Majority of people in the red just before payday

More than fifty per cent of people have no money left in their bank account on the last few days leading up to payday, a report by YouGov shows.

Despite people being advised to save wherever possible and never let their bank account run dry, it appears that far more people than first thought are living extremely close to the bone. Around 32.5 per cent of people say they regularly dip into savings to make their money stretch, whilst 24 cent of respondents said that they have had to swallow their pride occasionally and ask relatives to help them out until they next get paid. It is little wonder that credit card debts are getting so frequently out of hand. If more than half of people questioned say that they literally have no money left in the three to four days leading up to payday, then it is only natural that they will have to pay for bills and fund other expenditure through the plastic.

Vicious Financial Cycle

But this is a vicious cycle and one that we very rarely see people be able to truly escape from.

It really is vitally important that people never let funds get too low. In fact, it has never been more important to have money left over – as any leftover monies can then be put into a savings account. Running out of money almost a week before payday is just asking for trouble and isn’t ever going to end well. All sorts of unexpected scenarios and situations can, and do, crop up meaning that it is always better to have some money behind you for stability.

It does appear that our advice is getting through slowly, however, as the same report also highlighted a 22 per cent rise in people who say they are now putting at least £100 a month away in the form of savings. This is a positive step forward, but a lot more certainly needs to be done to prevent the debt crisis that looms.