Broadband is last spending cut for Scottish households

Pulling the plug on home broadband connection is the last spending cut Scots would be willing to make in order to economise, according to new research from Clydesdale Bank.

More than nine out of ten Scots surveyed (92.7%) would not be willing to give up their broadband connection in a bid to save money, up from 75% in 2009.  Almost two thirds (63%) of all households in Scotland report having a broadband connection (source: ONS), meaning that 1.4m households in Scotland are not prepared to live without a high speed internet connection.

The findings are part of a Scotland-wide survey conducted by Clydesdale Bank that asked which luxury and non-essentials people would not be prepared to do without if they had to cut back on their expenditure. The list also included holidays, nights out, gym memberships and branded products.

The proportion of people unwilling to miss their favourite shows or sports rose by 6.3%; "cable and satellite TV" being the only other area of spending which saw an increase from last year.

The most significant change in attitude to monthly outgoings compared with last year was in relation to sports and gym memberships. Paying to keep fit has fallen on people's list of priorities with less than a third of those questioned (30.6%) not willing to give up their regular fitness regime, compared to 72% in 2009.

Holidays, including in the UK, abroad and weekend breaks, as well as nights out at restaurants, bars, theatre and cinema are also more likely to be affected with the number of Scots who would be willing to forego this type of spend increasing over the past 12 months.

Steve Reid, Retail Director Clydesdale Bank, said: "We all have to review our spending priorities throughout our lives and are willing to forego some things in order that we can have and enjoy those which are most important to us.

"As more people are choosing to stay home instead of going on expensive nights out, it's not surprising that they are less inclined to cut back on home entertainment such as broadband and satellite TV."

For those things in life you can't do without Clydesdale Bank has a range of competitive savings accounts and advice on how to budget at cbonline.co.uk.