- 87% of Brits describe themselves as savers - yet one in four put away less than 5% of their income in a typical month
- 42% save less or nothing over Black Friday and Christmas, with 23% having to draw from their savings to fund the season
- 28% feel embarrassed about how little they have saved, while 74% expect to spend more over the festive period
LONDON, 30 October 2026 - Britain might see itself as a nation of savers, but, new research by bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank, suggests many households have far less of a financial cushion than the label implies. With Black Friday and Christmas fast approaching, the findings point to added pressure on people’s savings.
A survey of 1,000 Brits found that while 87% of UK respondents consider themselves savers, nearly a quarter are putting away less than 5% of their income, and 5% save nothing at all.
The findings expose a striking gap between how people think about their finances and how much they are actually managing to set aside. More than one in four respondents (28%) feel embarrassed about how little they have saved. As mortgage rates, energy bills and food costs rise, households with only a thin savings buffer are increasingly vulnerable - with many already dipping into money they had set aside simply to cover everyday living costs - 67% say they had used some of their savings to cover everyday living expenses in the past year.
For many, building a buffer is the priority: 24% said they were saving for an emergency fund. Retirement (13%) and protection against the rising cost of living (12%) were the next most common goals, followed by travel and holidays (11%).
The festive period can make saving harder. Compared with a typical month, 29% of respondents said they save less in November and December, while 12% save nothing at all. Among this group, 23% have admitted to withdrawing from savings rather than adding to them.
Spending is also expected to rise. Some 74% expect to spend more in November and December than in a typical month, including 43% who expect to spend up to 25% more and 21% who expect to spend between 26% and 50% more. More than six in ten (61%) also expect to make more purchases than usual, with groceries and retail the categories most likely to see increased spending.
Looking back at last year’s festive period, 29% said they had used part of their savings, 31% had cut back significantly on spending and 16% had spent more than planned.
“Nobody should have to choose between a good Christmas and a safety net,” said Joe Wilson, Chief Evangelist at bunq. “You build it across the rest of the year. You set the rule once and it keeps running: a little put aside with every payment, interest on top, all of it adding up while you’re creating new memories with the people you love.”
The survey was conducted by Pollfish for bunq in October 2026 among 1,000 UK adult respondents (478 male and 522 female).
bunq, Europe’s second-largest neobank, has built the first user-centric bank. By developing a product rooted in its users’ wants and needs, bunq makes life easy for location-independent people and businesses, starting from the way they manage money: how they spend, save, budget and invest. As the world’s first GenAI-powered bank, bunq offers its users safe, secure and simple 24/7 financial support—user-centricity at scale.
Pioneering many things considered impossible, bunq was the first bank to get a greenfield European banking permit in over 35 years, raised the largest series A round ever secured by a European fintech (€193 million), and was the first EU neobank to achieve structural profitability. As part of its mission to build the first global neobank, bunq has also received its US broker-dealer license and applied for its Mexican banking license, with more global expansion to follow. Learn more: www.bunq.com