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A MoneySuperMarket survey found that UK adults reported an average of £725.15 left each month after household bills, housing and other essential spending, £175.76 less than in October 2025. The survey also found reported after-tax income fell faster than reported monthly outgoings; the figures are survey averages, not a measure of every household’s finances.
UK adults reported having an average of £725.15 left each month after bills, housing and other essential spending, £175.76 less than in October 2025, according to MoneySuperMarket survey data. The finding points to pressure on household budgets as essential costs rise and reported after-tax income falls, although it is an average drawn from a survey rather than a record of every household’s finances.
MoneySuperMarket’s Household Money Index found that respondents reported spending an average of £1,477.85 a month across 31 household bills and everyday outgoings. That was lower than the reported £1,657.67 in October 2025 and £1,533.80 in 2024. But respondents’ reported monthly income after tax fell by more: the average was £2,203, down £355.58 from £2,558.58 in October 2025.
As a result, the share of income going on bills and everyday costs rose to 67 per cent, compared with 65 per cent a year earlier, MoneySuperMarket said. The company’s figures are based on a recent survey of 8,000 UK adults conducted by Opinium. They describe what respondents reported, rather than a complete official measure of household income or spending.
The report also recorded a shorter-term squeeze between July and October 2026. Average monthly outgoings rose by £23.31, from £1,454.54 to £1,477.85, while reported after-tax income increased by £2.50. MoneySuperMarket calculated that respondents therefore had £20.81 less left after outgoings over that period. The source material links pressure to rising food and energy costs, but does not quantify how much each cost contributed to the change.
The reported fall in money left over matters because it suggests less room in household budgets for discretionary spending, saving or unexpected costs after essential bills are paid. MoneySuperMarket found that people were responding by cutting back on subscriptions, streaming services, gaming and gym spending. Those choices indicate where some respondents are reducing costs, but the survey does not establish how widely each cut is being made or whether households can keep reducing non-essential spending.
The figures also show why a lower average outgoings total does not necessarily mean households are better off. Respondents reported spending less than a year earlier, but their reported income fell by more, leaving less money after costs. The index is a snapshot of reported averages; it cannot show the full range of experiences, including how pressures differ by household size, income or personal circumstances.
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Pay, Prices and Tax Thresholds
The report places the household findings alongside wider pressures on earnings and prices. It says average wages rose by 3.7 per cent over the past year, compared with inflation of 3.5 per cent. Those figures suggest only a small difference between wage growth and inflation, but they do not by themselves describe each household’s change in purchasing power or account for individual pay rises and expenses.
The source also notes that income tax thresholds were left frozen in the Budget. The personal allowance—the point at which income tax starts—has remained at £12,570 since 2021. If earnings rise while thresholds stay fixed, some people may pay tax or move into a higher band as their income increases. The article attributes a wider warning to Helen Miller, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, who described the outlook for households as “depressing” and said the decade was set to be the worst on record for household income growth.
A separate Resolution Foundation estimate cited in the report projects that typical working-age households’ disposable income could fall by £1,050, or 3 per cent, by 2029. That is a projection from a think tank, not a result measured by the MoneySuperMarket survey. Another measure, Asda’s Income Tracker, was reported as showing average weekly discretionary income of £262 in July to September 2026, up £9.34 from the same quarter in 2025. The tracker nevertheless identified a squeeze for lower- and middle-income households, illustrating that averages and different measures can tell different parts of the story.
““We’ve been holding off putting the central heating on because we’re conscious of how much it could add to our bills.””
— Charlie Shardlow, speaking to This Is Money
Survey Averages Leave Gaps
The survey does not identify how much of the reported change was caused by energy bills, food prices, housing costs, changes in income or other factors. The source report refers to inflation and the war in Iran as drivers of rising everyday costs, but provides no breakdown that measures their separate effects. It is also unclear from the material provided whether the October 2025 and October 2026 samples used identical methods and respondent profiles.
The figures should not be read as showing that every person in Britain has £725.15 left each month, or that each person’s remaining income fell by £175.76. They are reported averages from a survey. The source excerpt also ends partway through its description of Asda’s findings on lower- and middle-income households, so further detail about those groups is not available here.
Next Household Budget Readings
The figures are a snapshot, and the supplied report does not give a date for the next MoneySuperMarket Household Money Index release. Future survey results would show whether respondents’ reported income, spending and money left over continue to move in the same direction. Readers should distinguish those updates from official inflation and earnings statistics, which measure different things.
For now, the clearest confirmed finding is that the MoneySuperMarket survey recorded a £175.76 year-on-year fall in average reported money remaining after monthly costs. The scale and causes of pressure on individual households remain dependent on their incomes, essential bills and circumstances.
Key Questions
What does the £176 figure measure?
It is the rounded difference between the £725.15 average reported as left each month after bills, housing and other essentials and the £900.91 reported in October 2025. MoneySuperMarket based the comparison on survey responses.
How many people were surveyed?
The report says 8,000 adults across the UK took part in a recent survey conducted by Opinium. The supplied material does not give further details about the sample or survey methodology.
Did household spending rise over the year?
Not in the reported averages: monthly outgoings were £1,477.85, compared with £1,657.67 in October 2025. However, reported after-tax income fell by more, which is why the average amount left after costs was lower.
Does the figure mean every household has £725 left?
No. It is an average from survey responses, not a statement about each household. Individual budgets vary, and the reported figure does not show the full distribution of respondents’ finances.
What remains unknown about the squeeze?
The report does not quantify how much food, energy or other costs contributed individually to the change, or establish how the burden differs across all household types. It also does not make the survey average a forecast of future spending power.
Source: thisismoney.co.uk
