Higher number of female savers, but it's men who save more cash

Hundred's of thousands of customers using NatWest's free tool to help hit their savings targets has revealed new data about savings priorities across gender, age and location. The statistics show that nearly a third more women are using the tool to reach their savings goals, however, it's men who appear to be more ambitious with their savings. While women on average aim for £5,600, men want to save nearly double that at just under £10,000.

The simple and easy to use tool which saw nearly 2,000 goals set up each week last year, has been designed as an aid for customers who are saving for something specific. The tool, which was awarded a 3 star Fairbanking mark last year, can be personalised: customers can input the amount to reach, by when, how much they can save, all while tracking their progress through online banking.

The new research also shows the difference between the saving agendas of men and women - over a quarter of all women were saving for a holiday, whereas men save for a ‘rainy day' or their ‘retirement'. In fact a higher proportion of men were likely to save for a ‘Car', ‘House Deposit', or their ‘own business', whereas more female savers prioritised ‘weddings or ‘something special'.

It's not just gender that dictates savings patterns, today's new figures also highlight the link between a customer's age and their savings habits. The target for under 18's is a car, while customers in their 20's are aiming for a house deposit and the over 65's are saving for their retirement.

Today's data also confirms that customers are making a more conscious effort to save in 2012. During the first week of January over 3,600 individual goals were set up, compared to 1,500 at the same time last year.

Differences in saving patterns across the country are also revealed, customers in London have the highest average target balance, at £9,962, whereas customers in the North were aiming to reach £6,006 in total. Most people are saving for a short-term goal, which they are hoping to achieve within 7-12 months.

On the whole we can see that just under a quarter of all savers using the tool are putting aside funds for ‘other' categories such as a laptop, eye surgery, or even a new motorhome. This category was closely followed by a house deposit and holiday which both took 21% of all goals formed.