With the price of fuel going up several times over the last year, significant numbers of Britons are concerned that the pressures that their finances are under are also rising. In a study by moneysupermarket.com, it was shown that the price of petrol has gone through the one pound and ten pence per litre barrier. Meanwhile, the cost of oil was shown as hitting record levels as electricity and gas prices have gone up by 15 per cent since the start of 2008.
The study from the moneysupermarket.com show that two-thirds (66.9 per cent) of Consumers surveyed stated that they are “very concerned” about how they will be able to cope should fuel prices continue to increase. However, it was reported that some some 30 per cent will be a “little concerned” about how their ability to get to grips with spending should the price of fuel continue to go up.
In addition to facing increases in this area of financial demand, it may be that people develop other problems with management of their finances. This could see them struggling to make repayments on loans, credit and store cards, mortgages, household bills and travel costs.
On the other hand, less than 1 per cent of those that took part in the study report that they are not bothered about the prospect of increasing fuel costs. An estimated 3.4 per cent think that they will be ok should this financial burden get any worse, although they would prefer for this not to take place.
Tim Moss, head of debt for the moneysupermarket.com, said: “Brits are being stretched to breaking point as our poll of moneysupermarket users shows. Increasing fuel prices are a massive issue right now, in much the same way as they were during the fuel protests of eight years ago. Leading economists have been telling the government it can afford to drop the price of petrol by nine pence per litre without having any effect on its bottom line. People are really starting to suffer and need help urgently.”
He added that as the public is “powerless” to exert any control over the amount of tax that the government places on fuel, it is important for consumers to get to grips with the spending areas which they can control. Mr Moss asserted that it is necessary people steal the time to arrange their finances properly and recognise what areas of expenditure that their money goes on. In doing this, he claimed that they should concentrate on contributions towards essential areas of finances - domestic bills and mortgage or rent costs for instance - a priority. Meanwhile, less pressing demands on current expenditure, such as magazine subscriptions, may have to be reduced.
In addition, it was reported that those people who feel that they just cannot get to grips with their current expenditure by themselves should obtain independent guidance from the likes of the Buyer Credit Counselling Service and Citizens Advice.
Those Britons who are concerned about their ability to cope in the face of rising energy costs, might wish to consider taking out a debt consolidation loan. In doing this, borrowers could find that they are able to merge numerous constraints on their finances at once leaving them with low-cost monthly repayments. Such a loan could turn out to be particularly useful for a lot of after a study by uSwitch unveiled that some 4.5 million Britons are currently struggling to heat their houses.
