The latest 'What's Left' Tracker by the Irish League of Credit Unions also found that 90% of people have been negatively impacted by high energy costs and that 40% fear the impact of the property tax.
This is the eighth tracker that has been carried out by the Irish League of Credit Unions since early 2011.
It shows the numbers of people with little or no disposable income are continuing to rise.
Nine out of ten people are reporting that they have been negatively impacted by rising energy costs.
More than three quarters of adults are worried about not paying their bills on time.
However, there was a slight drop in the numbers saying they could not pay their bills.
And in what the Credit Union describe as a worrying development, 17% of people were aware of moneylenders operating in their area.
However only 5% believe they were a viable option for borrowing.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, CEO of the Irish League of Credit Unions Kieron Brennan said the financial squeeze on households is extraordinarily high.
He said half of respondents cannot afford unexpected bills.
"There's a huge number of people, nearly half of the population who are in the position of not being able to pay their bills, they must decide what will I pay this month, what will I leave until next month. Unexpected items of expediture, be it a visit to the GP, a car repair, replacing the clutch, washing machine breaks down, they just don't have that in their budget anymore," he said.
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