Saving up to buy a big-ticket item - or even just to spend on a whim - is becoming preferable to using credit for many.
The "spend now, pay later" culture in Britain has come to an end - thanks to the ongoing credit crisis.
According to figures from the Yorkshire Bank, over three in four Britons now believe that splashing out on a high-price item is "more satisfying" when it is saved for, rather than bought on credit. This total went up to 84 percent for spending on items which were purchased on the spur of the moment.
Further evidence that the crunch has improved many peoples' spending habits comes with the finding that 73 percent of respondents to the Yorkshire poll feel that they are now "more careful" with their money than they were before the crisis. Around half also indicated that they were now "more likely" to save before a pricey purchase.
Commenting on the new survey, psychological expert Phillip Hodson said: "You would assume we all prefer instant gratification to the perceived pain of waiting to fork out in full for a summer holiday or new TV. But more generally the opposite is true; it is a well known psychological trait that delayed gratification can generate a deeper sense of happiness - we might call it 'saver satisfaction' or the 'joy of thrift' - than buying on whim.
"Yearning makes the heart grow fonder."
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