Areas with the highest and lowest cash at the end of the month are separated by disposable income

You may be in an area with low financial resilience if you have little money left over after paying all of your bills

Here are the national picture and what can be done about it .

The amount of money we have left over after paying our bills at the end of each month can have a significant impact on our sense of financial security. There is a significant disparity in these disposable incomes throughout the United Kingdom, according to recent research, with some unexpected variations across the nation.

After paying all of their monthly expenses, households in Surrey's affluent enclave of Elmbridge have the most money left overan average of 455according to wealth firm Hargreaves Lansdown.

Elmbridge tops the financial resilience index because they have enough savings to cover seven months' worth of essential expenses, and only 4% of them are in arrears.

In the meantime, households in the City of Kingston upon Hull have an average of 76 left over at the end of the month, making it the borough with the least amount of financial resilience in the nation.

They also perform poorly in a variety of areas, from emergency savings (they typically only have enough saved to cover one to six months' worth of necessities) to comparatively high levels of arrears, with 17% of them falling behind on bills or debt repayments.

Because low incomes are so strongly linked to lower financial resilience, it is not surprising that Hull is also home to people with lower incomes, according to Hargreaves' research.

In a different post, we calculate the appropriate savings amount for each age group.

In addition, although the capital is frequently thought of as having higher incomes, there are actually huge disparities between London's income levels. It's true that some boroughslike Richmond upon Thames, which ranks 38th for overall resilienceare dominated by higher earners who possess superior resilience.

On the other hand, it is much more common for various wealth groups to coexist in London boroughs, with a larger proportion of people with lower incomes than those with higher incomes.

At just 44, households in the London boroughs of Newham, Barking and Dagenham, and Hackney have the least amount of surplus income at the end of the month, rounding out the bottom four for financial resilience.

"There's a huge gap between the capitals of resilience and the tougher areas, where money is far more stretched," stated Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown. That being said, they are frequently only a few miles apart.

Even though Kingston upon Hull at the bottom of the list is only a few hundred miles away from Elmbridge, the top-scoring local authority area, the most resilient areas are dominated by the home counties, and a large portion of the lowest-scoring areas are located in London.

Housing's contribution to financial stability.

Financial resilience is largely influenced by income, and it should come as no surprise that higher incomes are associated with more disposable income at the end of the month. Incomes, however, are only one aspect of the situation.

Unaffordable housing is a problem as well because it prevents some people from purchasing a home and thereby strengthening their resilience. In terms of home ownership, the top 10 local authorities score an average of 71 percent, while the bottom 10 score 43 percent, according to the Hargreaves study.

"Having a home is important, especially as we get closer to retirement. The fact that so many local authorities in the home counties have greater equity and higher incomes is one of the reasons they perform well in terms of retirement resilience, according to Coles.

London and other cities, on the other hand, have lower scores because more people rent and own a smaller portion of their homes. This is partially due to London's higher housing costs as well as the average age of the population, which has prevented many from achieving upward mobility.

Strategies for strengthening your finances.

Differences in financial resilience can exist even in affluent households. Taking stock of your current situation will determine the best course of action for filling in your gaps.

It's important to emphasize that you don't have to be flawless in one area before tackling the next. The majority of people will divide the available funds among their objectives in order to pay off costly debts, cover any gaps in protection, and save for the future all at once," Coles said.

1) Pay off bills.

If debt is weighing you down, paying it offespecially high-interest credit card debtshould always come first.

2) Purchase full-coverage insurance.

Similarly, this should be at the top of your list if you have dependents and insufficient insurance coverage to protect them.

3. The budget.

Coles stated: "You must start with your budget because it can seem impossible to move on if you're spending every penny every month. If you have very little money and there is nothing you can cut, this will be a challenging process.

All spending decisions will need to be scrutinized. There will occasionally be very tough decisions to make regarding where and how much you can afford to live. It is worthwhile to speak with a debt charity such as Stepchange, as their professionals can guide you through the entire process.

4) Increase both short- and long-term savings.

In an easy-access account, every household should aim to accumulate three to six months' worth of necessities during working age and one to three years' worth during retirement.

However, don't wait to start planning for the future until your emergency fund is fully funded. Emergency funds will naturally fluctuate, so you don't want to halt long-term plans each time they need to be replenished. That means you should be accumulating it in addition to investments and pension payments.