Household Spending Habits

As England celebrates the one-year anniversary of the Smoking Ban (1st July), those who have stubbed out their cigarettes for good could be seeing the rewards, not only for their health but also their bank balances, according to Alliance & Leicester Savings.

uSwitch.com has launched a money savings guide on its site to help consumers who are beginning to feel the pinch.

Brits are spending 77% more on child care costs and up to 30% more on everyday bills such as TV subscriptions and water rates. New figures from Combined Insurance’s Cost of Living Tracker reveal that, since June 2006, the cost of average monthly commitments have soared by 26%.

Men appear to be tightening their belts more than women in a bid to ride out the credit crunch storm, according to new research by long-term investment provider, Skandia.

British holiday makers are not in control of their holiday expenditure, according to the latest NS&I Quarterly Savings Survey.

Could the current economic climate, financial doom and gloom, be a myth? According to new research from life insurer Zurich, despite the testing market conditions, less than a third of consumers have reviewed their finances in light of the credit crunch (29%) and a fifth of people (21%) claim it is a term created by the media.

Families need to earn an average of £62,000 a year, own their own home, have at least two cars and live in London, the South East or East of England to become a typical Middle Britain household in 2008, according to a new report from the AXA Financial Task Force.

Alliance Trust's independent study of age related inflation has found that the surge in inflation during May continued to hit the over 75 year olds the hardest - this age group saw their inflation rate increase from 4.1% to 4.8% during the month.

Consumer Prices Index (CPI) annual inflation – the Government’s target measure of inflation – was 3.3 per cent in May, up from 3.0 per cent in April.

Following the Bank of England's letter to the Chancellor announcing that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has risen to 3.3% - well above its 2% target - independent price comparison and switching service, uSwitch.com, warns consumers to keep their cool this summer.