Handy tips for making ends meet as pandemic hits Britons’ finances

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) just released a worrying report exposing the extent to which the pandemic has hit family finances.

The regulator's latest Financial Lives Survey suggested that one in four Britons now have "low financial resilience" - meaning they are over-indebted, have low levels of savings, or low or erratic earnings.

Its researchers found that young people and ethnic minorities more likely to have become vulnerable in 2020.

In October, 30% of 22,000 adults surveyed told researchers that they expect their household income to fall during the next six months, and 25% admitted they expected to struggle to make ends meet.

More than 16% expected to take on more debt, and a staggering 11% said that they were likely to use a food bank.

It comes after the UK's jobless rate rose to 5%, or 1.7 million people, in three months to the end of November.

In response to these stark figures , we thought we would share some tips on how to make the most of your cash:

Don't break the budget

If you've lost your job, or it's at risk, try to create a cash buffer. The finance and investment experts we have spoken to all suggested the first, and crucial, thing to do is to draw up a strict budget.

Go through your outgoings and cut down on any unnecessary payments, and set a realistic target for spending which will allow you to be careful while not living like Scrooge. If you are still in work, try to build up a bit of a cash buffer- ideally two to three months' worth of essential living costs as a rainy-day fund.

Look for a 0% credit card switch

Start by paying off the card with the highest interest rate first. If you are out of work, it is worth shopping around to try to find a 0% interest credit card to help stop debt piling up.

Check out Martin Lewis' MoneySavingExpert site, where the thrifty guru publishes guides to 0% credit cards with up to 20 months of interest-free spending.

Use an app to help you stretch money to the end of the month

Wagestream allows employers to sign up and let their employees draw on some of the following month's salary ahead of time, instead of having to resort to a lender. Millennial favourite online bank Monzo offers a similar feature.