A a quarter of people run out of money before the end of the month - more than one in ten say this happens every month.
Around a quarter of people in Scotland regularly run out of money before the end of the month, new research for Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has found.
Polling for the charity by YouGov found that 11 per cent of people said they always ran out of money before payday each month. (Payday refers to wages as well as benefits and pension payments).
A further 14 per cent of respondents said this happened ‘most of the time.’
The charity is encouraging people who are worried about money and bills to seek advice from the CAB network or online advice resources like www.MoneyMap.scot.
CAS Financial Health spokesperson Isabella Williams said:
“What this research shows is a significant amount of people have really had their financial resilience ground down by the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis, and don’t have the capacity to withstand a big, unexpected bill like the car breaking down or the boiler going.
“One in ten people saying they run out of money every month is also worrying in a time of higher interest rates. We have seen an increase in demand for consumer debt advice across the CAB network in the past year from things like credit cards, store cards and loans and we know people are using borrowing like this just to meet the costs of daily living. Higher interest rates can make these forms of credit more expensive, which just traps people in a vicious cycle.
“We would encourage anyone who is worried about bills and money to seek advice from their local CAB or our online advice resources. Don’t wait until the bills mount up and you have to make one of these impossible choices, seek advice as soon as possible as we can help maximise your income, cut costs and save money.”
“Our advisers get real results. We unlocked £132 million for people in Scotland last year, and one in six people who sought our advice saw a financial gain, the average value of which was over £4,200. We don’t judge, we just help.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
|
QC10. How often these days, if at all, do you run out of money before 'pay day' (including benefits/pension payments etc.) and need to use credit, an overdraft facility or borrow money to get by |
|
|
Unweighted base |
1509 |
|
Base: all |
1509 |
|
Always |
11% |
|
Most of the time |
14% |
|
Sometimes |
15% |
|
Rarely |
20% |
|
Never |
34% |
|
Don't know |
2% |
|
Prefer not to say |
4% |
|
Net: Always/most of the time |
25% |
|
Net: Rarely/never |
54% |
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1509 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 13th February - 5th March 2023. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of adults in Scotland (aged 18+).