Two in five people feel worse off financially than last year

A significant number of people in the UK feel they are financially worse off now than they were a year ago, according to new research from Gocompare.com.

Some 41 per cent of consumers felt they had less money to play with than they did 12 months ago, while one in five admitted to being seriously worried about their financial situation.

Those aged 45-54 were the ones most affected, with almost half (49 per cent) claiming they felt worse off now than they did this time last year.

Worryingly, 21 per cent of adults are running out of money before the end of the month and in order to plug the gap five per cent said they considered taking out a pay day loan, while six per cent are racking up credit card debt in order to make ends meet.

Using pay day lenders is dangerous as if they are consistently taken out the problem will only get worse.

There are ways to make savings that many people are not tapping into yet, according to the survey.

Nearly half (49 per cent) of people have not switched provider of any of the ten most popular financial products in the last 12 months in order to get a better deal. Astonishingly, nearly 9.5 million consumers (19 per cent) have never switched any of them.

The list of most popular financial products includes car insurance, home insurance, energy, mobile phone, broadband, landline, mortgage, credit card, current account and ISA or savings account.

While the research found car insurance is the financial product most likely to be switched, it appears that individuals are most loyal to their bank, with 37 per cent having the same current account their whole life.

Claire Peate, customer insight manager at Gocompare.com, said: "No one looks forward to getting their insurance renewal or electricity and gas bill but comparing the deal from your existing provider with those offered by other competing companies can deliver major savings."

By Amy White