Nearly 40% of shoppers spending £50 more on their food shop per month  

A new survey shows the stress on the monthly shopping budget as nearly a fifth (19%) say their monthly shop has gone up by more than £100 and 37% say they are spending more than £50 more.

With the Bank of England set to raise the base interest rate to 5%, cash-strapped families are being squeezed by higher mortgage rates and food inflation. 

A recent survey by Quotezone.co.uk found 72% of people feel their money simply doesn’t go as far since the cost-of-living crisis began. 

Food inflation has reached a 45-year high with food price inflation now alarmingly over 18%.*

As salary increases have continued to fall further behind inflation, financial pressure for households across the country has increased.

The survey results also reveal 95% of shoppers say their family favourite products appear to have risen to a higher than normal price this year for the first time.

In a bid to try and save, the most popular money saving answers were looking for cheaper brands (20%), followed by comparing product prices between stores (16%), moving to a cheaper supermarket (15%) and using discount vouchers and coupons (15%).  

Rising rates also means households are facing significant increases in their mortgage repayments as well. Soon-to-be first-time buyers will be hit by interest rates of up to 5% – in previous years, homeowners have been able to secure fixed-rate mortgage pricing at 4% or less – increasing the challenge for those starting out with their first home.

Greg Wilson, Founder of Quotezone.co.uk, a financial comparison site says: “I was shocked to see just how many households said they were forking out an extra 50 or 100 pounds per month on their usual grocery bill.  It’s daunting for everyone, especially homeowners and families, inflation pressure is squeezing budgets that were already tight. 

With mortgage and grocery bills posing the biggest threat right now, it’s important to shop around and compare prices on these products.  However, trying to find savings on all bills is key to minimising your household expenditure – people should never let payments auto-renew and always find competitive quotes to check they’re not being overcharged on each of their outgoings.

“Although food price inflation seems to be slowing for the second month, prices are still high and will likely be so for the foreseeable.  Our site helps people compare mortgage providers and our rewards scheme offers discounts and cash back on grocery shopping from major retailers and high street brands such as Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda – to help people find savings.” 

Reference:

Quotezone.co.uk’s findings are based on a randomised survey of 1,000 respondents across the UK during June 2023, which represents a margin of error of approximately 5% at a 95% confidence level.

*https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-65966723