Women hit hardest by cost-of-living crisis

We’re all feeling the pinch thanks to the cost-of-living crisis - but women are bearing the brunt of it more than men.

New research from Stream has found that in the last year, the gap between men’s and women’s economic wellbeing has gone up by almost a third (29%).

Factors like rising food prices affect everyone, regardless of gender.

But women are being hit hardest because they typically earn less than men and are more likely to have childcare responsibilities.

And this is having a knock-on effect in many aspects of their lives.

For example, women were found to be:

• more likely to lose sleep worrying about money than men
• less able to manage debt
• more likely to have a smaller rainy-day fund
• less likely to have money to spend on fun activities and hobbies
• more unhappy with their financial situation

Owain Service of CogCo, which carried out the research for Stream, believes the findings are “concerning”.

“There’s now a seven-percentage point difference in financial wellbeing between genders, a divide that has grown even larger since last year,” he commented.

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If you’re finding it hard to balance your daily living costs with other financial goals, such as saving for later life, it could be worth asking for help.

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

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