Several different factors have conspired against savers in recent times, with 47 percent admitting to having dipped in to deposits.
Many nest eggs have shrunk as a direct result of the financial crisis - with one in two savers admitting to "dipping in" to deposits.
A new survey from financial website Fairinvestment.co.uk showed today that the average amount currently being saved by British depositors each month is £128. This is down from the £138.64 recorded in August 2008.
Over the intervening months, savers have been squeezed by falling interest rates and rising unemployment and job insecurity - all factors which have made consumers less likely to save large amounts of their income. Banks including RBS and HBOS have also been forced into accepting government bailout money due to the adverse financial conditions, further eroding public trust in banks.
Accordingly Fairinvestment.co.uk found that 31 percent of people have changed their savings habits, along with the 47 percent who have raided their savings to help them make ends meet.
Chartered financial planner at Fairinvestment.co.uk Sharon Bratley said: "Savers have so far been some of the hardest hit victims of the credit crunch, particularly as savings interest rates continue to fall faster than mortgage rates and banks struggle to keep their heads above water."
The collapse of Icelandic savings provider Icesave in October 2008 was also identified by Fairinvestment.co.uk as a major factor behind changing savings habits in the UK. A clear majority (56 percent) of poll respondents said that they would prefer not to hold their savings deposits with a foreign company.
Ms Bratley added: "It is hardly surprising that trust in banks has been diminished after things like the fall of Icesave and the bailout of HBOS."
