Financial wellbeing in August 2026

Consumer confidence in their future household finances and the future of the UK economy continues to improve. Confidence in their future household financial situation is now -7 points compared to -9 points in July; and confidence in the future UK economy is now -36 points compared to -39 points in July.
The proportion of households making adjustments to cover essential spending (such as cutting back on essentials, dipping into savings, selling possessions or borrowing) eased to 46% in the month to 12th August. It was 51% in the month to 10th July.
The proportion of missing payments was effectively static. One in fifteen UK households (6.9%) reported missing a housing, bill, loan or credit card payment in the month to 12th August compared to 6.8% in the month to 10th July. This nudges it closer to the average over the last three years at 7.1%.

You can view more data and articles from our monthly tracker survey on our dedicated Consumer Insight Tracker page.

Consumer confidence in their future household situation and the future of the UK economy continue to improve

Consumer confidence in their future household financial situation now stands at -7 points in August; this is the percentage of people who said they thought their household finances would improve (21%) in the next 12 months less the percentage who believe they will worsen (28%). This consumer confidence metric has now seen four consecutive monthly improvements. This is a 16 point increase from the 2026 low of -23 points in April 2026. The annual average level of consumer confidence over the past 14 years of us collecting this data* is -8 points. Thus the current level is close to that long term mean level.

Confidence in the future UK economy now stands at -36 points, and is also the fourth consecutive monthly improvement. This was from a 2026 low in April 2026 of -62 points. To put the current -36 points in context, the average level of confidence since 2012* is -25 points.

Confidence in their current household financial situation now stands at +21 points. The August 2026 change saw the gain in July mostly reversed (it was +27 in July). The average since 2012* has been +23 points.

* between 2012 and 2020 the number and timing of waves varied; all years counted equally when averaging.

Monthly consumer confidence since 2010

Source: Which? Consumer Insight Tracker. Approximately 2,000 respondents per wave. UK level data are weighted to represent the adult population of the UK by age, gender, region, social grade, working status and housing tenure. Future measures ask consumers if they think things will get better or worse over the next 12 months

Pensioners have the lowest levels of confidence in the future of their finances and the economy

Not all types of household are experiencing the same increase in confidence in the future.

On confidence in their future household finance situation:

Working age non-parents have seen the biggest rise in their confidence levels since April 2026 of 19 points, going from -21 to -2 points.
Working age parents saw their April to July rise in confidence levels fall back a bit in August and now their net gain since April is 13 points (going from -7 to +6 points).
Pensioners had a large rise between April and May (18 points), but since then any further uplift has been minimal (-36 to -35 points). Pensioners still have the lowest levels of confidence in their future household situation.

On the future of the UK economy:

Working age non-parents’ confidence rose substantially in August by 10 points to -32 points (from -43 in July)
Working age parents’ confidence dropped 8 points (from -21 to -29 points)
Pensioners’ confidence dropped one point to -54 points.

Mirroring pensioners' low confidence in their future household situation, pensioners have the lowest levels of confidence in the future of the UK economy

Source: Which? Consumer Insight Tracker. Approximately 2,000 respondents per wave. Data for demographic groups are unweighted and samples vary between waves. Typical sample sizes per wave range from 528-578 for working age parents, 982-1,052 for working age non-parents and 473-539 for pensioners (based on middle quartiles). Future measures ask consumers if they think things will get better or worse over the next 12 months.

The number of households making financial adjustments improves for a second month

The level of households making a financial adjustment to cover essential spending, such as cutting back on essentials, dipping into savings, selling possessions or borrowing, has fallen for a second month. The financial adjustment rate now stands at 46%, down from 51% in the month to 10th July 2026. This is now more favourable than the average for 2025 which was 49%, and a significant improvement over the average levels seen over 2024 at 51% and 2023 at 57%.

Less than half of households (46%) reported making adjustments in the month to 12th August

Source: Which? Consumer Insight Tracker. Approximately 2,000 respondents per wave. UK level data are weighted to represent the adult population of the UK by age, gender, region, social grade, working status and housing tenure. Question text: Which, if any, of the following adjustments has your household made to cover essential spending in the last month?: Used an overdraft facility; Took out a new credit card or borrowed more than usual using an existing card; Borrowed money or received financial support from friends/family; Took out a short term loan; Cut back spending on essential household items compared to last month; Took money out of a savings account; Sold or pawned belongings; Used a Buy Now Pay Later product for essentials such as groceries; Other similar financial action

The levels of financial adjustment are higher for renters with the latest figure (in the month to 12th August) of 58% and an average over the last 12 months of 62%. Those who own with a mortgage are next at 51% in August and an average of 54% over the last 12 months. Finally, those who own their house outright are lower at 33% this month and an average of 37% over the last 12 months.

Missed payments rates hold on to the improvement in the previous month

In the month to 10th July the missed payment rate was 6.8% which was a solid drop from the prior month (to 10th June) at 9.1%. In the month to 12th August, virtually all of that improvement carried forward with a rate of 6.9%. This will be welcome news that recent improvements have been held, but rates are still higher than they were in 2021 at an annual average of 6.4%.

The proportion of households missing a household payment held steady in the month to 12 August

The level of missed payments over the last 12 months is significantly higher for those renting at 12.7% compared to those who own a property with a mortgage at 5.6%, and those who own outright at 2.2%. For those renting, unlike property owners (with mortgage or mortgage free), the trajectory of missed payments since the start of 2026 has been increasing. This highlights the greater pressures being felt by renting households.

For renters the missed payments level has worsened since the start of the year

Source: Which? Consumer Insight Tracker. Approximately 2,000 respondents per wave. UK level data are weighted to represent the adult population of the UK by age, gender, region, social grade, working status and housing tenure. Approximate base sizes per month: owned outright 800; owned with mortgage 500; renters 650. Question text: Which of the following has your household done relating to the following payments in the last month: Mortgage payment; Rent payment; Loan or credit card payment; Bills (e.g. phone, utilities, council tax) - Missed or defaulted on a payment

Summary

Consumer confidence in their future household finances and the future of the UK economy continue to improve. However neither has reached net positive territory. The August value of confidence in future household finances of -7 points is around the average we have seen since 2012 (when we started collecting this data) of -8 points. But the consumer confidence in the future UK economy August value of -36 points is around 10 points below the average since 2012.

There was a welcome improvement in the easing of the level of financial adjustments that are being made, but the level of missed payments remained static. These figures show there is a lot of work to do for the new Government to help those financially struggling with the core costs of living.

Methodology

Fieldwork for Which?'s Consumer Insight Tracker since 2021 has been conducted monthly by Yonder on behalf of Which?. Prior to 2021 the number of waves per year varied: 2012 = 2; 2013 = 6 to 9 depending on confidence metric; 2014 = 12; 2015 = 5; 2016 = 3; 2017 to 2019 = 6; 2020 = 11. Each wave data are weighted to represent the adult population of the UK by age, gender, region, social grade, working status and housing tenure.

The latest wave of data collection took place between 12th to 13th August. A sample of 2,082 UK adults were surveyed online and weighted to be nationally representative.