Chloe, Emily and Robert all spoke to the BBC about what they would like to see in the Budget
Chancellor John Healey has unveiled his first Budget.
He announced £100 energy payment for millions and a tax rise on banks, among other measures.
BBC News has been speaking to people on a range of incomes on how they feel about their finances and how the Budget affects them.
Infocard showing: Dave Herbert, 48 Status: Married, one child Job: Professional driver Income: £70,000 (combined) Housing: £700 pcm in mortgage. The picture on the right shows Dave, who has glasses and a short bushy grey beard, wearing a dark hoody.
Dave Herbert is a professional driver on £30,000 a year. He moves cars between showrooms and does deliveries and says fuel prices have been "crazy" this year.
He spends around £350 a month on petrol for work and personal use. That's 40% to 50% more than at the start of the year, he says.
He has to commute into Cardiff, a 62-mile round trip from his home in Ynysddu. "I'd love to have a hybrid car but even an entry-level used car is too expensive."
The 48-year-old, who is married with a 12-year-old daughter, says he has to find the extra money for fuel "from an already tight budget" and "dreads" filling up at the pump.
The only measure Dave wanted to see was a cut to fuel duty, and he was disappointed this didn't happen.
"I'm pretty angry, really. Nothing has been thrown my way," he says.
The main fuel duty rate has been frozen at 52.95p per litre until the summer, but Dave says: "It sounds like they're giving us something by keeping it frozen but they're actually still taking it off us."
'I get £4,062 a year. I'm frustrated there's no action on NEETs yet'
Infocard showing: Emily Nelson, 19 Status: Single Job: Not in work, employment, education or training Income: £4,062 in universal credit Housing: Lives rent free with parents. The picture on the right shows Emily, a young woman with long brown hair and glasses, smiling.
Emily Nelson completed her A-levels last year and like thousands of her peers has been unable to find a job since leaving college.
The 19-year-old from Swindon wants to be an animator but in the meantime is applying for retail and sales roles and apprenticeships. Most of the time, she doesn't hear back from potential employers.
"I'm trying my best, it's all you really can do. It's kind of suffocating in a way. You see everyone else managing, and you feel like you're not."
Emily was initially disappointed with the Budget, and then frustrated that the government is waiting for the outcome of a review into youth unemployment before legislating next year.
"I'm glad the government is aware, and that they have a plan," she said. "But it's a bit frustrating that we have to wait a little longer to find out what it is."
However, she adds: "It's not happened today, but it will happen."
She wants to see more funding to businesses so they can take on more young employees. She'd also like to see more money for training and the government's Jobs Guarantee scheme extended.
The scheme, being rolled out across England, Scotland and Wales, guarantees fully funded, six-month paid jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds who have been on universal credit and looking for work for 18 months. But Emily thinks people should be eligible after a year.
'I earn £22,000. Cost-of-living help doesn't go far enough'
Infocard showing: Robert Portlock, 29 Status: Single Job: Check-in agent at Newcastle Airport Income: £22,000 Housing: Paying £250 pcm to live with parents. The picture on the right shows Robert with a short brown beard and moustache, wearing a pink T-shirt.
Robert Portlock, 29, has always lived with his parents in Gateshead and would love to move out. But he doesn't think he can afford to.
Rent would be his biggest concern, he says, explaining that a small flat in his area would cost him about two-thirds of his monthly wage.
"Council tax and energy bills would add to it. Food too. I'd need a TV licence, broadband, my car and some money to socialise. By that point I'd be in the minus."
Robert's biggest expense currently is his car, which he says he needs for his 32-mile round trip to work at Newcastle Airport. But he's paying £750 a month in car finance, insurance, fuel and tax.
The Budget "doesn't go far enough", he says, adding he would have liked to have seen more help with the cost of living, including a cut in fuel duty.
The £100 household energy allowance over a year is less than £10 a month, he says, while action on tariffs on food items will save only £21 a year, or £1.75 per month.
"What am I going to buy with that - a Freddo?"
