Is £40,000 really a liveable income for families in the UK?
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released the 2011 Family Spending Survey.
This reveals how the average income for a British family with two adults working is £40,000 a year. But while there are people who feel well-off living on this, for others it is a daily struggle. As predicted, the Survey found households in rural areas had higher overall expenditure than urban areas.
The figures showed a fall in spending on clothing, health, recreation and restaurants alongside a significant rise in spending on education, housing, water and electricity. Worryingly, data from Credit Action, a national financial education charity, found the average household debt (including mortgages) to be £55,792.
“It doesn’t matter if you have £10,000 or £100,000 a year if you spend more than your income that’s when you get into trouble,” says Paul Lewis, presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Money Box.