Which? poll says many 'borrowing money for food'

[AlisonM]

The survey suggests many households are cutting back on essentials.

One in five UK households borrowed money or used savings to cover food costs in April, a Which? survey says.

It suggests the equivalent of five million households used credit cards, overdrafts or savings to buy food.

The consumer group runs a monthly insight tracker survey focused on spending and behaviour - 2,000 people took part in its poll.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd described the findings as "simply shocking".

The figures come despite official statistics last week showing that personal insolvencies have dropped to their lowest levels in five years.

Of the households covered by the Which? survey, 43% were headed by people between 30 and 50, and just under half had incomes under ?21,000.

The research found that 55% of those using credit to do weekly shopping planned to cut back on food in the coming months, with almost a third saying they had to borrow from friends or family in order to make ends meet.

The study also found that one quarter of people said that they were living comfortably on their incomes and that more than one third - 36% - felt their finances were under pressure.

 

[Northerner]

I've had to resort to credit card/overdraft for the past couple of months - hate going into debt!

 

[AlisonM]

Me too! But I've had no choice, it's either that or I don't eat. It's partly due to erratic benefits payments, I never know when/if/how much I will be paid which makes it virtually impossible for me to budget properly. I almost always run out of cash before my next payment comes through, so I run up my overdraft, which has to be paid back, which leaves me short... again!

 

[Northerner]

Me too! But I've had no choice, it's either that or I don't eat. It's partly due to erratic benefits payments, I never know when/if/how much I will be paid which makes it virtually impossible for me to budget properly. I almost always run out of cash before my next payment comes through, so I run up my overdraft, which has to be paid back, which leaves me short... again!

I have an inbuilt aversion to paying overdraft fees and interest, seems like chucking money down the drain! For the last couple of years my CC company have offered cash loans at 0% interest for a year - there was still a 4% fee, but essentially it was like getting a loan for 4%, which is a lot cheaper than the usual interest rates. Unfortunately, they seem to have stopped offering that. My bank charges ?6 for going overdrawn for each month you are in the red, plus interest. Not bad I suppose, it's just that I have rarely been overdrawn in my life.