New research suggests Brits have formed new saving habits from not eating meals in restaurants due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Figures released by Yorkshire Building Society today  (30th July) show that a third (34%) of Brits have reduced spending since lockdown, with half (52%) claiming eating out as the largest saving.

Eat out save up

With the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme due to launch this Monday (3 August), the Society is encouraging consumers who use the 50% discount on food and non-alcoholic drinks at participating outlets to continue their new savings habits and put the money saved aside to help them improve their financial wellbeing.

The Yorkshire surveyed 2,000 people across the country* as part of its ongoing campaign to increase the UK’s financial resilience, by getting an additional 1.8 million non-savers to start putting money away before 2024.

Tina Hughes, Director of Savings at Yorkshire Building Society, said::

These findings are really encouraging as they highlight how many people have used the last few months to review their outgoings and see where they could save more money each month to build a ‘rainy day’ fund.

Whilst many of us have developed great savings habits this new scheme not only supports the economy and local businesses by encouraging people to enjoy eating out safely, it’s a great opportunity to put the money you would have spent into savings and be in a better position to withstand a financial shock without relying on credit or debt.

One of the things the Covid-19 pandemic has demonstrated is that anyone could find themselves in financial difficulties and may need to rely on savings, which is why we want to continue to help people build a healthy savings pot and improve their financial resilience to protect themselves from any sudden and unexpected changes to their situation.

The research also revealed that people have managed to make savings on things such as social nights out (39%), unused hair and beauty appointments (37%), new clothes (36%) and cancelled gym memberships (16%).

* The Savings Tracker research was carried out by Opinium Research on behalf of Yorkshire Building Society. All surveys were conducted between 20th July 2020 and 23rd July 2020 and the sample comprised 2,000 UK adults.

All information correct at time of publication.

 

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