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Feeling the pinch in the run up to Christmas

Christmas is now less than a week away and there is only one more shopping weekend before the big day. The Saturday before Christmas has been labelled ‘Panic Saturday’ and some 13 million Brits are expected to hit the high street to complete their shopping.

However, according to Lloyds TSB Spending Power Report households are still feeling the pinch and “despite positive retail sales figures from the high street in the run up to Christmas, squeeze on household budgets remains and is still to show any material signs of easing”. Read more

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Household Christmas spending reaches £835

Christmas is now just one week away. Shopping lists have been written, presents have been bought and families are making the final touches to the decorations.

According to YouGov figures, the average household will spend £835 over the course of the festive season this year. This is a pretty steep sum, and one that 12 per cent of Brits ‘cannot afford’. Just under half of the people surveyed said that they could ‘just about’ afford Christmas. Read more

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Christmas spending has increased

The lights are up, mince pies are back on the shelves and you can’t venture outside without a thick coat – Christmas is well and truly on its way.

As a nation, Brits are set to spend over £22 billion on Christmas this year – that breaks down to £445 per person. According to research from MoneySupermarket, one in five people feel that funding Christmas will get them further into debt this year. Read more

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2.5 million households struggling financially

Households all over the country have been struggling to make ends meet ever since the recession and new figures released by Legal & General have highlighted the fact that 2.5 million households would class themselves as “struggling”.

Some two out five homes also said they were either already in fuel poverty or almost in fuel poverty, after the majority of the ‘Big Six’ fuel suppliers raised their tariffs recently. Read more

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Families need £25,000 to get by

The cost of living is rising in the UK and new figures have revealed that the average British family now needs to bring home £24,801.51 a year in order to break even.

This figure comes from research commissioned by Skipton Financial Services, that evaluated the cost of mortgage or rent, utilities, insurance, food shopping and motoring, plus the cost of dressing the family, owning a mobile phone and landline, travelling to and from work and maintaining a property. Read more

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One in five workers paid below living wage

It is common knowledge that households up and down the country are struggling financially.

New figures from KPMG have now highlighted that one in five workers in the UK are being paid less than the living wage. The report noted that 4.82 million workers receive less than £7.20 – the rate of pay designed to enable workers to afford a basic standard of living. Read more

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Budgeting is key this winter

Households up and down the country are struggling financially and careful budgeting could be the key to keeping track of the pennies this winter.

With the rising cost of fuel, many households are concerned about having enough money to pay essential bills, let alone other non-essentials. Read more

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Energy costs squeeze household finances

Last week British Gas announced that it would be raising the cost of its energy bills by six per cent.

This will equate to a rise of £1.50 a week, or £80 a year and will come into effect on November 16th. Read more

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Women take hold of the household purse strings

Research from Lloyds TSB has highlighted the fact that woman are increasingly taking control of household finances.

The study suggested that by 2020 women could be in charge of household purse strings. Read more

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75% of UK households concerned about inflation

Three out of four households in the UK are concerned about inflation and the rising costs of living.

According to the latest Markit household finance index (HFI), 40 per cent of households expect their financial situation to get worse over the next 12 months. Read more

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