The UK’s spending power fell to its lowest in 12 months in November
It seems the UK's shoppers are feeling less flush, after a new survey found they had £193 of spare cash last month – that's £14 a week, compared with November last year.
But while Asda's Income Tracker suggested weekly income has now risen by double digits for 13 months in a row, it was lower than the £17 a week average during most of the rest of 2015.
According to Asda, people are splashing the cash on so-called "big ticket items" – in the first half of 2015, spend on cars rose 11.5 per cent on the same period the year before, while purchases of jewellery increased 9.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, people bought more for their homes, with spending on furniture increasing 6.6 per cent, while people spent 8.7 per cent more on their gardens.
Meanwhile, thanks to falling oil prices, the cost of running a vehicle dipped 12.9 per cent in the first three quarters of 2015, compared with the same period of the year before.
"While growth in spending power has slowed to its lowest level in the past 12 months, the boost is still considerable – particularly given that spending power has risen on an annual basis for over two years," said Sam Alderson, an economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, which helped to compile the index.
"Buoyed by these increases, households have increased spending over the past year."