3 in 10 London parents use their overdraft most months
New Equifax survey reveals parents spend around £1,656.51 per child per school year on extracurricular costs
New research commissioned by Equifax, the credit information provider, illustrates the financial challenges some families are facing on a monthly basis. New pressure comes with the increase in the Bank of England base rate with 3 in 10 parents living in London confirming they go into their overdraft facility in an average month.1
When it comes to the financial strain facing families, 33% of parents confirmed they have missed monthly credit card payments compared to the national average 25%. 47% of families surveyed in London believed that they would be able to survive financially for up to 4 months if they lost their job. However, nearly a quarter (23%) said they would only be able to last a month or less financially if they faced this situation.
"With the Bank of England making its first interest rate increase in a decade, UK households may well be worried about what it means to their budgets," explains Lisa Hardstaff, consumer credit information expert at Equifax. "It may not sound like a big rise, but even an additional small amount added to an already tight household budget can add financial pressure."
The Equifax commissioned research also highlights the added financial pressure on parents during the school year. According to the research, parents in London spend on average £1,656.51 per school year per child on extracurricular activities, uniform, wrap-around care, school lunches and technology compared with the National average of £1,400. With government cuts in education funding, many schools have a school voluntary fund which can cost the parents surveyed on average an additional £13 per term. Extracurricular activities add up to £105.46, whilst wrap-around care costs £200.93per term. With school lunches costing £143.76 a term per child, it’s easy to see how the costs soon mount up.
"Our survey shows that whilst 61% of London families appear to be managing their current budgets others are struggling to pay their credit card debt, leaving them vulnerable to additional charges", added Lisa Hardstaff. "As we start to enter the Christmas period which traditionally can add additional pressure to already financially stretched families we urge them to use a budget planner so they can see all their financial commitments and help to prioritise payments."
The Equifax Budget Planner can be downloaded from here
ref1ENDS
1All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from OnePoll. Total sample size was 2,000 adults that have children between the age of 4 – 16 years old. Fieldwork was undertaken between 8th to 22nd August 2017. The survey was carried out online
For further press information, please contact: Clare Watson, Cecile Stearn, Parm Heer or Wendy Harrison at HSL on 020 8977 9132 / Fax: 020 8977 5200 or Email: equifaxbtocteam@harrisonsadler.com
About Equifax
Equifax Inc. (Equifax) is a global information solutions company that uses trusted unique data, innovative analytics, technology and industry expertise to power organizations and individuals around the world by transforming knowledge into insights that help make more informed business and personal decisions. The company organizes, assimilates and analyzes data on more than 820 million consumers and more than 91 million businesses worldwide, and its database includes employee data contributed from more than 7,100 employers
Headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., Equifax operates or has investments in 24 countries in North America, Central and South America, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. It is a member of Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500® Index, and its common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the symbol EFX. Equifax employs approximately 9,900 employees worldwide.
Some noteworthy achievements for the company include: Named to the Top 100 American Banker FinTech Forward list (2015-2016); named a Top Technology Provider on the FinTech 100 list (2004-2016); named an InformationWeek Elite 100 Winner (2014-2015); named a Top Workplace by Atlanta Journal Constitution (2013-2017); named one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies (2011-2015); named one of Forbes’ World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies (2015-2017). For more information, visit www.equifax.com
Equifax Limited is one of the Equifax group companies based in the UK.
Equifax Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.