The last ten years has given rise to a debt culture, with many thinking that borrowing beyond their means is good.

This is according to Philip Stevenson, chartered financial planner for Ark Financial Planning, who stated that there has been a "definite trend away from saving".

"I think we are in a position now where people are more concerned with paying off debt rather than saving," he continued, adding that it could only ever be a good thing to see debt levels reduced.

Mr Stevenson refers to a situation where people are gaining just one per cent interest on their savings, while paying 18 per cent on their credit card bill, suggesting people must clear their debts first.

The latest Nationwide Savings Index released earlier this month found that just 56 per cent of consumers think saving is important, while less than half (47 per cent) of consumers save regularly.

In addition to this, 16 per cent of people think now is a good time to save and over half of consumers think government policy discourages them from saving.