More Britons are looking to save money, according to new figures.

The MoneyMood Survey from Legal and General indicated that 62 per cent of adults were in the mood to save after paying bills and servicing debts accrued on Personal loans, credit cards and other avenues of borrowing as of the end of May.

During the same month in 2005 only some 57 per cent of respondents surveyed were reported to be in the mood to save money.

As a result of these latest statistics, more consumers could well be appearing to make personal loan repayments with greater ease and in turn are increasingly looking to stave off any potential threats to debt management in later life.

Julia Clayworth, wealth management customer marketing manager for the financial services firm, said: "This suggests more households are finding themselves in a position where they can afford to save rather than struggling to make ends meet.

"The combination of mood to save, ability to save and high interest rates suggest we could see a real uplift in household saving this year."

Ms Clayworth suggested that the latest drive in putting money away was due to recent interest rate rises by the Bank of England having a "desired effect - more saving less spending."

However, she pointed out that despite the Bank lowering the base rate last summer before a recent series of price hikes the mood to save "continued to grow steadily".

Meanwhile, in figures also released today by UK website Unbiased, Britons were reported to have borrowed some 41 pence for every pound they saved during the first three months of 2007 - up from 35 pence from the end of last year.

Overall, savings were reported to have fallen by 6 billion to 37 billion since 2006's fourth quarter, with the shortfall attributed to spending over the Christmas and New Year period and its consequent impact on making repayments on personal loans and other forms of borrowing.

The study also indicated consumers took out some 15 billion via secured and unsecured loans over the first quarter of 2007 - up by about 100 million from the last three months of 2006.

Chief executive David Elms said: "Personal debt in the UK continues to rise and as such all the conscientious effort being made on saving money is being undone by continued increasing usage of credit cards, loans and overdrafts."

Meanwhile, those Britons reported to be waiting until the launch of personal accounts in five years' time to start saving for retirement were reported by Fidelity International to be making a "costly mistake".

Research by the firm indicated that those who delay saving until 2012 may be losing out on up to 116,000 - a figure which could help many with making secured and home loan repayments in the future.

As a result of the reported shortfall in savings and the effect of interest rate rises on the ability to make loan repayments Moneyfacts has suggested that consumers take the time to look into a savings product which most suits their needs.