Lancastrians are twice as likely to say their household finances are a struggle, compared to neighbours Yorkshire, according to research from Chiltern Debt Management.
One in seven people in Lancashire said their household finances were a struggle compared to just one in 15 in Yorkshire and one in nine across the UK.
Lancashire also had a lower than average number of people who consider their household finances as comfortable, six in ten against seven in ten across the UK.
And people in Lancashire were almost two times more likely to say their household finances were seriously overstretched than the UK average. One in 24, against one in 45 throughout the UK.
Chiltern’s head of marketing Joanne Gill says: “Lancastrians are really lagging behind the rest of the UK when it comes to managing their finances. A higher number than average are finding things a struggle, and they’re more likely than average to only be making minimum payments towards credit and store card debt each month.
“And unfortunately their plight may become worse, as the effects of the recent interest rate rises set in, and people find they have less money in their pockets with rising debt costs.
“Those who are struggling should seek help sooner rather than later before their problems worsen.”
Key Findings
• 14.6 per cent (one in seven) of people in Lancashire said their finances were a struggle, compared to 6.5 per cent (one in 15) in Yorkshire and 11 per cent (one in nine) throughout the UK.
• 4.1 per cent of people in Lancashire said their finances were seriously overstretched compared to 2.5 per cent in Yorkshire and 2.2 per cent across the UK.
• 64.5 per cent (six in ten) in Lancashire said their finances were comfortable, compared to 69.7 per cent (seven in ten) throughout the UK.
Chiltern Debt Management provides an informal solution to help people manage their debts. This involves working with the customer to produce a budget detailing income and necessary expenditure, like housing, food, clothes, bills and transport.
The money left over, once living costs have been accounted for, is known as the disposable income. This is shared proportionately between the customer’s creditors until the client becomes debt free or a change in circumstances means they are able to resume contractual payments to the creditors.
Research Findings
Household finances by gender
| Gender | Struggling | Over-stretched | Paying in full | Minimum payments |
| Female | 14.2% | 2.0% | 36.9% | 11.6% |
| Male | 7.7% | 2.5% | 38.8% | 7.8% |
| Average | 10.9% | 2.2% | 37.8% | 9.8% |
Household finances by age
| Age | Struggling | Over-stretched | Paying in full | Minimum payments |
| 16 – 24 | 11.2% | 0% | 23% | 7.9% |
| 25 – 34 | 10.6% | 1.7% | 37% | 11.5% |
| 35 – 44 | 11.4% | 3.1% | 43.8% | 10.7% |
| 45 – 54 | 14.8% | 4.9% | 42.3% | 13.7% |
| 55 – 64 | 12.5% | 2.2% | 44.8% | 9.8% |
| 65+ | 6.9% | 1.4% | 36.1% | 5.4% |
| Average | 11% | 2.2% | 37.8% | 9.8% |
Household finances by region
| Region | Struggling | Overstretched | Paying in full | Minimum payments |
| East Anglia | 11.2% | 0.7% | 48.4% | 12.1% |
| Lancashire | 14.6% | 4.1% | 28.9% | 14.8% |
| London | 13.2% | 2.0% | 45.8% | 7.7% |
| Midlands | 8.1% | 1.1% | 35.6% | 10.2% |
| North East | 6.2% | 0.8% | 43.6% | 9.4% |
| Scotland | 8.1% | 2.0% | 22.1% | 10.1% |
| Southern | 15.4% | 1.2% | 42.7% | 10.6% |
| Wales | 9.7% | 3.9% | 36.2% | 6.9% |
| Yorkshire | 6.5% | 2.5% | 39.6% | 5.2% |
| Average | 11% | 2.2% | 37.8% | 9.8% |