Savers could sprint to more than £2,500 by London 2012

With the Beijing Olympics just over a week away (8th to 24th August) sportsmen and women around the world will no doubt be looking forward to reaping the benefits of their disciplined training schedules. Alliance & Leicester Savings is challenging the 29 per cent of Brits who do not have any savings or investments to overcome their "savings hurdles" and see their efforts rewarded.

Alliance & Leicester Savings research shows that the majority (68 per cent) of non-savers claim their biggest hurdle to saving is not having enough cash left over after paying all the bills, and that one in twenty do not consider saving a priority. However, with the rising cost of living, saving even just a small amount each month is now more important than ever.

By putting £50 away on a monthly basis (which means saving less than £2 per day) in a high interest savings account, savers could pocket around £2,680 (including interest) between now and the London 2012 Olympics. With the majority of Brits feeling the effects of increased petrol prices (67 per cent), food bills (63 per cent) and utility bills (63 per cent) during the past 12 months, this could go a long way to help relieve the headache of the soaring cost of living.

Hetal Parmar, Manager for Savings at Alliance & Leicester, said: "Even by starting with a small "warm up" amount each month, saved in a high interest account, Brits can build up a nice sum of money without breaking much of a sweat! It's important to remember that saving today will provide security for tomorrow."