Get our money-saving tips and top offers direct to your inbox with the Mirror Money newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

The average Briton is saving £36.53 a week during lockdown compared with their normal life, new figures reveal.

That puts them on course to rack up almost £440 if restrictions aren't lifted until June according to research from www.carwow.co.uk.

Around a quarter of household spending goes on outgoings that are currently not possible or strongly discouraged - such as eating out, commuting, going on holiday and transport, a separate study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies found.

Vix Leyton, consumer expert at carwow, said: “With so many of our day to day spending habits pared back, little changes like moving from Meal Deals and coffee shops to making our own lunch has the potential to add pounds to your bank balance."

But not everyone is making savings.

(Image: Getty Images)

The IFS found while better-off households may increase their savings, as spending on "banned" activities falls, poorer households could finish up worse off.

That's because a bigger chunk of their income goes on necessities, leaving less spare room to save and potentially nothing at all if their income falls as a result of being furloughed or seeing wages or hours cut.

Alex Davenport, research economist at the IFS, said: "Social distancing measures aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus are likely to have a significant impact on households' spending."

But while the better off can bank the difference, that's not an option for people struggling to make ends meet.

"Poorer households by contrast tend to spend more of their budgets on bills which are harder to avoid, such as rent, food and utilities," Davenport said.

"This makes it harder for these households to cope with temporary reductions in their incomes."

Around a fifth (20%) of spending by the richest fifth of households goes on eating out and taking holidays compared with a smaller chunk (12%) for the the poorest fifth, the IFS said.

Because lower-income households focus a higher share of their spending on necessities (55%) than higher-income households (39%), they are less resilient to any falls in income, it argued.