Britain must get into the savings habit

Nationwide is urging the UK to get into the habit of saving.

The building society said that given the current economic climate, everyone should be saving regularly for the short and longer term.

The news follows a survey by Fairinvestment.co.uk which found that many Brits have already made saving a priority.

Forty four percent of people now deposit all their spare cash in a savings account, compared to 10% who spend the money on luxuries such as clothes or CDs.

Sharon Bratley, Fairinvestment.co.uk spokesperson, said: “It is good to see that saving is important to so many people.

“It’s encouraging that Brits are being more careful with their money.”

For those not already in the savings habit, Nationwide offers top tips for five different ways to make saving easy.

The pay day depositor puts a set amount of money straight into a savings account as soon as their wages come in.

The end of month sweeper saves any spare cash that’s left over on the last day of each month.

The drip feeder saves a small amount of money once per week.

The lazy saver sets up a monthly standing order direct to their savings account.

Finally, the penny pincher rounds up all their bills to the nearest £10, and saves the difference. For example, if they pay £36 per month gym membership, they’d round it up to £40 and put the spare £4 into a savings account.

“Whichever method of saving you choose make sure you do it,” Nationwide said.

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