According to the research, women (86%) are more likely to worry about money than men (74%) despite the fact that men who overspend do so by an average £232.78 every month in comparison to women who overspend by an average of £212.14 a month.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that on average 30% of people overspend by £2,660 every year, nearly a third (32%) of UK adults do not feel confident that they can pay their bills every month. Over a quarter (28%) of these admit to missing bill payments completely with credit card companies (33%), telephone providers (14%) and electricity companies (10%) being hardest hit. A third (33%) of those polled who have missed payments have done so for more than one month.
However, the research has revealed that Brits are acknowledging the importance of savings with half (50%) currently saving on average £230 into an account every month - a slight rise on average monthly savings last year of £225.
The survey has also revealed that through being thrifty households have managed to save an average of £513 on general living expenses this year mainly by cutting down on non-essential spending.
Brits have also cut down spending on nights out by 36% with the average monthly spend now standing at £107. Over half (53%) of people are simply not going out as much anymore whilst more people are attending house parties (14%) and many people (6%) are cutting back on their bar bill by drinking before they go out.
Likewise over half (57%) of people have cut back on their eating out spend by a third (33%) with the average monthly spend now standing at £102 in comparison to £153 last year.
Despite the stereotypical view that women spend more money than men on clothes the survey has shown that, whilst over half of UK adults are set to save £631 a year by cutting back on the amount of new clothes they are purchasing, men are set to spend £122 every month on clothes with women planning to spend less at £102 a month. Over a quarter of women (26%) are even planning to cut back on the amount of shoes they buy.
John Hughes, director of retail banking at the Co-operative Financial Services, said: "The fact that 80% of consumers are currently worried about money is a saddening yet unsurprising figure given the current economic climate and increasing cost of living. However the research findings also demonstrate some hope, nearly a third are continuing to overspend and this is something that can be addressed to help put money worries to bed.
"By taking an organised approach to finances, consumers can plan ahead and avoid financial pitfalls such as missed bill payments that end up leading to additional charges. Currently almost a third of consumers lose money this way. Reviewing bank statements to pick out your non-essential spending habits is also a good habit to get into. Cutting back on spend on areas such as regular meals out and nights on the town has seen households save as much as £513 this year.
"Consumers are already taking positive steps to put money away and this has seen average monthly savings increase this year. We expect to see this trend even more in the coming year as high living costs continue to alter peoples' outlook on money, encouraging them to shop around for the best deal and assess their outgoings more closely."
