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
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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.
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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.”
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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% |
Saxo UK is a licensed subsidiary of Saxo, a leading Fintech specialist that connects people to investment opportunities in global capital markets. Saxo UK has operated in London since 2006 and is a provider of multi-asset trading and investment, Saxo’s vision is to enable people to fulfil their financial aspirations and make an impact.
Founded in Copenhagen in 1992, Saxo was one of the first financial institutions to develop online trading platforms that offer everyday investors the same tools and market access as professional traders, large institutions, and fund managers. As the most innovative and best choice for clients, Saxo offers broad access to global capital markets across asset classes, where they can trade more than 71,000 instruments in over 33 languages from one single margin account. The Saxo Group also powers more than 150 financial institutions as partners by boosting the investment experience they can offer their clients via its open banking technology. Whether it’s through their investments or the outcome of their investments, Saxo gives clients and partners the tools, platforms and knowledge to make an impact.
The Saxo Group holds four banking licenses and is well regulated globally. With client assets totaling more than 115+ billion USD, Saxo is a global company with local presence, employing more than 2,300 people in financial centres across the world, including London, Singapore, Amsterdam, Zurich, Dubai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo.