As the cost of living crisis rages on, we see interest rates rising, inflation reaching record levels and energy bills soaring. Many households are feeling the pressure on their disposable incomes and are forced to reassess to try and regain some control over their living costs.
But what does this mean for savings? And what sacrifices or choices are people having to make?
We asked 905 people from the United Kingdom, Germany and the Netherlands about their current spending and saving habits and what they think needs to occur before the cost of living crisis will improve.
Here’s what we discovered:
¾ of people in all three countries have made changes to their spending habits.
The top action that’s been taken in all three countries is reduced eating out, with 62% of Germans cutting back, followed by the Dutch (54%) and the Brits (50%).
Almost HALF of British and German consumers have shopped for cheaper brands and clothes.
40% of Dutch consumers have switched to a budget supermarket, compared to 36% of Germans and 35% of Brits.
Almost HALF of Brits and Germans have cut back on takeaways, compared to less than 1/3 of Dutch people.
36% of Germans have saved less than before the cost of living crisis, followed by the Dutch (33%) and the Brits (29%)
Germans feel the strongest (82%) that inflation must be brought under control for things to improve. The Dutch and Brits feel less strongly: NL (69%), UK (58%).
Only 2 in 10 Brits feel that Brexit needs to be reversed to see some improvement to the economy.
The infographic below represents the key findings from the research:
