3.8 Britons describe themselves as frivolous spenders, according to a report from the financial website Unbaised. It was also found out that Brits buy products according to their desire than affordability or need and 7.5 million people spend money to meet their short term goals. The study showed that Brits do not get to save money for their long term goals or needs.

Does this make Britain a nation of spenders and not savers?

Millions ’spend frivolously’
Thursday, 05 Apr 2007 11:01
 
Many Britons are failing to save says report

If Britons are only saving money to meet their immediate financial needs, with many admitting to spending ‘frivolously’, according to a new report.

More than 7.5 million people only save enough money to meet their short-term goals, according to financial website Unbiased.

The report published by the site, which is run by IFA Promotion, also estimates that there are 3.8 million people in Briton who describe themselves as “frivolous” spenders.

Accounting for about nine percent of the country’s total population, the research claims that such spenders make purchases on the basis of desire rather than affordability and that a quarter of them have no savings as a result.

The study, based on an analysis of official government figures and other research, including a YouGov survey of more than 2,700 individuals over the age of 15, divides Britain’s consumers into five distinctive types of spenders.

Alongside frivolous spenders, occasional spenders are described as those who save for purchases, but who fail to put aside money for the long term, with men more likely to make occasional purchases than women.

Bargain spenders are described as those who prefer to shop around for cheaper goods, with 56 per cent of women claiming to hunt for special deals in comparison to 43 per cent of men.

But while about half of Britons claim to be bargain spenders, Unbiased says that over one in ten of them still do not have any savings tucked away.