Saver confidence increases as over two thirds of consumers are able to save

The Lloyds Bank Savings Report shows that more people are feeling confident about their savings, with over two thirds (70%) of people surveyed having saved over the past 12 months.

One in five have more than four times their household monthly income in accessible savings

One in ten have been able to save over £1,000 in the last month

Men are more likely than women to invest in stocks and shares

This is an overall improvement of 2% from the previous quarter of those saying that they been able to save regularly throughout the year.

One in ten (10%) have been able to save over £1,000 in the last month. This doubles to one in five (19%), for those who have saved £500 or more.

This quarter (April – June) has also seen fewer savers say they couldn’t save anything at all in the past month, down from 21% in Q1 to 16% in Q2, while the proportion that saved something in the past month is up from 63% to 67%. Men have also been able to save more over the quarter rising from 64% to 69%, compared to women who saw an increase from 63% to 66%.

In terms of current levels of savings, one in five (22%) said that they have more than four times their household monthly income in accessible savings. The total amount of savings also significantly increases with age; 7% of those aged 18-24 say that they have more than four times their household monthly income in savings, compared to 41% of those aged 65+.

Philip Robinson, Savings Director for Lloyds Bank said: “With over two thirds of people having saved in the last 12 months, and one in ten saving over £1,000 in the last month alone, we can see why savings confidence remains strong.

“Looking at the differences in people’s saving habits, men and women display different ways of saving, as well as younger savers choosing different types of savings accounts than other age groups. These differences demonstrate why people should regularly review both their saving and their spending to make sure their money goes even further.”

When it comes to saving for a rainy day, the top three reasons people cut back to cover unexpected outgoings include, spending less on clothes (43%), going out and socialising less (42%) and cutting back on living costs by buying cheaper brands in the supermarket (41%).

Women (50%) are much more likely than men (36%) to cut back on buying clothes, and will also buy cheaper brands in the supermarket more often than men (45% compared to 37%) in order to save for a rainy day.

Cash ISAs continue to be the most popular way to save (46%), followed by instant access savings accounts (44%), however, only a third (33%) of 18-24 year olds are making use of cash ISAs, while their use of instant access savings accounts has increased significantly over the quarter from 29% to 38%.

Instant access savings accounts remain the most popular product for short term savers, while 20% of male short term savers are using a high interest current account compared to 16% of women. In addition, men (8%) are more likely than women (3%) to be investing in stocks, shares or similar investment products.