subject: Saving becomes a distant memory [print this page] Saving becomes a distant memory Saving becomes a distant memory
Research undertaken by the Office of National Statistics has revealed that people in the United Kingdom are now saving less than at any point in the last forty years.
Of course, may people may consider this to be unsurprising given the current economic climate. However, statistics indicate that GDP per member of the population has doubled in the same forty year period
So if we are richer, why are we saving less?
The Office for National Statistics say that the reason we haven't been saving is simply because we have been busy spending. Worse still, to fund our spending sprees we have been borrowing more than ever.
It is common knowledge that there is a huge amount of personal debt in the UK. In fact, in 2008 personal debt reached approximately 3.2bn. Given this fact the results of this recent research may come as no surprise, but is it really that simple?
When asked their reasons for not saving, responses ranged from those who have been struggling to meet the cost of large utility bills etc and therefore have been unable to and those who felt that the poor savings rates offered on the high street gave them no incentive to save.
Clearly regardless of the reasons for our reluctance to save, the fact is that until we do it is exceptionally unlikely that the UK will be able to claw its way back to a sound financial position
It would seem that our attitude towards saving has changed dramatically over the last four decades, unfortunately, the consequences for not doing so are the same today as they always have been
