New analysis released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) into the impact of the rising cost of living has revealed that in March almost a quarter (23%) of people found it difficult or very difficult to pay household bills - an increase of 17 per cent since November 2021.
Worryingly, nine out of 10 (87%) people reported an increase in the cost of living in March, up from 62 per cent in November last year. Seventeen per cent of people also reported borrowing more money or using more credit than they did a year ago.
Most common reasons behind the cost of living increase were food shopping (88%), gas and electricity bills (83%) and fuel (77%).
To combat the rising costs as inflation continues to soar, some 45 per cent of households plan to use less gas and electricity.
Commenting on the data, Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The cost of living crisis is escalating quickly with almost a quarter of people having trouble in paying their household bills. Pretty much everyone is feeling the pinch but those on lower incomes are particularly badly affected with prices rising fastest on life’s essentials such as food and heating bills.
“People report trying to use less fuel as a means of keeping costs down and there are also signs people are cutting back on their food shops. However, people can only cut back so far on these things so there is precious little room for manoeuvre.”
Helen added: “So far, the current situation hasn’t translated into people falling behind with rents or mortgages - only around 3% of people have reported this, a figure that has remained largely stable.
“However, this could be because people are burning through their lockdown savings in a bid to meet their day to day living costs while others opt to borrow more to meet their needs.
“Mortgage payers have had the option to fix their costs in recent months, but those who rent will feel very exposed to further increases in the coming months.”
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