Consumers have no spare cash after bills

Consumers are around £10 a month worse off than they were a year ago as incomes have failed to keep up with living costs, the Lloyds TSB spending power report found.

Following on from Christmas, the proportion of people saying they had no spending power at all once their bills were paid rose from 15pc in December to a "worrying" 19pc in January.

People aged between 35 and 64 and those living in the North and Midlands were the most likely to say they had no discretionary income.

The number of consumers generally who feel that money is tight increased from 40pc to 43pc between December and January...more