For What do Brits Save Their Money?

Sure, there's homeownership, but what are an average Briton's major bills when their healthcare and insurance is free?  (It looks like only about 40% of Brits own cars.)

I got home from London last night, and am presently getting my bearings.  Weren't my guest bloggers fabulous?  I thought so!  Please join me in thanking them profusely in keeping the place going in my absence (and tell them no worries about the lamp).

The musings in this post are due to my walking down Oxford Street, a major shopping thoroughfare (a "high street", I think), on Saturday afternoon in London and noticing how absolutely swamped it was with weekend crowds.  And later as I walked with my fiance and described the density along the sidewalks and in the shops, I wondered aloud, does the average Brit have more disposable income than the average American, given the disproportionate expenses of healthcare and education for us?  I know on average they pay higher taxes than us, and life is generally more expensive, but how much $$ do they have left over at the end of a year compared to us?

Clearly, I know very little about this comparative issue, and when I went and bought milk this morning at Store 24, I was glad my $3.38 was just that and not actually 60% more - i.e., the sterling to dollar exchange rate.  And there really is a tremendous amount of goods and services that we get so cheaply here in the US.  But I have to wonder, would I be happily trotting along the high street every Saturday in London, satisfying my shopping craving if I wasn't saving up for my education or paying off medical bills or student loans?

Any one care to enlighten me on this?

(Photo of Oxford Street, London by Matti Mattila)