Britons are once again taking on more debt than they are repaying. Photograph: Murdo Macleod

    Recession? What recession? Research into the shopping habits of Britain's women has found that spending on clothes, gym memberships and holidays has recovered over the past six months and is now higher than before the credit crunch.

    The research, by Post Office Financial Services, also found that millions of women are quietly borrowing from relatives to maintain their spending, in what it says is an attempt to uphold an image and avoid potential redundancy.

    Consumer spending psychologist Donna Dawson says: "What we are seeing in the shopping habits of these women is not escapism or avoidance of the truth – it is actually more shrewd and calculated than that. When the economy is insecure, people and jobs can fall with it, and so these women have gone into 'survival mode', polishing up their images to ensure their economic and emotional survival. Also, a woman knows that investing in herself is the best way to boost self-confidence, especially in troubled times."

    Sophie Stringer, a 28-year-old freelance researcher for a non-profit organisation, has continued to buy smart clothes during the recession as she believes it is important to look your best when "you are your only -representative".

    She has also recently joined a gym for the first time in her life to keep herself fit and healthy, as sick days are a no-no when you're not permanent staff. Sophie says: "When you're working for yourself you're your own brand to an extent, so I look after myself … and tell myself it's an investment."

    She says she justifies buying clothes and shoes for work and would get miserable if she was constantly telling herself, "no, you can't".

    Another reason women are continuing to spend in the recession is that they have been less affected by job cuts than men. Professor John Philpott, chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development , refers to the ongoing economic crisis as a "man-cession".

    "The redundancy rate for men has more than doubled. The number of men in work has fallen by 2%, the number of women in work by 0.6%. The number of men unemployed has increased by 45%, the number of women unemployed by a quarter," he said.

    "This pattern is mainly explained by the relative buoyancy of part-time employment and the growth in public sector employment – types of employment in which women are strongly represented."

    High street spending has also been boosted by steep falls in the cost of servicing mortgages, even though bills are going up elsewhere. Research published today by Halifax reveals that the average cost of running a home （mostly the mortgage） has fallen from 28% of average earnings last year to 23% of earnings today.

    The typical family now spends ￡7,298 on mortgage, gas and electricity bills, and maintenance compared to ￡8,766 last year – freeing up ￡1,468 to spend elsewhere.

    Down on the high street, many shoppers regard saving as pointless when interest rates are so low.

    "I'm spending more on cosmetics, jewellery and clothes than a couple of years ago. It makes me feel better," says Harriet Lane, a 27-year-old school nurse from Oxford.

    "I can't see the point in saving because of low interest rates. I don't have much disposable income, so what I do have I would rather spend on treating myself," she says.

    Lane says that buying small things such as jewellery and make-up can make a big difference to her psychologically, especially when there is a lot of doom and gloom in the news. But she has also increased her spending to take advantage of cut-price deals in shops hit by the crunch.

    "I have definitely noticed that in the last six months websites and shops have had more sales. I'm quite easily persuaded. It encourages people like me to spend," she says, adding that she now rarely buys anything full price.

    Quite how much of this spending is being financed by debt is not known, but there are worrying signs that the "green shoots" of recovery – real or false – are once again encouraging more relaxed attitudes to debt.

    According to the Post Office, the research revealed that "over 15 million women have not reduced the number of credit cards they use during the credit crunch, and nearly 3 million are borrowing money from a relative to keep their finances topped up."

    For the first time in six months, Brits took out more debt than they repaid during the first part of 2009, financial adviser website unbiased.co.uk said this week. The first quarter of the year saw new debt rise to ￡2.7bn, while savings levels dropped to an all time low.

    Beccy Boden Wilks at the National Debtline says she still regularly deals with individuals hypnotised by our spending culture: "Over the years I have worked with young women that were funding a lifestyle they can't afford. One girl went on a shopping trip to New York when she was in debt. It's expensive to go to New York anyway, let alone to go shopping."

    Why women are more likely to go bankrupt

    Women now make up the majority of young bankrupts in Britain as they try and match celebrity spending habits, according to a top accountancy firm, writes Kathryn Hopkins.

    Wilkins Kennedy said that 55% of all under 24-year-olds going bankrupt are women, compared to just 48.3% five years ago. Last year, there were 1,560 women under 24 declared bankrupt compared to 1,250 men from the same age group.

    "Five years ago it tended to be young men who got out of their financial depth, but now it is far more likely to be young women who spend irresponsibly. That gap between the genders seems to be growing," Anthony Cork, director of Wilkins Kennedy, said.

    "Over the last decade the pressure on young women to follow the lavish lifestyle of female celebrities has grown immensely. In all seriousness we are told that Paris Hilton and Victoria Beckham （pictured right） are role models to be followed."

    He added that there is now a burden on young women to prove their independence by renting or owning their own flat – a problem that young men seem to suffer from less. According to the Office of National Statistics, 29% of 20- to 34-year-old men now live with their parents compared to just 18% of women. Cork added: "Too many young, single women have taken out mortgages that eat up far too much of their monthly salaries. This makes them vulnerable to changes in interest rates and makes them far more likely to go bankrupt if they lose their job."

