More than a third of people in England, Wales and Scotland are cutting back on food and essentials in order to help with the cost of living, a new survey shows.
The latest figures from the ONS show that 9 in 10 people - or around 46 million people -- have seen their cost of living go up in the last month.
More than half of the people over 55 and 74 are reducing how much gas and electricity they use at home, with that figure rising to nearly 6 in 10 older people aged between 55 and 74, according to the research carried out between the end of March and June 19th.
57% of people who had seen their cost of living go up were spending less on non-essential items and 42% were cutting back on non-essential journeys in their vehicles, according to the data.
A government spokeswoman said: "We have been involved in helping households by phasing in 37 billion worth of support throughout the year, which includes specific support to help people through the difficult winter ahead." Over the winter, 400 people will be given to help with energy bills. She says it means that any holidays or extras we want to do, we're unable to do. Nearly a quarter of those who were seeing a rise in their cost of living had used savings to cover their costs, and 13% reported using more credit than usual, according to the ONS research.
We will need to spend more money on supporting households over the rest of the year as energy bills go up even further.