Just over half (54%) of adults reported their cost of living had stayed the same in the past month with less than half (45%) reporting that their cost of living had increased.

This is according to the ONS Public Opinions and Social Trends survey for July 2024

The survey also found that around a quarter (25%) of adults believed they would be unable to pay an unexpected but necessary expense of £850.

Around 1 in 8 (13%) adults strongly disagreed or disagreed that their household income covers their minimum basic living needs; those more likely to report this included unemployed adults (31%), renters (25%), adults who were economically inactive but not retired (24%), adults living in the most deprived areas in England (21%) and disabled adults (21%).

Around 3 in 10 (29%) adults believed that their household income would rise in the next 12 months; men (32%) were more likely to report this than women (26%).

Commenting on the latest data Risk director Tom Cuppello said: “Despite inflation coming down and a declining proportion of adults seeing marked increases in their day to day living costs, it is clear that the price rises over the past couple of years are still heavily impacting housing finances.

“This is impacting the borrowing market where over one in five adults say they are borrowing more consumer credit than usual compared to a year ago. Over a third of adults are also struggling to meet rental or mortgage repayments.

“While this figure is no longer increasing month-on-month, it remains a concern following the latest FCA mortgage lending data which revealed the value of outstanding mortgage balances with arrears increased by 4.2% through Q1 2024, to £21.3 billion, and is 44.5% higher than a year earlier.

In addition to consumers in difficulty seeking support from their lender Cuppello insisted lenders must also invest in their customer experience teams to ensure they are prepared to provide a high level of care for those experiencing financial issues.