Women tightening the purse strings

Results from the latest Legal & General MoneyMood Survey show women seem to be feeling the pinch more than men, with the mood for spending amongst women down 18 percentage points since last month, and the lowest for over a year.

Julia Clayworth, Legal & General’s Wealth Management Head of Marketing, said: “What is really interesting about this month’s results is that it is clear that the reported economic downturn is not having a uniform impact. Although it is good to see people are exercising caution with their spending, they are not changing their behaviour dramatically. It will be really interesting to see next month’s results which will be taken after the recent stock market volatility and see if this has filtered down to people’s spending behaviour.”

This month we have seen an interesting split in spending habits between the different age groups. With 25 per cent of 18-24 year olds in the mood to spend but a mere 17 per cent of 45-54 year olds feeling the same. The biggest actual drop in ‘mood to spend’ comes from the 55-64 age group where we have seen a massive 18 per cent drop.

Julia comments: “It is possible that the older generation have a clearer memory of previous recessions and are acting cautiously as a result of this. As people become more cautious with their spending habits, now is the time to really think about building a savings plan which could prove invaluable if the recession really takes hold. Even saving just a few pounds a month could make all the difference if times get tough.”

Although some people are demonstrating more caution with their spending, overall people don’t seem to be feeling any significant effects from ‘the recession’, with a majority of people comfortably paying their bills this month. However, consumers have yet to feel the full brunt of recent utility price hikes. The impact of these will be more visible in the next quarter.