It's a crisis that is hitting everyone in the country in the pocket and threatening to worsen the divide between the poorest areas of the country and the richest.
The simple fact is the cost of everyday essentials such as heating costs, food and fuel are rising faster than average household incomes, forcing many people on Merseyside to make hard choices.
New data this week suggests basic goods and services for a typical family with two young children are about £400 a month more expensive than they were last year. Energy prices added about £120 to families' monthly costs as price caps rose and cheap tariffs ended.
And as Boris Johnson and his government comes under growing pressure to take further action to mitigate the worst effects of the cost-of-living crisis, The Northern Agenda political newsletter wants to know how it's affecting people in different parts of Northern England.
Fill in the survey contained in this article to let us know how worried you are about paying the bills and who you think is responsible for the crisis.
We'd also like to know if you've followed the suggestion of one Conservative Minister and looked for extra work to help pay the bills. The results of the survey will be published in the next few days.
Fill in the survey here to tell us how you're doing
Last month research suggested that the economic chasm between the North and south of England is set to widen as a result of the cost-of-living crisis
Of the 31 areas across the country most vulnerable to soaring fuel, food and energy prices, 19 are in the North and another eight are in the Midlands, according to analysis compiled by the Centre for Progressive Policy. People living in Middlesbrough, Hull and Blackburn with Darwen will be hit hardest by skyrocketing costs in the coming months, the economic think tank predicts.
This week Boris Johnson insisted there would be further help to deal with the rising cost of living but he was “not attracted” by the idea of new taxes in response to calls for a one-off levy on oil and gas firms to support struggling households.
The Prime Minister said the Government would “put our arms round people” but he declined to spell out what support might be offered, or when.
One idea which appears to have been rejected by the Treasury is a return of the £20-a-week increase in Universal Credit.
The Prime Minister has faced pressure from MPs, including some Tories, to introduce a windfall tax to pay for new measures to help poorer households cope with rising food and energy bills.
The return of the £20 uplift in Universal Credit, which was introduced in the pandemic but withdrawn in October, has been seen as a way of targeting help at the poorest.
Michael Lewis, chief executive of energy giant E.ON UK, said on Sunday that increasing benefits payments would ease the pressure on those dealing with ballooning energy bills and soaring inflation which is driving up shop prices. But Treasury chief secretary Simon Clarke ruled out the measure.
