cent in 2011.

To save money, more than four in ten (41 per cent) adults have reduced their spending on new clothes this year, up from 37 per cent in 2011. Additionally 37 per cent of adults have put bigger purchases, such as household appliances and cars, on hold. 

Salary pressure - Compounding this squeeze on outgoings is the battle to hold onto current salaries or increase them in line with inflation. While many people have not seen salary increases for some time, just over one in ten (12 per cent) have been forced to take a pay cut in the last 12 months, according to the figures.

Clare Francis, personal finance expert at  MoneySupermarket.com  said: "The fact a rise in outgoings of £50 or less would tip a third of Brits to 'financial breaking point' speaks volumes about how difficult people are finding things at the moment. We have just learnt that millions of SSE customers, will see the price they pay for gas and electricity rise by a wallet-busting £116 a year,*** while thousands of borrowers paying Santander's standard variable mortgage rate could see their payments increase by £42.54 a month from October. This coupled with the fact that many already admit to using credit more than they normally would to get them through each month, paints a worrying picture.

"As news of rising costs continue to hit consumers, all the signs suggest that 2012 is set to be another tough year for many households with finances continuing to be pushed to the max. My advice to those in this situation is sit down and make a plan!  Review all of your outgoings to see where you can get better value and free up vital cash. There are significant savings to be made by switching to a better energy tariff for example, or making sure that you find the best deal when your car or home insurance is up for renewal. The savings can literally add up to hundreds of pounds over the course of the year, a great way of giving yourself a bit of breathing room."

Notes to Editors

Research conducted by Opinium Research between 13th - 16th July 2012 amongst 2,011 nationally representative adults aged 18+

2011 data: 15th - 18th April 2011, amongst 2,170 nationally representative adults aged 18+

*Source CEBR, June 2012

** based on a £150,000 25-year repayment mortgage

***MoneySupermarket estimates the difference is £116 based on bills paid by standard Quarterly Cash or Cheque (QCC).  You will note from SSE's announcement yesterday that they state the difference is £102. The difference in the figures is due to the fact that SSE's figures are based onon customers paying by Monthly Direct Debit (MDD).

MoneySupermarket.com compares (at 20th June 2012)

  • 100 car insurance providers and 81 home insurance providers
  • 12 broadband providers and 18 energy providers   
  • 32 unsecured loan and 6 secured loan providers
  • 58 mortgage lenders and 28 credit card providers
  • 67 savings providers and 37 current account providers.
  • Over 1,700,000 mobile phone deals

Our customers

We help our customers to save money on all of their household bills by providing a free, easy to use online service so they can compare a wide range of products in one place and find the product most suited to their needs. Our size means we are able to offer our customers exclusive, market-leading deals, including some they can't even get direct from providers.

Our providers

By having considerable volumes of informed customers actively looking for products and ready to purchase, we offer our providers an efficient and cost effective customer acquisition solution across all of our channels. This enables our providers to target their marketing spend in an effective and completely measurable way.

Our revenue comes predominantly from fees paid to us by product providers when a customer clicks through to their website and actually applies for or purchases a product. It is a success based marketing fee.

Our customer commitment

  • We make it easy to find the brands you expect to see
  • We strive to ensure a product cannot be found cheaper by going direct
  • We let you remain in control of your personal data
  • We are independent and impartial
  • We make it easy to switch and save
  • We strive to always show the most competitive product available

For further information please contact:
Lisa Elliott / Jemma Green / Alice Stevens / Victoria Murray
Lansons Communications
+44(0)20-7294-3679/ 3642 / +44(0)20-7566-9705/ +44(0)20-7566-9708
lisae@lansons.com  /  jemmag@lansons.com  /  alices@lansons.com/  victoriam@lansons.com

Paul Lawler
PR Manager Financial Services
+44(0)1244-370317
+44(0)787-237-9545
paul.lawler@moneysupermarket.com

Modal title

Contact PR Newswire

  • +44 (0)20 7454 5110
    from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT
  • General Enquiries
  • Media Enquiries
  • Partnerships

Products

  • Content Distribution
  • Multimedia Services
  • Disclosure Services
  • Cision Communications Cloud®

About

  • About PR Newswire
  • About Cision
  • Partnering Opportunities
  • Careers
  • Accessibility Statement
  • APAC
  • APAC - Simplified Chinese
  • APAC - Traditional Chinese
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • Czech
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Israel
  • Japan
  • Korea
  • Mexico
  • Middle East
  • Middle East - Arabic
  • Netherlands
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Russia
  • Slovakia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • United States
  • Vietnam

My Services

  • All News Releases
  • Customer Portal
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
  • Data Privacy

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via Privacy@cision.com 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact PR Newswire

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Customer Portal
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • Journalists
+44 (0)20 7454 5110
from 8 AM - 5:30 PM GMT
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Information Security Policy
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 PR Newswire Europe Limited. All Rights Reserved. A Cision company.