Debt management may be needed as shopping discounts ‘not enough’

Consumers with strained household budgets may find they need debt management plans to get their finances on track as it becomes increasingly difficult to make ends meet amid rising food prices.

A study by Which? found nine out of ten consumers have noticed these going up, with 84 per cent saying they were worried about them.

Responses have included a third of people cutting their food spending, while 39 per cent are using discount supermarkets more.

But such measures are not enough for many, according to Which? executive director Richard Lloyd.

He said: "People are changing their behaviour and becoming more savvy shoppers when it comes to groceries, but there's only so much they can do to cut back on the basics."

And this means that for many shoppers, however hard they try the beast of food inflation is catching up on them, with potentially serious consequences for people already struggling to pay off their debts while also meeting rising bills.

Coming at a time when pay growth is running at low levels – and is frozen for most public sector workers – general inflation is still over twice the Bank of England's target rate and energy bills are rising, which may be a pressing issue for many.

And a survey by insolvency professionals body R3 has hinted at the depth of the problem, with 50 per cent of people living in England and Wales revealing they sometimes or often struggle to last financially from one payday to the next, while 43 per cent of Scots said they face the same problems.

Posted by Paul Thacker