A fifth of UK households now have an average shortfall of £60 a week between what they earn and what they need to cover essentials such as energy bills, rent, transport and food, as the rising cost of living leaves people with the lowest amount of spare cash in almost five years.
Soaring living costs, up 11% year on year in June, led to a record 18% drop in average household disposable income of £175.80 a month, according to data from the Asda Income Tracker collated by the Centre for Business and Economic Research (Cber).
