Although many people in the UK say they are worried about the state of their own finances, 67% of them have not made any changes to their saving habits since the recession started two years ago.
HSBC surveyed 1,100 British adults and discovered that 76% were concerned about the health of the economy and a similar percentage said they were anxious about their own finances. Far from increasing their savings, 19% said they have been forced to reduce the contributions they make to deposits and investments. Just 14% said they had been able to increase the amount they save since 2008.
An earlier survey by the bank discovered that 30% of British adults do not even have £250 in savings to access in an emergency.
Despite this, or perhaps because of it, 32% of UK consumers want to have a larger choice when it comes to choosing a provider to look after their savings, according to a survey conducted by YouGov. Around 30% would also consider opening an account with a non-traditional provider of bank accounts.
Consumers want more choice and yet when it comes to switching their current account to a new provider, they are extremely cautious. At least that’s the message to come from a report by Santander. In the past year, only 7% have switched to a new current account provider despite the fact that their current product could be wasting their money.
Umbrella company contractors may want to sit down and spend time comparing the interest rates offered by all the banks to ensure they are getting the best return from their hard earned income.
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