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."

经济衰退？什么经济衰退？针对英国女性购物习惯的调查发现，过去六个月里，她们在衣服、健身俱乐部会籍和度假旅游上的消费已有所恢复，现在的消费水平甚至比信贷紧缩之前还要高。

邮政金融服务部（Post Office Financial Services）的调查发现，数百万的女人们正悄无声息地从亲戚朋友那里借钱以维持消费水平，调查中说，她们想努力保持形象以免被公司裁员。

消费心理学家唐娜·道森（Donna Dawson）说："这些女人的购物习惯，不是让我们看到了逃避现实或者躲避真相，实际上，她们更精明和更有计划。经济形势不妙，公司员工和工作机会随之减少，因此这些女人进入的是一种 '生存模式'状态，她们改善自己的形象以确保经济和感情能熬过这段时期。女人也知道对自己投资是提高自信心最好方式，特别是在经济困难时期。"

索菲·斯金格（Sophie Stringer）是一名28岁的自由职业研究人员，为某非盈利组织工作；她在经济衰退期间一直买时髦漂亮的衣服，因为她相信当"你是自己唯一代表"时，让自己看起来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乐部加强身体锻炼，因为如果不是公司永久编制人员，得病是犯禁忌的。索菲（Sophie）说："当你为自己工作时，在某种程度上你是自己的品牌，因此我要照顾自己…我告诉自己这是一项投资。"

她说，她买衣服鞋子是为了工作，而且，如果不停地告诉自己说"不，你不能再买了",她会觉得很郁闷。

女人们在经济衰退中不断消费的另一个原因是，她们受公司裁员的影响比男人较小。约翰·菲普特（John Philpott）教授是英国人力资源协会（Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development）的首席经济学家，他指出现在的经济危机实质是"男人-转让".

"男人被裁员的比率已经增加了一倍多，在职男性数量已经下降了2%,在职女性数量下降了0.6%.失业男性数量增加了45%,而失业女性数量增加了25%,"他说。

"非全日制雇佣工作的相对弹性和公共部门工作机会的增长是造成这种情况的主因，在此种类型的就业机会中，女人是强有力的竞争者。"

尽管在其他方面的开销账单有所上升，抵押贷款费用的直线下降还是提振了繁华商业大街的消费。哈利法克斯（Halifax）今天公布的调查显示，经营一个家庭的平均成本（大部分是抵押贷款）的费用从去年占年均收入的28%下降到现在占收入的23%.

典型的英国家庭如今在贷款、电、气和房屋保养上的开支达到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。

商业大街上许多的顾客都认为，当银行利率这么低的时候，储蓄毫无意义。

"我花在化妆品、珠宝和衣服上的钱比几年前要多。这让我感觉更好，"哈里特·雷茵（Harriet Lane）说，她来自牛津镇，是一名27岁的学校护士。

"这么低的银行利率，我不清楚存钱有什么意义。我也没有太多的可支配收入，所以我宁愿把所赚到的钱都花在自己身上。"她说。

雷茵说，购买珠宝和化妆品一类的小物品，使她心理上产生很大的差别，尤其是听到经济形势堪忧、前景暗淡的新闻报道时。但趁着受到经济紧缩打击的商店举行减价销售活动，她也抓紧时机多买了一些东西。

"我当然有注意到在过去的六个月中，网站和商店有了更多的促销。我很容易被打动。它刺激象我这样的人去消费，"她说，现在很少买全价商品了。

尚不清楚此类消费中有多少是建基于借债的，但有令人担忧的迹象显示，经济复苏的"嫩芽"（不管是真是假）再次鼓励人们以更不在乎的态度去对待债务。

邮政金融服务部调查揭示"超过1500万名女性在信贷紧缩期间并没有减少信用卡的使用数量，接近300万名女性从亲戚朋友那里借钱维持帐户充盈。"

理财网站unbiased.co.uk在本周指出，在2009年上半年，英国人所借的债比他们所还的债要多，这是六个月来首次出现的现象；今年第一季度的新债务上升到27亿英磅，存款水平降到新低。

英国国家理债专线（National Debtline）的贝西·波登·维尔克斯（Beccy Boden Wilks）说，她仍然要定期对付一些受到我们的购物文化催眠的人："我处理年轻妇女的债务问题有几年了，她们把大笔的钱花在承担不起的生活方式上。例如，一个女孩负债累累还要去纽约购物。去一趟纽约都要花不少钱，更别说还要购物了。"

为什么女人们更容易破产？

凯瑟琳·霍普金斯（Kathryn Hopkins）写道，根据一家顶级的会计公司的调查，英国的女人出手阔绰，堪比名流，破产的年轻人中大部分是女人。

会计公司威尔金斯·肯尼迪（Wilkins Kennedy）说，所有24岁以下破产的人中55%是女人，而5年前只有48.3%.去年有1,560名24岁以下的女人宣布破产，同年龄的男人是1,250 名。

"5年前似乎是男人企图摆脱金融债务的桎梏，而现在更可能是年轻女人不负责任地乱花钱。两性之间的这种差别似乎正在扩大，"威尔金斯·肯尼迪（Wilkins Kennedy）的主任安东尼·科克（Anthony Cork）说。

"过去的十年间，年轻女人效仿女界名流奢华的生活方式，使她们承受着巨大的经济压力。我们非常认真地被告知帕丽斯·希尔顿（Paris Hilton）和维多利亚·贝克汉姆（Victoria Beckham）是年轻女人们效仿的典范。"

他说年轻女人喜欢在外租房或者拥有自己的公寓以证明自己的独立性，这样对她们来说经济上有不少压力--问题是年轻的男人似乎受此影响较少。根据英国国家统计局（Office of National Statistics）的报告，20-34岁的男人中有29%现在还和父母住在一起，而年轻女人只有18%的比例。科克（Cork）说："许多单身的年轻妇女，每月要拿出薪水中的大部分用来偿还抵押贷款。银行利率一变化，她们就容易受到影响，一旦失去工作，更可能使她们破产。"