Poll: 20% of adults have no cash after paying bills

Almost 20% of adults have no money left once they pay essential bills each month and more than half have less than €100, according to the Irish League of Credit Unions.

In the third of its “What’s left?” tracker surveys, the ILCU also claims that 50% of people are now struggling to pay their bills on time and 42% of consumers have had to borrow money to make the payments in the last 12 months.

ILCU questioned 1,000 adults nationwide about their financial situation. From the answers, it extrapolated that 1,855,000 people now have less than €100 left at the end of each month once essential bills are paid. Of those, 630,000 had no money left at all. In July, when it completed its last survey, there were 602,000 in the position.

Overall, 29% of people are in a position to save any money on a monthly basis with the rest having to live on a month-by -month basis.

With insufficient funds available, the survey found 50% of people were forced to delay the payment of bills. The television license (17%) and bin charges (10%) were the most likely to be put on the long finger. One in 10 of those who were forced to seek financial support from others to pay their bills turned to a money lender, while 58% were able to get help from family or friends.

As part of the latest questionnaire, the public were asked about their fears over increasing energy charges, the upcoming budget and the property tax.

As regards December’s budget announcement, 47% said their biggest fear was an increase in income tax. That was followed by social welfare changes (16%) and fuel increases (14%).

Unsurprisingly, nine out of 10 said they were worried about the impact the overall budget will have on their incomes.

On fuel costs, 38% said they would struggle to manage if there was an increase in the cost of electricity and gas this winter and 13% said they would be forced to dip into savings to cover the higher bills.

As regards the property tax, 52% said they did not agree with its introduction because they had already paid a property tax when they made their stamp duty payment. Almost a quarter of those surveyed said that as their income was already stretched, they would be unable to pay the tax.

ILCU chief executive Kieron Brennan said for many, the challenge to simply survive continues.

“Disposable income continues to decrease with an increase of 35,000 in the numbers with just €100 or less at the end of the month (compared to July).

“Half of consumers are now living month to month, with only three in 10 able to save any money at the end month. This is the lowest level of those in a position to save since the tracker began in 2011.

“Also worryingly, consumer sentiment has fallen, particularly among those with little or no income left at the end of the month — 43% of this group now believe that there is no future for themselves or their family in this country.”