Household money worries have hit their highest level in 2023 so far, as year-on-year spending continues to rise, according to Nationwide Building Society’s monthly Spending Report.
The research revealed that nearly seven in 10 (69%) were concerned about their personal finances and ability to cover essential costs.
Having started to trend downwards, the last two months saw pessimism grow – hitting 62% in August and 57% in July.
A third (32%) said they were left with £100 or less in their account at the end of each month, with nearly one in 10 (9%) saying they had no money left.
The poll of 2,000 respondents showed that the average person now had debts of £8,000 on their credit card.
The Nationwide Spending Report – a monthly analysis of more than 241 million debit card, credit card and Direct Debit transactions – revealed that £8.75bn was spent overall in August.
This marked a 5% increase compared to the previous year, while transactions grew 6% year on year. However, spend in both categories was down 1% compared to July.
Mark Nalder, payments strategy and performance director at Nationwide Building Society, said: “Money worries have peaked this year, which is perhaps not a surprise after many people juggled the expectation to spend during the summer with continued high living costs.
“As we enter the autumn, households will hope for some respite before the return of colder weather and the need to heat homes once again.
“While energy costs have dipped from their peak last year, the return of high utility bills will not be a welcome sight for many.”
He concluded: “Just as we saw last year, we expect many to cut back into their discretionary spending in order to manage their budgets.”
