Savings boom as 40% of adults debt free

FOUR in 10 adults are completely debt free as consumers save nearly four times as much as they did at the height of the boom.

According to the latest Postbank Savings Index, personal debt is also being slashed as the recession bites, with 26% of those surveyed having actively reduced their personal debt in 2009.

The survey also reveals that a new savings culture has taken hold, with three quarters of all adults putting away an average of €283 a month for a rainy day, down slightly from a high of €305 in the third quarter of 2009.