Press Release

Saxo Survey: Almost a fifth of people in the UK have no savings at all due to cost of living crisis

Cost of living hitting Britons harder than first thought with investment platform Saxo revealing that just 15% of people believe they will be in a better financial situation by the end of 2023

Key survey findings:

- 17%of people in the UK have no savings to their name
- 29% of people have less than £100 in savings compared to just over one in five people (22%) this time last year
- In January 2022, a survey from Saxo found 57% of people thought they would be in the same or better financial situation by the end of the year. In comparison, 41% of people believe that for 2023
- This time last year, just over half of people (53%) believed the economy would get worse in 2022, this has risen to 65% in 2023
- Across the nation, almost 34% have stopped buying takeaways while 32% stopped going to pubs or restaurants altogether
- Over a quarter of Brits (28%) admit to have stopped buying clothes, with 19% selling their own clothes to earn extra cash
- Only 6% are investing in shares to save money

The cost of living has left almost a third of Britons with just £100 or less savings, according to a new survey, with almost a fifth of people left with nothing.

Investment platform Saxo released the data this week as inflation continues to soar in the double digits with millions battling with higher costs for food and household bills on a daily basis.

The research found 17% of people said they currently have £0 in their savings, rising from 13% when asked how much people had in savings this time last year.

The survey also found people were very negative about their future with just 15% believing they’ll be in a better financial situation at the end of the year.

Compared to a survey conducted by Saxo in January 2022, 21% believed they would be better off at the end of last year.

The survey commissioned by Saxo via Censuswide surveyed 2,002 UK adults between the dates of January 10th - 13th 2023.



Anaam Raza, of investment platform Saxo, said:  “A combination of rising inflation, higher demand for everyday essentials such as gas as well as tough economic measures taken by the Government and the Bank of England have ended up squeezing the power to spend, and evidently to save, for millions of people across the UK over the past year.

“The results of our survey paint a gloomy picture of the current economic state and with energy prices set to rise again in the UK in April as the Government’s help scheme on the energy cap is reduced, things are likely to become even more challenging- suggesting those that took part in the survey are rightly concerned about the future.

“That said, inflation has dipped 0.2% and last week the country’s GDP measure, which calculates the wealth of the nation, came back surprisingly positive, delaying the news of the UK entering a recession for the time being.  These nuggets of good news are a lifeline given the country’s current situation.”

How much do you have in savings right now?     

January 2023

 

£0

17.13%

£0.01 to £100

12.09%

£100.01 to £1,000

17.23%

£1000.01 to £5,000

15.53%

£5,000.01 to £10,000

8.99%

£10,000.01 to £50,000

9.69%

Over £50,000

7.09%

Prefer not to say

12.24%

                     
How much did you have in savings this time last year?

January 2022

 

£0

13.59%

£0.01 to £100

9.14%

£100.01 to £1,000

18.18%

£1000.01 to £5,000

18.98%

£5,000.01 to £10,000

10.54%

£10,000.01 to £50,000

9.64%

Over £50,000

7.34%

Prefer not to say

12.59%

From Saxo survey conducted in January 2023:

Do you think you will be in a better or worse financial situation by the end of 2023?

Better Financial Situation - 15%

Same Financial Situation - 26%

Worse Financial Situation - 44%

Don’t Know - 15%

Do you think the economy will improve in 2022?

Yes - 19%

No - 65%

Don’t Know - 16%

From Saxo survey conducted in January 2022:

Do you think you will be in a better or worse financial situation by the end of 2022?

Better Financial Situation - 21%

Same Financial Situation - 36%

Worse Financial Situation - 33%

Don’t Know - 10%

Do you think the economy will improve in 2022?

Yes - 31%

No - 53%

Don’t Know - 16%

What have you resorted to in order to try to save money over the past 12 months?

UK

England

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

Stopped takeaways

34%

33.27%

41.38%

31.82%

42.71%

Stopped going out to pubs or restaurants

32%

30.85%

41.38%

33.77%

37.50%

Stopped buying clothes

28%

27.92%

46.55%

29.22%

31.25%

Not booking a holiday

28%

27.42%

37.93%

33.77%

34.38%

Turned your heating off altogether

23%

22.68%

31.03%

22.08%

23.96%

Selling belongings

19%

18.73

24.14%

14.29%

21.88%

Selling clothes

19%

19.41%

37.93%

12.34%

20.83%

I've not resorted to anything in order to try and save money over the past 12 months

18%

18.22%

10.34%

24.03%

21.88%

Cutting out meals

17%

17.43%

24.14%

8.44%

14.58%

Borrowing money from friends or family

10%

10.76%

13.79%

6.49%

5.21%

Stopped having baths or showers

8%

8.80%

12.07%

7.14%

6.25%

Not paying bills

6%

6.24%

8.62%

4.55%

3.13%

Gambling

6%

6.09%

10.34%

5.19%

5.21%

Investing in shares

6%

6.23%

1.72%

3.25%

2.08%

Borrowing money from banks

5%

5.22%

3.45%

3.25%

1.04%

Prefer not to say

4%

3.54%

0.00%

5.84%

3.13%

Sold your car

3%

2.91%

1.72%

4.55%

2.08%

Stealing from shops

2%

2.25%

0.00%

1.30%

0.00%

Editorial Note: Updated 25-01-2023 to include additional data.

Lasse Lilholt

Global Head of Communications & PR

+45 3977 6344 
press@saxobank.com

Saxo
40 Bank Street, 26th floor
E14 5DA
London
United Kingdom

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