More than four million UK households are in serious financial difficulties and have resorted to buying lower-quality food, selling possessions and cutting back on showers to make ends meet. A new report found that an additional 1.6 million households reported being in financial difficulty since October last year as the cost-of-living crisis worsened.
Abrdn Financial Fairness Trust and the University of Bristol found that 4.4 million households are now struggling. Households earning more than £100,000 a year were the only group who did not report an increase in serious hardship. It shows that soaring inflation is hitting lower and middle-income families the hardest.
Most respondents are trying to tackle rising energy bills. Some are reducing the number of showers and baths they take and others are using the oven less. Three fifths of respondents said they had avoided turning on the heating while a quarter (24%) said they heated only part of their home in efforts to cut costs.
