The rising cost of living is putting pressure on those who wish to save for a rainy day, an expert from Halifax has said.

Council tax bills, petrol prices and food prices have to be tackled before people feel they can put money to one side.

Furthermore, letting unpaid bills and debts become too unwieldy is "not in anyone's interest", according to Gareth Mackie, a spokesman for Halifax.

"The main pressures on savers are rising costs, like day-to-day living costs, which put pressure on people's ability to save," he remarked.

"The advice is to keep on top of bills first of all because they're the important things to pay, be it mortgage, rent, council tax or utility bills."

People who find themselves in financial difficulty should speak to their providers and also another bank or building society, Ms Mackie added.

Meanwhile, a new report by Help The Aged and Barclaycard shows that a quarter of all people approaching retirement are still in debt.



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