More than half of UK adults expect to be worse off following the Autumn Budget, with many households struggling to cover essential bills and increasingly relying on credit to manage unexpected costs, research from Creditspring has found.

The survey found that 52% expect to be worse off after the Chancellor’s announcement on Wednesday, compared with just 12% who anticipate being better off. One in six adults (17%) said they could not cover essential costs if their main household income stopped, even using savings, while 31% would run out of money within two weeks.

Households’ ability to absorb unexpected expenses has deteriorated sharply. Just 39% could cover a surprise bill of £200–£500 from savings, down from 59% a year ago. More than half (53%) have less than £500 in emergency savings, while 19% have nothing set aside.

The pressure is driving people to borrow for everyday essentials. More than half of adults (53%) used credit or borrowed money to pay for at least one essential in the past year, including 27% who used it to buy food or groceries and 11% who borrowed to cover energy, heating or water bills. Almost one in five (19%) sold personal belongings to meet expenses.

Budget uncertainty is also affecting spending and longer-term decisions. Two in five adults (41%) have cut back on everyday purchases, while 28% are reducing their Christmas budgets. A further 7% have withdrawn, or plan to withdraw, pension savings early because of uncertainty surrounding the Budget.

Among 25–34-year-olds, 15% said they had delayed having children or starting a family until the Budget outcome became clearer. Financial pressures are also affecting wellbeing, with 27% reporting lost sleep over money in the past year and 17% saying they had argued with a partner or family member about finances.

Rising prices for essential goods and energy remain the leading Budget concerns, cited by 52% and 51% respectively. However, concern about fuel costs has risen most sharply, almost doubling from 19% a year ago to 37%. Help with energy bills was the most popular request for the Chancellor, cited by 46%, while 26% wanted a fuel duty cut or an extension of the existing freeze.

Tamsin Powell, consumer finance expert at Creditspring, said: “A year ago, most people could absorb a surprise bill from their savings. Today, most can’t. That is a dramatic shift in a very short space of time, and it means millions of households are going into this Budget with no margin for error.

“When one in four people are putting their food shopping on credit, people are selling their belongings to pay bills and young adults are putting off starting a family, the Budget can’t just be about long-term plans. It has to answer a much simpler question: can people afford the essentials this month?”

Regional differences were also evident. Yorkshire and the Humber was the most pessimistic region, with 59% expecting to be worse off after the Budget. In contrast, 45% of adults in Greater London expected their finances to deteriorate. The South West had the highest proportion of people with no emergency savings, at 25%, while in Glasgow the figure reached 32%, compared with 11% in Edinburgh.

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