Women ‘more likely to borrow to cover day-to-day costs’

Women are more likely to borrow money to keep up with everyday expenses than men, new research has found.

According to Scottish Friendly, 21% of women have borrowed money from friends of family to pay for day-to-day essentials like food and utility bills.

That compares with just 16% of men.

Similarly, nearly in four (23%) have used buy now, pay later services, compared with less than one in five (19%) men.

Figures also showed that women are more likely to use credit cards to pay for essentials, dip into long-term savings, take out a personal loan or use their overdraft.

Women hit hardest by cost-of-living crisis

The findings come after a study by Stream found that women are bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis more than men.

Figures show that the gap between men’s and women’s economic wellbeing has gone up by almost a third (29%).

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

And that’s 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

Support is available

If you’re finding it hard to keep up with your everyday expenses, then reach out for help instead of suffering in silence.

Check your benefits

You might be eligible for help with essential costs, so give us a ring or use our free benefits calculator to see what support you could get.

It might be more than you realise.

Create a household budget

Keep a close eye on how much money you have coming in and where it’s going.

You’ll then be able to see where you can make savings and free up cash for vital expenses, such as groceries, rent, mortgage payments and household bills.

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

Tackle problem debts

If you’re struggling with debt, then get in touch for confidential, practical and impartial debt advice, and we can discuss what options are open to you.