20 September 2005
Britons spend several days a month without the money to pay for their basic needs, new research says.
The report, from internet bank Egg, says that 34 per cent of Britons tend to run out of money five days before pay day.
According to the bank, 18-30 year olds are 'skint' the longest, on average a full week each month.
Egg says that borrowers who run out of money face an average current account overdraft rate of 12.6 per cent and an unauthorised rate of 24.3 per cent.
People could stop themselves from getting skint simply by taking a credit card and using that to mop up any extra spending instead.
Andy Deller, Egg's chief marketing officer, said "A staggering 16 million Britons run out of cash each month and often resort to expensive overdrafts to make it through to payday.
"Consumers can easily slip into the red each month if they don't have a clear figure of what they can afford to spend."
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