One in three Britons can’t afford to save
A third of Britons (33%) feel that they cannot afford to put any money aside each month, as they have no spare cash, according to research by Skipton Building Society. With post-Christmas debt currently hanging over the population, people could risk finding themselves in an even poorer financial state as the country enters the New Year.
The research, which looks at Britain's savings habits, reveals that almost one in four people (24%) have no savings at all, meaning the age of austerity really is beckoning. A quarter (25%) of those surveyed said that they saved as much as they could afford, but are still worried that the amount they're putting aside is not enough. With over half (55%) of people saving less than £100 a month, this could well be the case - although just putting some money aside is better than nothing.
Surprisingly the UK's top savers are the Welsh who manage to squirrel away on average £253 a month. Perhaps less surprisingly, London also has one of the highest average saving figures in the country (£214 per month) closely followed by the North East, whose residents save £200 monthly. Those living in the South East are the least financially savvy, putting aside just £132 a month.
Those living in the East of England could be most at risk financially, with two fifths (40%) admitting to not saving anything at all because they have no spare money, whilst only a quarter of those in the North East (25%) are in the same position. Meanwhile a third of North East residents (32%) feel they save as much as they can but still worry it's not enough.
As an established mutual building society, Skipton is committed to doing what it can to help people manage their finances responsibly and realise the benefits of saving. With a view to helping people get their finances on track for 2011, the Society has launched a dedicated Saving Britain campaign, supported by a website at skipton.co.uk/savingbritain. It features helpful hints and tips, quizzes to help people identify their personal budgeting priorities and member case studies for a bit of added inspiration.
Kris Brewster, head of products at Skipton Building Society, comments: "We all know how difficult it is to put money aside at the moment, however as we move into a new year this is the ideal time to start re-assessing your finances. If you are struggling it can often help to speak to a friend or an adviser who can guide you through the money maze and help you reach a point where you can start saving effectively. That's why we're offering the additional New Year incentive to encourage people to book themselves in for a financial review. We know from our research that people want to save - it just isn't always easy to get to that point where you feel able to.
"At Skipton we have created the MySavings range to encourage people to save towards their personal goals, as we know that people are much more committed to saving if they are actively putting money aside for something, rather than just for the sake of it.
"We also try to encourage people to save through our general range of rewarding savings accounts, which offer straightforward, dependable good value."