He would like to get on the housing ladder but for now it feels a distant prospect. The government has announced a scheme to help first-time buyers in England who have a deposit of 2.5%, but Robert says: "Saving for a house is impossible at the moment."
'I earn £41,000. Energy support will definitely help'
Infocard showing: Chloe Chin-Saad, 40 Status: Widow with one child Job: NHS research practitioner Income: £41,000 Housing: £650 rent in housing association. The picture on the right shows Chloe with her hair tied back in a ponytail, wearing black glasses and with a lanyard round her neck.
Chloe Chin-Saad's husband passed away four years ago and her biggest worry is the cost of living.
She's very grateful that the rent she pays on her south London maisonette is set below the market rate as it is housing association accommodation, but says life was easier when she shared the bills. "Two incomes make a massive difference."
She lives with her 16-year-old son, and says her energy bill has risen sharply over the past year and she now pays about £200 a month on gas and electricity.
"We try to be more aware, we think more about how long we run the hot water when we do the dishes."
Chloe, 40, and her son have cut back on luxuries like going to M&S and the cinema, and she now tries to limit the weekly food shop to £40.
But she can't do anything to reduce her £200 council tax bill, the £250 a month she pays on car finance, or the amount she spends on medicines for her various health conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis.
Two mobile phone bills, and food and pet insurance for her dog also add to her costs. She says the amount she has left over at the end of each month varies, and sometimes she is left with as little as £50.
Chloe says she is "pretty happy" with the Budget, and that "small changes give me hope".
Cutting standing charges on gas, and the £100 household energy payment for households in council tax bands A to D this winter are "definitely going to help", she says.
"It was quite a thoughtful Budget," she adds. "I can see, in years to come, light at the end of the tunnel."
'I earn £150,000. Higher earners like me should've been taxed more'
Infocard showing: Jonathan Whitwam, 52 Status: Married, with adult children Job: Financial director for a small business Income: £186,000 (combined) Housing: £2,300 pcm in mortgage
Jonathan Whitwam, who recently joined the Labour Party, works in finance and says, in addition to his mortgage, his biggest outgoing is supporting his two daughters through university. He and his wife, who live in Essex, pay their rent, which is around £18,000 per year.
His daughters will start their working lives with between £45,000 to £60,000 of debt each, plus interest, which will be compounding at £5,000 to £8,000 per year.
"I have no objection to paying for degrees as I think they are a great way of broadening horizons and having great life experience. But I think the interest should be waived or capped below 1%, otherwise it's a noose around their neck for a substantial part of their lifetime."
Jonathan, 52, says the Budget was "very safe", reducing energy costs for his household by getting rid of standing charges, while cutting bills for many people this winter.
However, he wanted taxes to be put up for higher earners like himself in the name of "redistribution" and says there was "nothing" in the Budget on that.
"If we want better roads, hospitals, schools we need to raise more tax," he adds.
'I have a £15,000 pension. I'm even Stevens after the Budget'
Infocard showing: Christine Morris in Worksop, 78 Status: Widowed Job: Retired Income: Around £15,000 from pensions Housing: Owns her home. The picture on the right shows Christine, with short fair hair, wearing a blue patterned shirt.
Christine Morris, from Worksop, has been retired for eight years and lives on a state pension combined with a small private pension her late husband left her.
"It is very difficult to balance the books," the 78-year-old says. "I do go on holiday, but I'm spending more of my savings to live."
The chancellor said standing charges would be removed from gas bills, but Christine, who has a gas boiler, says it's not clear yet whether she will benefit, because those costs will be added on to the unit rate.
However, she says the£100 household energy payment will help over the winter
"I'm not sure I'll be better off," she says. Instead she thinks she will be "even Stevens".
She was unconvinced by Andy Burnham's pledge to end the triple lock so that from 2030 the state pension will rise at least by inflation or 2.5%, with the money saved used to create a free-at-the-point of use national care service for England sometime "in the next parliament".
Christine thinks the new service will take time to come in. In the meantime, she fears she will "get less pension and still have to pay out the same for any care I need".
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