It means many workers struggle to survive what seems like the toughest financial month of the year.
As Christmas bills hit doormats, festive cheer is replaced by rummaging purses and wallets in a hunt for spare change before pay day at the end of January.
Women fall short more so than men, having just £26.63 in their pockets compared to men with £30.29.
The joint research by food brands Hellmann’s, Marmite and Knorr found six in 10 Brits brand January the hardest month financially.
Despite being strapped for cash, the research found that many people fail to shop in a cost effective way.
A shocking eight in 10 confessed to mistakenly buying ingredients they already have at home.
The average kitchen cupboard and fridge contains 76 basic ingredients, meaning households have £108.63 worth of food left on the shelf.
The average household usually spends an eye-watering £75.03 a week on their food shop alone – with Londoners forking out £84.76 – not surprising to see why funds rapidly decline.
