“It's a struggle to make ends meet”: Consumers battling to cover the cost of everyday essentials, Which? warns

Which?'s Consumer Insight Tracker has found that an estimated 14.8 million UK households have had to make financial adjustments to cover the cost of essentials - the highest level seen in 2025 - as the cost of living continues to bite and Christmas fast approaches. 

In the month to 17th October, more than half (52%) of surveyed households reported making at least one adjustment to cover essential everyday spending such as utility bills, housing costs, groceries, school supplies and medicines in the last month. This is an estimated 14.8 million households, which is the highest level seen since December 2024. 

Adjustments include cutting back on essentials, dipping into savings, selling possessions or borrowing. The most common adjustments were dipping into savings (30%) and cutting back on essentials (28%). 

Cutting back on essentials was even more common for those on low incomes - with over a third (35%) reporting that they had done so. 

More positively, the proportion of households who reported missing at least one essential payment - such as rent or mortgage payments, utility bills, credit card or loan payments - in the preceding month fell to 5.5 per cent from 7.7 per cent in September. This is an estimated 1.6 million households.

While fewer households missed payments this month, the rise in financial adjustments indicates that more households are sensitive to the cost of living ahead of the colder weather and costs of the festive period. 

And many think their situation will continue to worsen. Consumer confidence in their future household financial situation fell by two points this month to -15. This score reflects that one in five UK adults (20%) think their household situation will get better over the next 12 months and around a third (34%) think it will get worse. 

When Which? asked respondents why they think their household situation will worsen over the next 12 months, over half mentioned issues related to the cost of living, such as food prices, bills or inflation. 

One woman from Scotland said: “The cost of living is too high; it's a struggle to make ends meet. Food shopping is stressful as everything costs so much and paying bills, the cost of everything is rising. I think this will keep continuing to get worse.” 

Taxes and government policies were also widely mentioned, with roughly a third of respondents who think their financial situation will worsen pointing to already high or expected higher taxes following the autumn budget or other government policies. 

One man from the North West said: “I'm anticipating the budget will include tax rises. This along with the increasing cost of goods and services is going to make things more difficult.” 

With higher heating bills and the cost of Christmas 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 that millions of households are struggling to cover the costs of everyday essentials such as utility bills, mortgage and rent payments and the weekly shop. 

“With the festive season fast-approaching and the weather starting to get colder, the added pressures of Christmas shopping and keeping the house warm and cosy will only add to households' financial stresses. We'd encourage anyone who's struggling to seek free debt advice and to reach out to their bill provider for help.”

-ENDS- 

Notes to editors 

In Which?'s latest food and drink inflation tracker, annual inflation for supermarket food and drink has risen to 5.4% in the three months to the end of August 2025.

A recent Which? investigation also found a wave of shrinkflation striking coffee, toothpaste, Gaviscon and chocolate. 

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 17th and 19th of October.  A sample of 2,103 UK adults were surveyed online and weighted to be nationally representative. 

Which? estimates that between 4.5% and 6.5% of households missed or defaulted on a housing, bill or credit payment in the last month to October 17th, with an average estimate of 5.5%. Based on the survey and the ONS estimate for the number of households in 2024 of 28.6 million, this scales up to between 1.3 million and 1.9 million households missing a bill payment in the last month, with an average estimate of 1.6 million.

This survey indicates that between 50% and 54% of households made at least one adjustment to cover essential spending in the last month to October 17th with an average estimate of 52%. Based on the survey and the ONS estimate for the number of households in 2024 of 28.6 million, Which? estimates that between 14.2 million and 15.5 million households made an adjustment to cover essential spending in the last month, with an average estimate of 14.8 million.