October 12th, 2023, YouGov
Rising interest rates have left some Britons with mortgages wondering how they’re going to financially cope. One method might be cutting back: a YouGov poll of 631 mortgagers shows that, when asked about the sacrifices they plan to make over the next six months, over half (53%) say they intend to do less shopping for non-essential items, while 45% plan to cut down on food – either buying less of it, or buying cheaper food – and the same proportion plan to reduce leisure activities.
Two in five (40%) plan to go on fewer holidays, or put less money into savings (39%), and nearly as many say they intend to reduce their use of utilities (37%). A quarter intend to cut regular subscriptions (27%).
Just three in ten (29%) said they planned to make no cutbacks at all.
Another option for navigating the cost of living crisis: asking mortgage providers for help. Two-thirds said their provider had not offered any support at all, while 16% said they had been offered a payment break. Some 7% said they were offered an extension on the mortgage, 5% were offered a temporary switch to an interest-only mortgage, and 4% said they were offered a permanent switch to an interest-only mortgage.
Mortgagers don’t generally claim that providers have badly informed them: 84% said they were aware of all the charges and fees they would have to pay, and 69% said they had considered the impact of increasing interest rates and felt confident they would be able to cope.
Half (51%) also said they had discussed the impact of rising interest rates with their mortgage broker. Nearly three in five also disagreed when asked if they regretted borrowing money for their mortgage because of rising interest rates (58%).