'High Wire Britain' is living without a safety net of savings, according to Scottish Provident.
A new behavioural survey has laid bare what researchers have termed "High Wire Britain" - where debt-ridden consumers have no savings safety net to protect them against tough financial times.
Scottish Provident published an update to its landmark 2003 national survey, which looked into consumer attitudes in financial affairs. It found that, over the last six years, the way people thought about debt, borrowing and savings were little changed - despite the UK economy falling into its worst recession for decades in the intervening period.
Reports have shown that house prices have plunged by 15 percent over the past year due to the credit crunch, while mortgage finance has tightened and unemployment has spiked to a 12-year high.
Susan Barclay, of Scottish Provident, said: "When Scottish Provident ran the High Wire Britain research in 2003, we were shocked at consumer attitudes to personal finance and protection, but then we had benefited from a sharply rising property market for several years and enjoyed record lows of unemployment.
"Sadly, that is not the case. We are literally living the "high" life - on a high wire juggling mortgage repayments, credit card debt and general living costs - with little or no safety net should we take a fall."
The Scottish Provident report chimes with recent figures from Nationwide - which showed that half of all householders do not save regularly and that one in four never save at all.
