The average householder stands just 52 days from “ruin”, due to their heavy monthly mortgage obligations, other outgoings and personal debts.

A poll from the Yorkshire Building Society shows that the average amount spent each month has now hit £1,445.

However, the average put aside in “accessible” savings, such as instant-access cash ISAs, stands at just £2,474.

Worse still, over one third of people would clear their savings in 11 days or less if their income was stopped.

Around 20 per cent of poll respondents indicated that they had “no idea” how they would make ends meet if they no longer worked – and nine in ten said that they had not taken out any income protection insurance to help them through tough financial times.

Moreover, many were found to have “unrealistic” plans for what to do if they did lose their jobs: for example, 19 per cent said that they would take out state benefits to tide them over.

This is despite the group having around £334 of weekly expenditure on average – and total benefits coming to a mere £75.40 a week.