Research shows Scots continue to cut back, skip meals and lose sleep over their finances

The Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker, produced by the David Hume Institute and the Diffley Partnership, marks its second birthday, showing many Scots continue to take extreme measures to navigate turbulent economic times:

• 1 in 6 people (17%) report skipping meals

• 1 in 5 people are using ‘buy now pay later’ payment plans

• 2 out of 3 people (67%) are not putting the heating on to reduce costs

For many, the ongoing challenges with the cost of living are dominating their lives with:

• 3 in 10 (29%) Scots telling us they are losing sleep due to their personal finances

Many Scots are living with severe financial precarity:

• 3 in 10 people (28%) are not confident of covering a £100 emergency expense – up three percentage points since February 2023. 

• This rises to 1 in 2 (49%) for an emergency expense of £500. 

The survey also shows 8 in 10 Scots perceive the economy as favouring the wealthy (78%), while 53% believe it primarily serves business interests.  Only 1 in 10 (10%) believe that the economy works in their own interest.

Healthcare (48%) and cost of living (42%) remain among the top concerns for Scots. 

Over three-fifths of Scots (62%) view the cost of living and inflation as a key economic priority, though this is down five percentage points from August. Poverty has become a significant concern for 32% of respondents, up three percentage points from August.

The Understanding Scotland Economy Tracker survey gathers economic attitudes and insights from more than 2,000 members of the Scottish adult population every 3 months to track changes over time. 

Mark Diffley, Founder and Director of Diffley Partnership, said: 

“Broadly speaking, our latest data confirms that the public is still gripped by the costs of living crisis.  There are signs that the economic outlook of Scots is becoming slightly less pessimistic. Compared to last year, a smaller proportion of Scots think economic conditions will continue to get significantly worse; however, the underlying trend remains, including the fact that the economic crisis continues to have greatest impact on the most economically vulnerable and it feels like it still has a long way to run.”

Susan Murray, Director of the David Hume Institute said: 

“Since we started the survey two years ago, we’ve sadly seen people struggling to make ends meet.  One in three people are now telling us they couldn’t cope if they had an emergency expense of £100. It is not surprising to see more people getting into debt. 

Worrying about money all the time will take its toll on people’s health and the health of the next generation. This survey poses challenges for the Chancellor - who gets prioritised in the Autumn statement – those who are sitting comfortably or those living on the edge?”

Ends

Additional notes

Designed by the Diffley Partnership, the survey received 2,218 responses from a representative sample of the adult population, aged 16+, across Scotland. Invitations were issued online using the ScotPulse panel, and fieldwork was conducted between the 1st-9th November. Results are weighted to the Scottish population (2020 estimates) by age and gender.