Third of families 'may cut back for a year'

More than a third of families with children living at home expect to be making financial sacrifices for up to a year potentially after the coronavirus lockdown ends, a survey has found. Across the general population, a quarter (25%) anticipate making cutbacks for this period of time, according to comparethemarket.com’s latest financial confidence tracker, which surveyed more than 2,100 adults across the UK from May 1 to 3. Among those who were not confident about the future of their finances, a growing proportion said their work circumstances had worsened, perhaps because they had been furloughed, received a pay cut or lost their job. Anna McEntee, product director at comparethemarket.com, said: “The fact that so many households with children expect to make financial sacrifices for years to come shows the stark impact of Covid-19 on our lives for the long term, especially for those who need to look after dependants.