More than half of us regularly run out of money before pay day, a new report reveals.

And more than two-thirds of workers aged 16 to 24 find it most difficult to stretch their wages to last.

The UK areas struggling the most were London, Wales and Northern Ireland, according to a study of more than 10,000 workers by the Yorkshire Building Society.

And it’s leading to the lowest savings-to -income ratio level since 1963.

The Yorkshire estimates 7.5million working people do not save and two in five of those questioned said they were worried about their finances.

Mike Regnier, the Society’s chief executive, said: “We’re a nation of spenders, not savers, as a result of the everyday challenges that can reduce our ability to manage our money.”

With even the hardest workers struggling to make ends meet it’s no wonder many are being forced to go to payday lenders with their vast interest rates and fees.

Exclusive research for Mirror Money shows by the end of this month those turning to payday loans will have shelled out more than £214million – that works out at £28 per second.

The myth at the moment is that payday lending isn’t the big deal it used to be as Wonga has gone bust and the Financial Conduct Authority has stepped in to ensure that people don’t pay back more than twice what they borrowed.

But it is still very much a big source of lending for huge chunks of society, such as NHS workers and those in supermarkets and fast-food chains.

According to Wagestream – the ‘get paid as you go’ online platform that allows employees to access wages as and when they need them – there are a whole raft of payday firms with APRs ranging from 49% to almost 2,000%.

The APRs are calculated based on repaying loans over a year, while most payday loans are meant to be short-term fixes.

It is still an expensive way to borrow, and shocking that so many workers are turning to this high-cost credit simply to get them through the month.

Take control of your finances

  • Work out a budget. Create two columns: In – wages, benefits, pensions. Out – your regular essential bills, including rent, energy, council tax, insurances, debt repayments, food and travel. Then you can see what you have left to spend each month.
  • If money is tight, check to ensure you aren’t overpaying for things like energy and insurance. Make sure you don’t simply renew at the end of deals and always compare prices to get best deals.
  • If you don’t have enough to cover the basics, make sure you’re not missing out on any financial help you may be entitled to. Do a benefits check at turn2us.org.
  • If you are in a constant struggle to make ends meet, get free, independent advice from a debt charitiy such as your local Citizens Advice or Stepchange Debt Charity at 0800 138 1111 or stepchange.org. Or call the National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.