budgetting

UK inflation hit 5.2% in September as increases in the cost of living put further pressures on family finances.

Higher energy bills were blamed as the main cause behind the increase, which is way above the government’s target CPI of 2% and represented an increase from 4.7% on the previous month.

The announcement not only spells gloom for hard-pressed families in the current economic climate, but also spells bad news for the Government.

More than £800m of debt has been taken on just to pay household bills, according to new research.

A survey by one financial advisory group claims that the sum has been borrowed in the past three months alone as struggling families attempt to cope with increasing household bills and the spiralling cost of living.

At the same time, Citizens Advice Bureau claimed that debt-related calls had increased by more than a third compared to last year and research has also revealed that as many as one in ten people are knowingly missing bill repayments.