Britons need savings recovery time

Monday, January 30, 2006

A sizeable proportion of Britons were not well enough prepared for the Christmas spending frenzy, according to the latest research.

Birmingham Midshires found that 37 per cent of people were forced to raid their savings in order to cover the cost of Christmas. On top of this, 27 per cent said they over spent during the period and were now using savings to cover their outgoing expenses.

The building society says it will take 51 days for the spenders' savings accounts to replenish following the Christmas and post-Christmas piggy bank raids.

"The festive season can be a drain on finances but it is at least encouraging to see that we've managed to leave some of our savings intact," said Kevin Mountford, head of savings, sales and marketing for Birmingham Midshires.

"Fifty one days is a very lengthy hangover and it is worrying to see that this escalates to 79 days amongst the over 50s."

London was the region that saved the most in the run up to Christmas, according to the research, with £998 saved on average. This means a recovery period of just 30 days following a £335 average savings raid.

The north – where £611 was saved and £471 raided on average – faired worse, with a recover time of 69 days predicted for its residents.

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