In excess of 70 per cent of families in the UK are ‘on the edge,’ relying on payday advance lending and credit cards to make ends meet, new research findings recently discovered.
The research survey found that these families are walking a razor’s edge of poverty, facing financial ruin if their income falls or if they are presented with the kind of emergency that would prompt them to take out short term loans to cover the expenditure. The new research discovered that 20 per cent of parents skipped meals to provide enough food for their children, while 25 per cent have had to resort to credit cards, and one out of twenty have been taking out short term loans from payday lenders to keep things together.
The study also discovered that many families – nearly half – have had to face the reality of either selling or pawning their personal property in order to generate extra cash to supplement their meagre incomes. Meanwhile, around one out of every six have developed stress-related illnesses due to intense worry over not having enough money to pay the bills.
The survey respondents indicated that more than three out of every five families are short of money on a weekly basis, while nearly one out of three have had to resort to family and friends, borrowing money to help out with the bills.
In response to the survey results, one Department for Work and Pensions spokeswoman remarked that the welfare reforms the department is currently working on will make a massive difference to some of the most needy families in the UK, lifting more than one million Brits out of poverty. The Department vowed to continue to work in supporting low income earners in the UK.