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Thursday 5th April 2007
Millions of Britons are only saving money to meet their immediate financial needs, with many admitting to spending 'frivolously', according to a new report.
More than 7.5 million people only save enough money to meet their short-term goals, according to financial website Unbiased.
The report published by the site, which is run by IFA Promotion, also estimates that there are 3.8 million people in Briton who describe themselves as "frivolous" spenders.
Accounting for about nine percent of the country's total population, the research claims that such spenders make purchases on the basis of desire rather than affordability and that a quarter of them have no savings as a result.
The study, based on an analysis of official government figures and other research, including a YouGov survey of more than 2,700 individuals over the age of 15, divides Britain's consumers into five distinctive types of spenders.
Alongside frivolous spenders, occasional spenders are described as those who save for purchases, but who fail to put aside money for the long term, with men more likely to make occasional purchases than women.
Bargain spenders are described as those who prefer to shop around for cheaper goods, with 56 per cent of women claiming to hunt for special deals in comparison to 43 per cent of men.
But while about half of Britons claim to be bargain spenders, Unbiased says that over one in ten of them still do not have any savings tucked away.
The research found that older people were more likely than younger ones to be credit spenders, who are thought to account for more than four million people, while random spenders, who do not fall into any one category are thought to represent around ten per cent of the population.
Overall, the research found that young people were the least likely to save for the long-term, with 28 per cent of 16 to 24-year-olds saying that they only saved money to buy larger purchases and 48 per cent admitting that spending on clothes and entertainment would be their top priorities if they had more money to burn.
Commenting on the results, which coincide with the Get Saving campaign launched by Unbiased, the website's chief executive David Elms said: "This year’s research into the nation’s propensity to save shows some improvement, but it is disappointing that we still define ourselves as a nation of spenders rather than a nation of savers."
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