RUNNING HOME COSTS HALF PAY

NEARLY half of workers’ take-home pay now goes on running a home, new figures show.

The cost of mortgages and household bills is approaching £20,000 a year – some 45 per cent of the net income in households where two adults earn the average yearly wage of £27,600.

A report by insurer More Than also found that the combined monthly cost of items such as council tax, gas, electricity and water typically adds up to more than mortgages. More Than’s Graham Nicholls said: “It shows how stretched people are to put a roof over their heads.”