Saving 'gets sexy'

Saving is the new spending as younger Britons increasingly tighten their purse strings in the face of the credit crunch, it has been claimed.

According to Emma Byrne, a savings expert, new research shows that 18 to 34-year-olds are actually putting away more money than the over-55s.

Ms Byrne said that the savvy savers should put their money into a high-interest account in order to make the most of it.

Commenting on the study, Ms Byrne pointed out that it could show a turn away from Britain being a nation of credit card-aholics.

"It's almost as if saving is becoming sexy again and there's less of this bravo culture of saying: 'I've got loads and loads of money on my credit card'. People are realising that this mass-consumerism and have it all society are beginning to fade away," she said.

The news comes as a report published by Abbey reveals that the state of the economy and the uncertainty in the housing market are causing stress in children as young as 11 years old. It found that today's 11 to 15-year-olds are more likely to be worried about falling into debt and being poor when they are older than schoolyard fights with friends.