As the new school year begins, Which?'s latest consumer insight
tracker has found that working parents are feeling the pinch -
with many worried about their household finances, the future UK
economy and the cost of everyday essentials such as food.
According to the tracker, working parents' confidence in the
future UK economy and their future and current household finances
has plummeted ahead of the start of the new school year.
In the month to 13th August, working age parents' confidence in
the future UK economy fell dramatically by 25 points from a score
of -7 to -32. This is a much greater drop in confidence than seen
by other demographics - like pensioners and working age
non-parents - whose confidence in the future UK economy remained
at similar levels to July.
Working parents also reported being less confident about their
current household finances with their confidence score falling by
22 points to 7. Similarly, their confidence in future household
finances fell by 14 points to 0.
Working parents also reported being more worried about rising
food prices. In the month to 13th August, almost nine in ten
(87%) working age parents reported being concerned about food
prices. This is an increase of six percentage points since May
and sees working age parent's concerns about food prices return
to levels not seen since November 2022 - when the cost of living
crisis was at its peak and inflation was in double figures.
Across all consumers, concern about food prices has slightly
increased by three percentage points to 82 per cent - likely due
to rising food inflation. Concern about energy was also high at
81 per cent.
These figures show that many working parents are still feeling
financial pressure due to the high cost of living - especially at
pinchpoints like summer holidays and back to school season, when
they are also paying for holidays and childcare as well as
purchasing new uniforms and school supplies.
These figures come as an estimated 1.9 million households missed
at least one essential payment - such as rent or mortgage
payments, utility bills, credit card or loan payments - in the
month to 13th August 2025.
An estimated 14.4 million households also made at least one
adjustment to cover essential spending such as utility bills,
housing costs, groceries, school supplies and medicines in the
last month. Adjustments include cutting back on essentials,
dipping into savings, selling possessions or borrowing.
With winter and higher heating bills fast approaching, pressures
on household finances are only likely to increase. If people are
missing or struggling to afford essential payments – such as
energy, credit card or mortgage payments – then they should speak
to their provider immediately for help. Businesses should also do
everything they can to help their customers and ensure they are
offering value for money.
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said:
“Our research shows working parents are feeling the pinch ahead
of back to school season - with many worried about the economy,
their household finances and the cost of everyday
essentials.
“As the nights draw in and the weather gets colder, the extra
pressure of staying warm and keeping the lights on will add
stress to household finances. We'd encourage anyone who's
struggling to seek free debt advice and reach out to their bill
provider for help.”
-ENDS-
Notes to editors
Which? advice if you're struggling to pay your bills
If households are struggling to afford their mortgage, they
should speak to their lender as soon as possible. Lenders should
be understanding if income levels have changed – for example,
because someone has lost their job – and may offer a payment
holiday, extending the term to lower the monthly payment or a
temporary switch to interest-only repayments. Renters should
speak to their landlords about their situation and ask if they
are able to offer temporary help. More information here and here.
Consumer Insight Tracker
Fieldwork for Which? 's Consumer Insight Tracker is conducted
monthly by Yonder on behalf of Which? The latest wave of data
collection took place between 13th and 15th of August. A
sample of 2081 UK adults were surveyed online and weighted to be
nationally representative.
Which? estimates that between 5.4 per cent and 7.5 per cent of
households missed or defaulted on a housing, bill or credit
payment in the last month to August 13th, with an average
estimate of 6.5 per cent. Based on the survey and the ONS
estimate for the number of households in 2024 of 28.6 million,
this scales up to between 1.6 million and 2.2 million households
missing a bill payment in the last month, with an average
estimate of 1.9 million.
This survey indicates that between 48 per cent and 52 per cent of
households made at least one adjustment to cover essential
spending in the last month to August 13th, with an average
estimate of 50 per cent. Based on the survey and the ONS estimate
for the number of households in 2024 of 28.6 million, Which?
estimates that between 13.7 million and 15 million households
made an adjustment to cover essential spending in the last month,
with an average estimate of 14.4 million.
Working age parents' confidence has decreased in the month to
August 13th
Almost nine in ten (87%) of working age parents are concerned
about food prices
Households' financial difficulty has remained at similar levels
to last month
