Britons ‘doing everything they can’ to save money, survey finds

Britons are becoming more thrifty by living on leftovers, shopping around, collecting coupons and buying in bulk, a survey claims.

A study of 2,000 adults found 85 per cent do everything they can to employ money-saving techniques such as selling old items, haggling over price and shopping out of season.

Nearly two-thirds, or 64 per cent, believe it is now more acceptable than ever before to shop around and take a cleverer approach to spending.

As a result, they are making more thoughtful purchases by investing in quality not quantity, waiting for the sales, and visiting charity shops.

Other ways to save money included buying second class stamps instead of first, borrowing books, budgeting for food and looking for ways to entertain the family for free.

Brand loyalty is also a thing of the past for one-quarter of shoppers, who move from brand to brand if it means they can get similar items for less money.

A spokesperson for Lottoland, which commissioned the OnePoll survey, said: “Shopping around for better prices is a great way of getting more bang for your buck."

The survey also found the average adult has just £224 disposable income to fall back on once all monthly outgoings are accounted for.

And for 47 per cent this is more than they had 10 years ago, because their salary has increased or they make more of an effort to spend wisely.

As a consequence of this improved attitude to money, Britons are saving around £37 a month by using shortcuts, it is claimed.

It also emerged that many are still convinced some things remain far too expensive – particularly the latest smartphone models (45 per cent), cinema tickets (35 per cent) and train tickets (39 per cent).

Even smaller items like pints of beer, milk, bus tickets, magazines, hospital car parking and takeaway coffee are said to be too dear.

Others find it difficult to find affordable school shoes (12 per cent), trainers (23 per cent) and vet bills (27 per cent).

It also emerged that many remember the days when items cost just £1 – from petrol, to a lottery ticket, beer or even 100 penny sweets, which are now more likely to be weighed than bought per chew.

SWNS