Half households cut back on food as recession bites

Half of households are cutting back on basic food spend while 10% are having to borrow money from friends and family as a direct result of Ireland’s ongoing financial crisis.

Figures revealed by the CSO show that, despite attempts to kickstart the economy, families are still doing without the most basic parts of life.

According to the figures, which can be read in full at irishexaminer.com, 83% of households have cut back on food, clothes, entertainment, utilities, or other items over the past 12 months.

There were a number of basic spending areas where people had been forced to make cutbacks, including groceries (51%), clothing and footwear (65%), health insurance (25%), and pension contributions (17%).

The CSO also found that 28% of respondents had used their savings to pay bills, 10% had borrowed money off friends or family and 4% had been forced to take on a second job.

The cost of maintaining a roof over their heads was also a serious concern, with 14% of owner-occupied households unable to meet their mortgage payments on time at least once in the 12 months before the survey and 19% of rental households failing to pay rent on time at least once.

Overall, 40% of households said that they had experienced difficulties in meeting their bills and debts. That was a particular concern for single parent households, 69% of whom said they were having difficulty. Just 27% of over-65 year-olds were having such problems.

Unsurprisingly, the biggest reason people gave for struggling to pay their debts was the loss of a job,a reason given by 44% of relevant households.

Reduction in usual hours worked was given as the reason by 22% and a reduction in hourly pay was mentioned by 16%.

When all respondents were asked about the level of concern they had about their debts, 13% said they were very concerned, 27% were somewhat concerned. However, the remaining 60% did say they were not concerned at all.

Overall, 50% of people believe their personal finances are worse now than 12 months ago, with just 5% suggesting there has been any upturn in fortunes.

The CSO found 39% of people have no savings left, while 25% are using their savings to pay for basic goods and services.

Austerity Ireland

- 83% of people have cut back on at least one category of spending in the last 12 months.

- 28% have used their savings to pay bills; 10% have been forced to borrow money from friends or family; while 4% have taken on a second job.

- 47% said a “loss of income” was the main reason for the reduction; this was overshadowed by 73% who said “higher than expected additional costs” such as utility bills was the biggest factor.

- 39% have no savings left, while 25% are using their savings to pay for basic goods and services.

- 51% have cut back on basic grocery spending.

- 14% of house owners missed at least one monthly mortgage repayment in the 12 months before the survey. This rises to 25% among one parent families and 45% among the unemployed.

- 19% of renters have also been unable to pay their rent for at least one month in the past year.

- 50% of people believe their personal finances are worse now than 12 months ago, with just 5% suggesting there has been any upturn in fortunes.

- 43% are having “great or some” difficulty in paying bills, which breaksdown as 41% among the employed and 73% among the unemployed.

- The figure is highest among single parents (69%) and lowest among one-person homes where the person is aged over 65 (27%).