'I have saved exactly £o' How soaring costs have hit Britons' financial safety nets

Andrew, a writer in his mid-30s from Essex, would be considered middle class by most, but his financial setup is precarious.

- Jedidajah Otte

"I have £4k in my savings account, and around £4k in stocks and shares. With a mortgage, childcare fees and other living expenses to cover, our monthly outgoings are always at least £2,800. Our savings would quickly vanish if our household income ceased," he said.

Andrew has managed to save £30,000 into a workplace pension, but feels unable to continue at the moment. "We have completely stopped setting money aside, and living life has become very much payslip to payslip. Things which would have previously been routine, like the odd weekend away or day out with our child, have become much rarer. I have substantial concerns about the way in which this country is going."

Andrew was among scores of people from across the UK who told the Guardian how much money they had been able to save, and how the size of their nest egg - or lack thereof - had been shaping their plans and lifestyles. Many of them were middle-class professionals who reported that the rising cost of living had forced them to stop putting money into savings and pensions, making them feel more financially insecure.

People who got in touch broadly fell into two camps: those who had aggressively prioritised saving for years and had achieved sizeable pension pots and emergency funds; and those who had been unable or barely able to save, often owing to high living costs such as rising rents or mortgage payments, childcare, or student loan repayments.

The personal savings rate of UK households reached a record high in 2020, during the first coronavirus lockdown, resulting in many people losing the ability to potentially claim means-tested benefits such as universal credit as their funds exceeded the maximum permissible amounts.