Money News
11th August 2008
Cash-strapped Brits lose the savings habit
Britons are prioritising savings less in the face of higher food and fuel bills, it has been revealed.
In a poll conducted by Nationwide just a third of respondents said that they considered saving to be "very important".
This is up slightly from last month and buy is down markedly from May and June when the figure stood at 46 per cent and 49 per cent respectively.
Worryingly, the survey also discovered that 35 per cent of consumers think they'll be saving less than they need to in six month's time.
Lee Raybould, head of savings at Nationwide, said: "Consumers seem to be feeling the effect of the current economic situation, as over a third think they are unable to save as much as they need to.
"Equally, with around half of people saving regularly, consumers may find if situations get tougher, they won't have any savings to help them through harder times. It's also worrying that a fifth of consumers - potentially 12 million people - never save."
News of the findings comes amid predictions that soaring living costs could result in millions of consumers falling into problem debt this year
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