£500 a month in spare cash for the average UK person
Despite people still feeling the pinch, many of those in full time employment are accumulating spare cash each month, according to research from Lloyds Bank.
After paying bills and buying essential items like food, seven in ten of UK full-time workers has at least a quarter of their monthly income left over for discretionary spending. Based on the average UK gross full time salary (£33,511), it means that over three quarters of people have at least £500 spare each month. In the last three years the average monthly UK full time salary, after Tax and National Insurance, has risen from £2,048 in 2011 to £2,154 in 2014.
This is helping to give people more options on whether they should spend or save this spare money. However, it seems the saving habit is becoming easier, with 68% saying that if they have spare cash they’re likely to save it. This is up from a low of 52% in November 2011.
Interestingly, three in ten have at least half of their income remaining after clearing household bills and essential items and one in ten have at least three quarters of their monthly income left at the end of each month.
Philip Robinson, Lloyds Bank Savings Director: “With many people in the UK thinking that they will have more spare cash in the future, it’s worth considering how to make it work harder for you. Putting funds in a higher interest current or savings account could pay dividends and help set you up for the future.”
The UK is feeling increasingly positive about the future when it comes to discretionary spending. More people think they will have more spare money in the future than less (-13% in September 2011 rising to +5% in September 2014). That theme is also seen in people’s outlook for saving, where the balance of opinion between those who believe they will save more over those who will save less, is up 11% points from 1% in September 2011 to 12% in September 2014.
Club Lloyds Savings account:
Customers taking out a Club Lloyds current account have access to exclusive rates on other products such as a range of savings accounts. The Club Lloyds Monthly Saver can help customers get an improved return on their savings by offering an interest rate of 4% on monthly deposits of up to £400.
With the Club Lloyds Monthly Saver, customers have instant access to their money and can save between £25 and £400 each month for 12 months. This gives them a potential return of £104 in interest at the end of a year of saving, if they save the maximum amount each month.
In addition to this, Club Lloyds customers also have access to an instant access Club Lloyds Saver account, offering an interest rate of 0.75%, on balances of over £1,500. This gives Club Lloyds Saver customers a premium of 0.25% above the standard Easy Saver account interest rates.