Britons cut back to off-set costs

27 July 2008 10:23am

Nine out of 10 Britons are making cutbacks in a bid to cope with higher living costs.

More than two-thirds of people said they were making an effort to turn off lights and other electric devices in a bid to save on their electricity bills, while 59% are trying to reduce their spending on food by taking advantage of special offers and money off vouchers.

Half of people said they had cut back on eating out, 40% are using their car less and 34% have switched to cheaper toiletry brands, according to online savings provider Kaupthing Edge.

Others are taking more drastic measures, with 31% of people switching from having baths to having showers, while 15% are growing their own vegetables and 9% have started to mend their clothes rather than buy new ones.

Other cutbacks include no longer leaving tips in restaurants, staying in and playing board games rather than going out and doing handwashing instead of using a washing machine.

Ashley Whittaker, head of retail savings at Kaupthing Edge, said: "It's good to see that Britons are becoming more proactive in making their money work harder for them.

"Our study shows just how much people are doing to cut down on costs, from simple things like turning lights off to save on energy bills to more drastic measures such as growing their own vegetables."

Opinium Research questioned 2,010 people during July.

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