Fuel and travel costs are pushing prices up again
Thursday 5 November 2026
Inflation has risen to 3.1%, meaning everyday spending is getting more expensive just as household budgets are already under pressure.
Key term
What it means
Net worth measures wealth at a point in time. Count things such as savings, property and the value of private pensions, then subtract debts such as mortgages and loans. If debts are greater than what is owned, net worth can be negative. Different surveys count some items differently, so check what a published wealth figure includes. It is different from income, which is money received over a period.
Example
Someone has a home worth £200,000 and £10,000 in savings, and owes £150,000 on the mortgage. With no other assets or debts in this made-up example, net worth is £60,000—not the home's full £200,000 value.
Why it matters
A high income does not necessarily mean a household has savings or other wealth to fall back on. Debt also changes the picture.
Also known as
net wealth
Related terms
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Capital gains tax
A tax that may be due on the gain when someone sells or otherwise gives up an asset that has risen in value.
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Income inequality
The gap between people or households in the money they receive.
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Inheritance tax
A UK tax that may be due on the estate of someone who has died.
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Intergenerational wealth transfer
Money or other wealth passed from an older generation to a younger one.
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Top 1% wealth share
The share of all measured wealth owned by the wealthiest one in every hundred people or households.
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Wealth concentration
How much of a group's total wealth is held by a small number of its people or households.
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Wealth inequality
The gap between people in what they own, after subtracting what they owe.
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Wealth percentile
A point on a wealth ranking divided into hundredths, showing how someone's wealth compares with others'.
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Wealth tax
A proposed or existing tax on the value of wealth someone owns, often after subtracting debts.
Read more
Keep in the loop
News
Highlights from about the UK economy, the UK government and the UK public sector.
Mortgage relief will have to wait a little longer
Wednesday 4 November 2026
Interest rates are staying at 3.75%, so households with mortgages and other borrowing may have to wait longer for costs to come down.
Energy bills are going up as winter approaches
Wednesday 4 November 2026
A higher energy price cap means many households will be paying more to heat and power their homes during the colder months.
Guides and insights
Analysis
Clear, accessible analysis of the economic issues shaping everyday life
Living standards
What does a day’s work buy?
Comparing the cost of everyday life across generations, from bread and beer to buying a home.
Food & prices
The journey behind your grocery bill
How farming, energy, transport and supermarket competition shape the price on the shelf.
Prices & inflation
Inflation is falling. What happens next?
What slower price rises mean for wages, purchasing power and economic recovery.
Shared prosperity
What would shared prosperity look like?
Beyond GDP: how we could measure economic success through security, opportunity and living standards.
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