How budgeting can help you cover basic costs

How much money do you have left over after paying for essentials?

According to Asda’s latest income tracker, the average household had £258 a week left after covering bills and other vital costs during May.

That’s £8.28 more a week than at the same time last year.

But the headline figure hides some harsh realities.

For example, one in five (20%) households have just £12 left each week after essential spending.

And the lowest earning fifth face a weekly shortfall of £73 after covering vital costs.

Low earners have little room for manoeuvre

The fact that the lowest earning households are being hit the most isn’t surprising.

A huge number have little income left once essentials have been paid for.

And that means they’ve got less and less flexibility as living costs go up.

So it’s more important than ever to take a close look at your income and expenses.

Create a household budget

If you know exactly what you’ve got coming and going out, you can see where money might be being wasted and work out where savings can be made.

You can then start to prioritise your spending and be sure you’ve got money available for essential costs like groceries and food.

And if you can identify possible savings, you might also be able to factor in what you can afford on non-essentials into your budget.

Check out our guide to how to create a budget to get started.

And give our budget planner a try - it’s free and easy to use.

Find out what benefits you can claim 

Checking out what financial support is available is another option if you’re struggling to make ends meet.

Get in touch or use our benefits calculator to see what you could be entitled to claim. 

It might be more than you think – and even if you’re in work, you may still be eligible for some support.

Check our money saving tips

We’re always sharing handy advice on how you can save money, so check back here for our updates.

We’ve put together useful tips on all sorts, such as:

• how to save energy
• how to keep the cost of your food shop down
• 50 ways to cut your fuel costs

You can also find regular round-ups of standout deals and low-cost recipes that can save you money in the supermarket.