subject: Nationwide Notes Saving Increase [print this page] A new study reveals more people are placing money into savings accounts.
Increasing numbers of Britons are looking to save money, the publication of new research seems to suggest.
However, the latest Saving Index from Nationwide reveals that many people are still not putting any cash into savings accounts, so it could be possible that a significant proportion of consumers are finding it a struggle to prepare for the future.
Statistics released by the building society show that just over one-fifth (21 per cent) of consumers failed to set any money aside over the course of last month. This compares to the 25 per cent who were not doing so in December.
Meanwhile, 79 per cent claimed they were able to put cash into a UK account on either an occasional or regular basis, the highest percentage to have been recorded since September 2008.
Commenting on the figures, Andy Hutchinson of Nationwide points out: "Compared to the previous month, the number of non-savers fell from one in four to about one in five. This could have been because of the recent increase in VAT meaning people spent less money and therefore had more money to save."
However, he suggests the rise in saving could be attributed to people making it a new year's resolution to set more money aside.
"Whatever the reason, it will be interesting to see in the next coming months whether this improvement can be sustained."
Such comments come as Birmingham Midshires recently reported an average of 776 was saved in the three-month period ending January 31st.
And those Britons looking to compare savings accounts in an effort to make the most of their money may be interested to note that Nationwide's Saving Index rose two points over the course of last month to stand at 85.
This increase was particularly driven by the Importance of Saving sub-index, up 12 points from December to 98 in January.
