Articles > Disposeable Income Falls

Despite rising salaries, the amount of disposable income left in people’s pockets after meeting all the necessary bills and taxes is actually falling, and is currently at its lowest level for a decade.

There are many things contributing to the diminishing cash in our collective wallets, rises in utility bills are the biggest culprits for most, with heating the average home now nearly fifty percent more expensive than it was a decade ago.

Those repaying a mortgage will have had their ‘fun money’ cut back of late even more so, as rises to the base repo rate have worked through into the mortgage market, resulting in higher monthly repayments for those on a variable rate.

All this makes for pretty glum reading, but there are steps you can take to make sure that more of your hard-earned money stays in your pocket (or at least gets spent on things you actually want to spend it on).

Switching energy supplier can be a good way to make savings – there is competition in the market, and many people will be able to get a deal that would lower their monthly bill, although shopping around for their gas and electricity may not be everyone’s idea of fun, the time spent doing so can pay dividends.

If mortgage repayments are eating into your cash, then you should consider remortgaging – although we are in a rise phase of the rate cycle, there are still deals to be had, especially for those who have recently come off a fixed-rate term and have reverted back to the lender’s standard variable rate, which tends to be higher than other available deals.

Another thing you could do to improve the levels of disposable income available to you is to get a pay rise, although this is usually easier said than done. Changing jobs is generally the best way to climb the wage ladder.

If you are finding that you do have depressingly little money left over each month, then the fact that Christmas is just around the corner probably won’t be bringing much cheer. Being short on cash around this time of the year isn’t uncommon, a personal loan can help to tide you over until the new year, but saving before hand is always going to be the cheaper option.