    經濟衰退？什么經濟衰退？針對英國女性購物習慣的調查發現，過去六個月里，她們在衣服、健身俱樂部會籍和度假旅游上的消費已有所恢復，現在的消費水平甚至比信貸緊縮之前還要高。

    郵政金融服務部（Post Office Financial Services）的調查發現，數百萬的女人們正悄無聲息地從親戚朋友那里借錢以維持消費水平，調查中說，她們想努力保持形象以免被公司裁員。

    消費心理學家唐娜·道森（Donna Dawson）說："這些女人的購物習慣，不是讓我們看到了逃避現實或者躲避真相，實際上，她們更精明和更有計劃。經濟形勢不妙，公司員工和工作機會隨之減少，因此這些女人進入的是一種 '生存模式'狀態，她們改善自己的形象以確保經濟和感情能熬過這段時期。女人也知道對自己投資是提高自信心最好方式，特別是在經濟困難時期。"

    索菲·斯金格（Sophie Stringer）是一名28歲的自由職業研究人員，為某非盈利組織工作；她在經濟衰退期間一直買時髦漂亮的衣服，因為她相信當"你是自己唯一代表"時，讓自己看起來魅力四射是很重要的。

    她最近也是平生第一次加入了一家健身俱樂部加強身體鍛煉，因為如果不是公司永久編制人員，得病是犯禁忌的。索菲（Sophie）說："當你為自己工作時，在某種程度上你是自己的品牌，因此我要照顧自己…我告訴自己這是一項投資。"

    她說，她買衣服鞋子是為了工作，而且，如果不停地告訴自己說"不，你不能再買了",她會覺得很郁悶。

    女人們在經濟衰退中不斷消費的另一個原因是，她們受公司裁員的影響比男人較小。約翰·菲普特（John Philpott）教授是英國人力資源協會（Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development）的首席經濟學家，他指出現在的經濟危機實質是"男人-轉讓".

    "男人被裁員的比率已經增加了一倍多，在職男性數量已經下降了2%,在職女性數量下降了0.6%.失業男性數量增加了45%,而失業女性數量增加了25%,"他說。

    "非全日制雇傭工作的相對彈性和公共部門工作機會的增長是造成這種情況的主因，在此種類型的就業機會中，女人是強有力的競爭者。"

    盡管在其他方面的開銷賬單有所上升，抵押貸款費用的直線下降還是提振了繁華商業大街的消費。哈利法克斯（Halifax）今天公布的調查顯示，經營一個家庭的平均成本（大部分是抵押貸款）的費用從去年占年均收入的28%下降到現在占收入的23%.

    典型的英國家庭如今在貸款、電、氣和房屋保養上的開支達到7,298英磅，少于去年的8,766英磅--省下1,468英磅可以花在其他方面。

    商業大街上許多的顧客都認為，當銀行利率這么低的時候，儲蓄毫無意義。

    "我花在化妝品、珠寶和衣服上的錢比幾年前要多。這讓我感覺更好，"哈里特·雷茵（Harriet Lane）說，她來自牛津鎮，是一名27歲的學校護士。

    "這么低的銀行利率，我不清楚存錢有什么意義。我也沒有太多的可支配收入，所以我寧愿把所賺到的錢都花在自己身上。"她說。

    雷茵說，購買珠寶和化妝品一類的小物品，使她心理上產生很大的差別，尤其是聽到經濟形勢堪憂、前景暗淡的新聞報道時。但趁著受到經濟緊縮打擊的商店舉行減價銷售活動，她也抓緊時機多買了一些東西。

    "我當然有注意到在過去的六個月中，網站和商店有了更多的促銷。我很容易被打動。它刺激象我這樣的人去消費，"她說，現在很少買全價商品了。

    尚不清楚此類消費中有多少是建基于借債的，但有令人擔憂的跡象顯示，經濟復蘇的"嫩芽"（不管是真是假）再次鼓勵人們以更不在乎的態度去對待債務。

    郵政金融服務部調查揭示"超過1500萬名女性在信貸緊縮期間并沒有減少信用卡的使用數量，接近300萬名女性從親戚朋友那里借錢維持帳戶充盈。"

    理財網站unbiased.co.uk在本周指出，在2009年上半年，英國人所借的債比他們所還的債要多，這是六個月來首次出現的現象；今年第一季度的新債務上升到27億英磅，存款水平降到新低。

    英國國家理債專線（National Debtline）的貝西·波登·維爾克斯（Beccy Boden Wilks）說，她仍然要定期對付一些受到我們的購物文化催眠的人："我處理年輕婦女的債務問題有幾年了，她們把大筆的錢花在承擔不起的生活方式上。例如，一個女孩負債累累還要去紐約購物。去一趟紐約都要花不少錢，更別說還要購物了。"

    為什么女人們更容易破產？

    凱瑟琳·霍普金斯（Kathryn Hopkins）寫道，根據一家頂級的會計公司的調查，英國的女人出手闊綽，堪比名流，破產的年輕人中大部分是女人。

    會計公司威爾金斯·肯尼迪（Wilkins Kennedy）說，所有24歲以下破產的人中55%是女人，而5年前只有48.3%.去年有1,560名24歲以下的女人宣布破產，同年齡的男人是1,250 名。

    "5年前似乎是男人企圖擺脫金融債務的桎梏，而現在更可能是年輕女人不負責任地亂花錢。兩性之間的這種差別似乎正在擴大，"威爾金斯·肯尼迪（Wilkins Kennedy）的主任安東尼·科克（Anthony Cork）說。

    "過去的十年間，年輕女人效仿女界名流奢華的生活方式，使她們承受著巨大的經濟壓力。我們非常認真地被告知帕麗斯·希爾頓（Paris Hilton）和維多利亞·貝克漢姆（Victoria Beckham）是年輕女人們效仿的典范。"

    他說年輕女人喜歡在外租房或者擁有自己的公寓以證明自己的獨立性，這樣對她們來說經濟上有不少壓力--問題是年輕的男人似乎受此影響較少。根據英國國家統計局（Office of National Statistics）的報告，20-34歲的男人中有29%現在還和父母住在一起，而年輕女人只有18%的比例。科克（Cork）說："許多單身的年輕婦女，每月要拿出薪水中的大部分用來償還抵押貸款。銀行利率一變化，她們就容易受到影響，一旦失去工作，更可能使她們破產。"