TODAY marks a year since the EU referendum.

Here Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief of money.co.uk, looks at what has changed.

“A year on from the Brexit vote and we still don’t aren’t any clearer on what the future holds," she says.

"We are all playing a waiting game and the reality is we need to get comfortable with uncertainty until we’ve disentangled ourselves fully from the EU – this will take time.

“Our wallets have started to take a hit; thanks to the fall in the value of sterling food, fuel and energy prices have risen since the vote and when you travel your holiday money now buys you less in many parts of the world.

"Wage growth has slowed despite increases to minimum pay and the Bank of England base rate has remained at rock bottom, frustrating savers who are getting little in return."

Good

More of us are in work: Unemployment fell to 4.6% in April – the joint lowest rate since 1975.

Bad news for landlords, good for tenants: Average rents have fallen for the first time in eight years to £901 a month; 0.3% lower than the previous year – although this varies significantly at a regional level.

Mortgage rates are at record low: The cheapest two-year fixed mortgage is now 0.99% with a £1,495 fee.

Small boost for savers: Savings rates, although still lower than inflation, have crept up slightly with the best buy two-year fixed rate account paying 2% AER.

Property market cooling: House price growth has tailed off slightly although the average property now costs somewhere between £207,699 and £220,706 according to latest figures. The picture differs at a regional level with London and South East prices dropping.

Middle ground

Consumer spending coming under control: We’re spending less on luxury goods than before Christmas with an annual fall of 1.2% on non-food purchases.

In May year on year spending increased just 0.9% - the lowest annual growth since April 2013.

Sensible spending isn’t good news for British businesses but it shows we’re more in control of our money than before Christmas when spending peaked.

Bad

Inflation has soared: It’s now at 2.9% up from 0.5% in June last year.

This is predominantly a result of falling sterling and the increased cost of importing goods from abroad which is starting to hit our wallets.

Fall in the value of sterling: You now get fewer Euros and Dollars for your pound so going abroad costs more and your holiday cash will buy you less while you’re there - £500 currently gets you about €560 or $620.

Rising energy costs: There have been major energy price hikes from five of the six big suppliers and British Gas is expected to hike prices from August. The average variable tariff is now around £1,129 per year and the cheapest tariff around £880 per year.

Real wages aren’t keeping up: While on average wages grew 2.1% in the year to April (including bonuses) they fell 0.4% in real terms because they aren’t keeping up with inflation.

Sluggish economy: Economic growth slowed slightly more than expected to just 0.2% in the first quarter of 2017.

Hannah says: “We have to remember all the big stats are based on averages – whether it’s inflation, wages or house price growth.

"How and if you’ll be affected depends entirely on what you’re spending money on.

“It’s not all bad; mortgage rates are still at a record low, savings rates are creeping up slightly thanks to challenger brands, unemployment has fallen and it looks like house prices and rents are becoming slightly more affordable too.

"We’re starting to be more measured in our spending and borrowing which will put less pressure on our household finances if prices continue to rise.

“Don’t waste time stressing about what Brexit might mean for your finances, focus on getting on top of them instead so you’re in the best possible place to enjoy whatever happens down the line.

"It’s as simple as keeping track of what cash you’ve got coming in and going out, looking for easy ways to pay big companies less – like switching your mortgage - paying off expensive borrowing and squirreling away any spare cash you can afford so you have an emergency fund to fall back on just in case times get tight.”