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According to the Guardian, fresh research has found that new car sales have fallen to their lowest level since 1966, while household savings are at a low unseen since the 1950s.
Personal pensions have also been hit by the credit crunch, with the number of people investing in them falling by one million over the last 12 months to seven million.
Further belt-tightening is evidenced by the growing consumption of low-cost goods, with analysts referring to the so-called 'Aldi effect'.
Sainsbury's, for instance, has seen a six per cent increase in sales of its own brand items - twice the rate of its more expensive range.
Fears of the UK being hit by a recession were heightened recently when economic growth ground to halt for the second successive quarter.
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