Food and energy bills putting biggest strain on household budgets

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that rising food and energy costs are hitting household finances the hardest.

The ONS looked at how people were coping with the cost of living between 1 October 2025 and 4 January 2026, and the picture is a tough one.

Living costs are still going up

Nearly two in three adults (62%) said their cost of living had gone up compared with the previous month.

The increase was felt more strongly by disabled people, with 70% saying their costs had risen, compared with 58% of non-disabled adults.

Food and energy are the main reasons

For people who said their costs had increased, it was mostly down to:

• food shopping (94%)
• gas or electricity bills (68%)
• fuel prices (46%)

To make ends meet, many people said they were cutting back on food spending:

• eating out less (58%)
• buying cheaper food (51%)
• buying discounted food (38%)

Some households are going without food

Around one in 30 adults said their household had run out of food in the past two weeks and couldn’t afford to buy more.

In the poorest areas, that figure rose to 8%. It was also higher among disabled people and renters.

What people are most worried about

When asked about the biggest issues right now, people consistently pointed to:

• the cost of living (88%)
• the NHS (86%)
• the economy (71%)

Energy bills are a real worry

Around one in three adults (34%) who pay energy bills said they found them very or somewhat difficult to afford.

This was especially common among:

• people renting from a council, housing association or charitable trust (58%)
• Asian or Asian British (51%) and Black, African, Caribbean or Black British adults (46%)
• those living in the most deprived areas of England (46%)
• disabled adults (45%)

Help may be available

If money’s tight, there may be more support available than expected.

We can check you’re getting all the support you’re entitled to. So get in touch or try our benefits calculator to see what support you could receive.