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Monthly outgoings 'soar by 26%'
20 June 2008 12:04am Add commentsConsumers have seen their monthly outgoings soar by 26% during the past two years driven by higher housing and energy costs, research shows.

The amount people spend on bills and living costs has soared from an average of £945 in June 2006 to £1,281 now, according to insurer Combined Insurance.

Consumers are spending around a third more on rent and mortgages than they were two years ago, with rents rising by an average of 30% and mortgage repayments jumping by 33%.

At the same time households claim they are spending about 32% more on gas and electricity at an average of £90 a month, while other everyday bills such as television subscriptions and water rates have risen by 30%.

Council tax has increased by 22% during the past two years to average £90 a month, while car running costs are 34% higher and spending on food has risen by 20%

Families with children have been particularly hard hit, with their average expenditure on child care soaring by 77% during the past two years, while other spending on children, such as clothes, has risen by 37%.

But there are areas where people have cut back on their spending, with households now spending about 8% less on insurance than they were in 2006, while telephone and broadband costs have fallen by 7%.

Nigel Brittle, director of Combined Insurance, said: "The many cost of living hikes are taking their toll on the monthly budget and many Britons are living on the edge with their finances."
not a bit of wonder things are getting tight[:(!]

The stupid thing is that retail spending (other than food) is on the up!!!! I am sure that some of these people spending are tomorrows IVA's and they just have not accepted the fact that they cannot go on spending the way they do.

How you can go on spending when everything else is going up is beyond me.

I am sure some of them will be posting on here before long.

Hi There,
I'm with Kallis on this one and I have a gut feeling the number of membe sites like this will soar - I hope a lot of them find this one, it's helped me more than I can say.
The main concern is hearing all the time on the news that you have to tighten your belt - for thosef us on IVA's, etc how can we do that, we're already living on an expremely restricted budget with little or no fat to trim!!!
Good God am I glad I no longer jave credit cards......
Hugs,
Chardonnay

Hi Caerrie,

I too am glad I can no longer go out and spend on a whim. I am sure I still would be.

Trouble is, all this spending will be pushing the interest rate up again, and the mortgage companies will be following suit soon after.

what worries me is the way the young people in my office spend and spend on credit cards paying back the minimum and always run out of money before the end of the month. Often they take 'advantage' of store cards not understanding the high APR they are charged. Also they don't seem to realise how easy it is for debts to mount up.
I have tried to explain how easy it was and quickly my debt got to the stage where I couldn't manage but sadly they think I was just a bad manager of money which of course I was but how I wish someone had told me what i letting my self into.

Jan

The stupid thing is although I was always spending on my credit card I never had any store card debts as I didn't want the high APR!

I too had credit cards but not store cards because of the high APR rates. did any one see the news item yesterday about the very high APR of 'pay day loans' 425% was normal!!

I think maybe that the stores that actively promote and encourage buyers to have store card, should have more regulation.

Kirsty

I caught something on GMTV this morning about the fact that whilst we have more and spend more we are not any happier than our parents and grandparents who never had credit ... indeed, sometimes unhappier

Debbie