subject: Could my savings account help stabilise my future? [print this page] Could my savings account help stabilise my future?
If you're already making regular payments into a savings account, you may well have seen how such a facility can provide a great safety net for the future when times get tough. In addition, you might also have recommended that friends and family consider one as a way to increase their financial stability.
But if you feel as if you've never had the opportunity to save and would like to change this, now could be a great time to get started. Whether it's a savings account that is able to give you a favorable interest rate or a cash ISA that provides a more tax-efficient option you could find getting your money in order has a wider economic impact on your life.
You might just be saving for that one specific purchase, or just putting together a rainy day fund. But there's also adequate opportunity for your savings to work towards a bigger part of your future. As the economic slowdown hopefully becomes a thing of the past, having cash safely tucked away might get you a brand new car or help pay for a deposit on a house. This type of spending could also help the economy along the way if you are able to get yourself on the housing ladder.
In January this year, a new study was conducted that showed despite the recession, people were still putting their faith in savings accounts and ISAs as a way to protect their financial future. The YouGov research seemed to suggest consumers hadn't let the recession dampen their spirits when it came to saving. In fact it explained that figures were looking even healthier than they were a year previously as December 2009 saw UK savers put an average of 136% more into their nest egg. This equated to about 776 being saved through the final quarter of the year - up from 329 12 months prior. An estimated 38% of people admitted they'd raided their stash on one or more occasion - but the amount they had taken was also much lower than 2008.
But traditional savings accounts are not the only way people are making their money work harder, as more and more are seeing the benefits of tax-efficient savings with a cash ISA. Since the start of the new tax year in April 2010, the amount that any eligible person over the age of 16 can put into this type of product has been raised to 5,100 from the previous 3,100 figure - meaning they are now a more attractive option than ever before.
