Interest rates have gone up thirteen times since May 2022. Inflation calculators, which look at purchasing power over time, show that since 2022 there has been a ten percent decrease in the purchasing power of the dollar. A grocery shop that used to cost $200 now costs $220.

These pressures have forced many people to cut back on spending. Some are taking steps to reduce discretionary spending but are still able to afford the essentials. Others are struggling, juggling multiple debts and unable to afford the basics — food, rent and power bills.

This snapshot examines the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on ordinary people, drawing on the insights of financial counsellors and their clients, and explains how these services are responding to help people and influence financial services to create a fairer market.

The report finds that financial counsellors are at the front line of the cost-of-living crisis. The work they do to assist people struggling with debt and advocate for fairer laws and systems is crucial. It also finds, unfortunately, there’s no end in sight to the fight for laws and systems that benefit consumers. In any market, there will always be businesses that adapt their products and practices to evade the law. It takes regulators and law-makers time to catch up. We’re seeing this happen now, in real time, as lenders change their loan terms to evade new regulations.