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BANK ACCOUNTS RUN DRY ON 21ST DAY OF THE MONTH

Britons' salaries fall seven days short of pay day as credit crunch bites

One in two people will run out of money before their next pay packet (50%), and today, the 21^st day of the month, is the day that this is most people will go into the red, according to new research from Savebuckets.com.

As the credit crunch continues to bite, and with prices of staples such as food and utilities at record highs, the online price savings site Savebuckets.com questioned 2,000 people on the impact this is having on their monthly budget.

The research reveals that more than one in four people on a monthly salary (28%) will have emptied their bank accounts more than seven days before their next pay packet is due. With most people being paid on 28^th of the month, Monday 21^st April is the day that thousands of bank accounts will slip into the red this month.

Even those on a weekly wage are finding it hard to make ends meet, going into the red two days before they are next paid. For pensioners and those on benefits the story is also bleak with their instalments running out five and six days respectively before they are next paid.

Quashing the myth that women are poor money managers, men appear to be less cautious with their cash than women. Almost three in five men (57%) admit to spending their salary before they are next paid compared to 43 per cent of women.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, 18-24 year olds’ salary is most likely to run out before they next get paid, with 65 per cent cleaning out their accounts before pay day.

Across the UK, those living in the South region are most likely to struggle to make ends meet, running out of money eight days before they are paid. In contrast, those in the South West run out five days before pay day.

Marc Ames, Marketing Manager of Savebuckets.com commented: “Our research has shown that one in four people are worried about making ends meet as the credit crunch bites. With income tax changes coming into effect in April, low income groups could find it even harder to make their earnings last in months to come*. However, there are ways to save money without having to miss out on too many everyday treats. For example, by shopping online for the most popular items such as food, gifts and household items, Britons could take control of their finances, saving up to 50 percent on purchases and saving money without making sacrifices.”

To save online visit www.savebuckets.com

For more information or to speak to a spokesperson from Savebuckets.com, please contact:

Jo Winser / Rosie Dodd - FD Consumer Dynamics

jo.winser@fd.com or 020 7269 7236

Marc Ames - Savebuckets.com

marc.ames@savebuckets.com

* BBC News Online, 7^th April, 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7334448.stm

Notes to Editors

Research was conducted on behalf of Savebuckets.com between 11^th and 14^th April 2008 by YouGov amongst a GB representative sample of 2,168 adults.

Savebuckets.com is a free to use online comparison shopping service, which will helps shoppers to find the product they want at the price they want.

The site currently searches millions of products from a wide range of shops, including high street brands and lesser known online shopping sites.

Savebuckets.com also includes a ‘My Price’ function which notifies shoppers by email when the price of the item they are searching for drops to within their budget.

Savebuckets.com is the trading name of Save Buckets Limited, a registered company in England and Wales.