Download the app
© 2026. The Purpl Co Limited. All rights reserved.
Download the app
© 2026. The Purpl Co Limited. All rights reserved.
6 min read
Written by
Georgina, Founder of Purpl
Published on
June 26, 2026
Last reviewed: 26 June 2026
Applies to: UK
Case study prepared by: Lem-uhn, Purpl’s PR agency
Reviewed by: Georgina, Founder of Purpl
Featuring: Sue, Purpl membe
Sue shared her Purpl member case study with permission in February 2025. Purpl Life has adapted her story to include wider context about the extra cost of disability, cancer and everyday savings.
Living with a disability or chronic illness in the UK brings a steep, often invisible financial burden. Scope data shows that the average disabled household needs an extra £1,095 per month, equivalent to £13,140 a year, to maintain the same standard of living as a non-disabled household.
Inflation continues to squeeze everyday essentials. Scope projects this extra financial strain will rise by nearly 12% over the next five years, reaching £1,224 a month by 2030. Nearly a quarter of the UK population lives with a disability or long term health condition, so these hidden premiums affect millions of families nationwide.
Sue, a 61-year-old retiree from Cleveland, knows this financial pressure firsthand. Her world changed completely after doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer in 2016. In 2023, she received a further diagnosis of cancer in her femur. At a time when her family wanted to focus on her health and treatment, they also had to face the severe financial shock that comes with a critical illness.
Need help making your money go further? Purpl helps disabled people, people with long term health conditions, carers and families access discounts that can reduce everyday costs. If PIP, disability benefits or extra health related expenses affect your household budget, you can explore the latest Purpl discounts and savings at https://www.purpldiscounts.com/.
• Sue, a 61-year-old Purpl member from Cleveland, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and cancer in her femur in 2023.
• Her diagnosis affected her health, work, mortgage, food costs and hospital transport.
• Sue says she went to the bank in tears when her sick pay ran out and she needed help with her mortgage.
• She now saves £48 every month on food shopping through Purpl supermarket savings.
• Sue is on track to save at least £700 this year through Purpl discounts.
• Her story shows how the extra cost of disability often comes from everyday essentials, not luxuries.
The hidden financial strain of a cancer diagnosis
Reducing the price tag of chronic illness
Why authentic community support matters
Key financial facts and figures
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
In summary
About this case study
When Sue was first diagnosed, she was working as a local council employee. While her initial sick pay provided a temporary safety net, it eventually ran out, leaving her to face mounting household bills while undergoing exhausting cycles of chemotherapy.
Navigating the financial system during a health crisis can feel completely overwhelming. Sue describes the vulnerability of having to visit her local bank branch in tears, terrified of what the future held for her family. Fortunately, her bank stepped in to freeze her mortgage payments for over a year, lifting a massive weight from her shoulders.
“My daughter was just about to do her exams, and my son was at university, so it was a difficult time for us as a family,” said Sue. “I remember feeling a mix of shock and sadness, but I didn’t feel like I could dwell on it because I didn’t want my sickness to further affect my kids’ future.”
While receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) helped cover basic necessities like food and heating, however, it failed to offset the hidden secondary costs associated with cancer care, particularly transport (https://www.gov.uk/pip)
Though hospital transport services were technically available, the logistics were entirely unsustainable for someone undergoing daily chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Sue notes that she would regularly be picked up at 7:30 am for an 11:30 am appointment just 12 minutes away, and then left waiting at the hospital until early evening to catch a return trip home.
Purpl Insight: Sue’s experience shows how quickly illness can affect income, independence and everyday security. The financial impact of cancer is not only about treatment costs. It is also about lost earnings, transport, heating, food and the emotional stress of trying to keep a household going.
Despite navigating immense physical and financial challenges, Sue discovered practical ways to protect her household budget by joining the Purpl community. By utilising verified member concessions on her regular routines, she has successfully stripped hundreds of pounds away from her annual living costs.
As a retiree living on a fixed income, managing grocery inflation has been one of Sue’s highest priorities. By switching to online grocery shopping and applying her verified supermarket codes, she saves £48 every month on her regular food shops. When an essential kitchen appliance broke down unexpectedly, she was able to claim an immediate £45 saving on a replacement freezer, preventing a major dent in her monthly savings.
