Whereas traditionally savings are built up for large special purchases such as cars, weddings and holidays, that appears to be changing rapidly, with one in seven people (15%) admitting that they have cashed in savings in the past three months to pay for utility bills or council tax. In addition, 14% have used savings to pay for food and one in eight (12%) have even used savings in the past three months to pay for their mortgage or rent.
Men are suffering more than women; with one in five saying they have recently used savings to pay for a utility bill and one in seven using savings to pay for their mortgage or rent.
Key pressure points where people have seen a noticeable increase in their spending in the past six months are food (64% agree), petrol (61%) gas/electricity (61%), and council tax (44%). And people are even gloomier about the outlook for the next three months, with four in five expecting to have to spend more on food and gas/electricity, seven in ten expecting to spend more on petrol and half expecting to spend more on council tax.
Not surprisingly, the ability to save regularly will be hit: people intend to try and continue to save regularly, but men’s monthly savings will be down by 24% (from £252 to £204) and women’s down 8% (from £181 to £168)
