Many Families Have Little Money Left After Paying Bills

A new study reminds us that many families are still struggling with the cost of living.

About one in five households have only £12 left each week after paying essential bills.

For the lowest-earning families, the situation is even worse, with an average weekly shortfall of £73.

The Centre for Economics & Business Research found that many people are still dealing with the cost of living crisis every day.

The CEBR's Income Tracker shows that households have £258 per week left after bills and essentials. This is only £8.28 more than last year. The tracker is based on data from the supermarket chain Asda. It shows how much households have left after paying all taxes and essential bills.

The lowest-earning households face a £73 average weekly shortfall.

Many workers' pay is not keeping up with inflation, and energy costs are affecting household finances.

Households' disposable income has slightly improved as inflation has eased to 2.8%. However, there are concerns it may increase again due to the economic impact of the Middle East war. Inflation easing means that prices are not rising as fast as before.

Higher-income households are seeing growth in their disposable income because essentials like food are a smaller part of their spending.

Food price inflation has eased, but the cost of groceries is still a big financial burden for many families.

Sam Miley from the Cebr said that the Asda Income Tracker shows weak growth in May 2026. While annual growth was 3.3%, discretionary incomes only grew by 0.6% month-on-month.

Separate data shows a drop in food price inflation, which is good news for those struggling to make ends meet.

However, experts think grocery bills could rise in the coming months due to the economic impact of the Middle East war.

Supermarket sales rose 2.4% in the four weeks to mid-June. This was partly due to the hot weather, which increased demand for summer products like suncare and fresh beef burgers.

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