This year, I started using Purpl, and it’s been a massive help. I do a food shop twice a week and save £48 a month using the Morrisons code. In February, I needed a new freezer and saved £45 on it. I’ve also used the Domino’s Pizza code when I’m treating myself.”
Sue was on track to save at least £700 last year simply by verifying her health status through the platform. By pairing her membership discounts with fixed energy tariffs and online grocery delivery passes, she has regained control over her domestic outgoings.
Purpl Insight: The most powerful savings are often the ones used on repeat. For disabled people and people with long term health conditions, regular savings on groceries, household essentials, appliances and utilities can make a bigger difference than one-off discounts on occasional treats.
Since launching, Purpl has grown to support over 100,000 members across the UK, collectively saving disabled households nearly £2 million on everyday essentials, technology updates, utilities, and lifestyle brands.
For Purpl founder Georgina Colman, who lives with multiple sclerosis and ADHD, stories like Sue’s reinforce exactly why an independent, verified discount platform is a necessity in the UK. The reality that disabled individuals are regularly forced to fight just to stay financially afloat highlights the vital role that closed-group community concessions play in offsetting the disability price tag.
By establishing official partnerships with major national brands, the community continues to deliver secure, practical financial relief directly to the individuals who need it most, helping make daily life a little easier to manage.
“I use Morrisons twice a week because their £25 minimum basket suits me. I’ve used Ocado too, and I’m hoping other supermarkets will join Purpl. I check emails and notifications regularly and love the Facebook ‘Let’s Make Today Purpl’ updates in the members group.”
Purpl Insight: Disability discounts are not about special treatment. They are about recognising the extra costs disabled households already face and giving people a practical way to reduce the price of everyday essentials.
The disability price tag: The average disabled household faces £13,140 in extra unavoidable annual costs compared to non-disabled households (https://www.scope.org.uk/campaigns/disability-price-tag)
Average member impact: Purpl community members achieve an average annual saving of £720 to help offset these living premiums.
Featured grocery savings: Utilising weekly supermarket concessions allows featured member Sue to save £48 every single month on food shopping.
Account verification standard: Access to these exclusive high-value brand partnerships requires secure, closed-group proof of eligibility.
Purpl Insight: These figures show why verified disability discounts can have a meaningful impact. Even small monthly savings can add up across the year and help protect fixed budgets from rising everyday costs.
The disability price tag refers to the additional, unavoidable living costs that disabled individuals and people with long term health conditions face. Research by Scope shows that these extra expenses, ranging from specialised dietary needs and higher heating bills to specialised transport and equipment updates, average over £1,000 a month per household.
Purpl functions as a secure, closed-group verification platform that partners directly with major UK brands to offer exclusive discounts. By verifying a disability or long term health condition, members gain access to permanent concessions across supermarkets, technology providers, household appliances, and travel networks.
The discounts are reserved exclusively for verified members of the community. Registration requires a quick, secure verification process to confirm eligibility, ensuring that these high-value partner concessions remain protected and dedicated to the households that genuinely need them.
Yes. The community actively shares updates, practical household budgeting tips, and brand announcements through regular email notifications and the official Facebook group, keeping members informed about new ways to protect their fixed budgets.
Sue’s story shows how quickly cancer, disability and long term illness can affect someone’s financial security.
Her experience was not just about treatment. It was about sick pay ending, mortgage pressure, hospital transport, food prices, heating costs and the fear of not knowing how to keep everything going.
By joining Purpl, Sue has found practical ways to reduce the cost of things she already needs. Her regular supermarket savings alone add up to £48 a month, and she is on track to save at least £700 this year.
For disabled people and people with long term health conditions, that kind of saving matters. It does not remove the extra cost of disability, but it can make everyday life more manageable.
This article is based on a real Purpl member case study shared with Sue’s permission. Sue’s experience shows how cancer, disability and rising everyday costs can affect household finances, transport, food shopping and emotional wellbeing.
The article has been adapted for Purpl Life by the Purpl Editorial Team and reviewed by Georgina, Founder of Purpl. Georgina lives with multiple sclerosis and ADHD and created Purpl to help disabled people, people with long term health conditions, neurodivergent people and carers reduce the extra cost of everyday life.
Purpl’s UK Disability Benefits & Support Handbook
Supermarket savings for disabled people
Energy savings for people with disabilities
The disability price tag: why it costs £1,095 more per month to be disabled in the UK
Discount code for disabled people