Cardiff citizens count the costs

Residents spend 97 per cent of their income on basics such as council tax, utility bills, travel expenses and repaying debt, the YouGov poll found, beating London.

Commenting on the findings, Combined Insurance spokesman Nigel Brittle said: “When monthly income is taken into account, and all monthly commitments are totted up – not just mortgages – it’s clear there are residents in other parts of the UK that are living closer to the financial edge.”

Last month Ernst & Young concluded that the average household has ten per cent less disposable income than in 2001 due to rising debt, bills and taxes.

The proportion that people have to spend on necessities is only 73 per cent of their income in London, but eight other cities are worse than it for the amount spent on debt and bills.

Almost £160 spent by those in the Welsh city went on servicing debts such as credit cards out of an average monthly wage of just £1,088, leading Mr Brittle to say such that this showed an “exorbitant cost of living”.