Savings plunge as savers tackle debt mountain

Consumers paid off over £23bn more in debt than they took out in borrowing during Q3 2008, according to Unbiased.co.uk's research. However, Britons are surrendering savings to get out of the red with savings levels almost halving over the last quarter to an all time low, from £38.5bn in Q2 to £19.3bn in Q3. For the first time since Unbiased.co.uk's eight-year Savings Brake research began, Britons are paying off debt rather than taking out new debt. It reveals, for every pound UK consumers saved during the third quarter of 2008, they also paid off £1.24 of their debt. This marks a vast...