Where have the savers gone?

MiserlyMartin

Compared to around a year ago, this forum seems very quiet. It used be packed with knowledgeable posters. Anyone could get an answer to any question about the latest deals out there and feedback a plenty.

Now it seems there is not many people here. Many unanswered questions. The experts seem to have vanished. Were many of the savers just waiting for houses to crash and were saving for that time they were going to buy. With interest rates so pathetically low at the moment maybe people have just gone and spent it?

Whats happening or am I imagining things?

juicyjude

Just look at Martins section on best deals with regards to saving accounts. Trouble is so many buildings soc and banks have merged there is far less choice.

juicyjude

And of course there is a lot less money around!

MiserlyMartin

Not sure about less money - less credit for sure. But many have opened some of Martins best buys eg citibank but there has been virtually no discussion about the rate drop on this forum. In the old days the deals would appear on this forum by some savvy saver before Martin best buys had it there!

Aegis

Fewer good rates compared to this time last year and a general feeling of pessimism?

ses6jwg

More people seem to be turning to equities and commodities in search of higher returns - this forum does not really cater for these so much.

Primrose

Also, I suspect that many people come on here wanting easy answers without being prepared to do any homework themselves first, even if they are inexperienced savers. (Is this yet another symptom of the Nanny State where everybody wants somebody else to provide all the answers and solutions?). How often do we see posts like "What can I do with £20K, £30K? etc." I think we all have a responsibility to try and educate ourselves about how best to handle our finances bearing in mind our personal circumstances, i.e. how ISAs benefit taxpayers, funding a pension scheme, long & short term savings, saving versus paying off debt, etc. There's a lot of information out there if people will take the time to understand how everything works. I don't confess to knowing all the answers and will ask for advice when I need it but relying on somebody else to provide answerswhich may not necessarily be best suited to your personal situation is no substitute for knowing enough to navigate your own way through the financial system.

Reaper

I agree with Primrose. I do get rather tired of people saying "I have £x to invest, what should I do with it?".

Then you have all the palavar of asking whether they meant invest or save, what is their attitude to risk, how long can they tie it up for, have they used up their ISA allowance etc. No sooner have you done all that than somebody else asks the same question again. No effort made to read other posts or read the savings articles on the main site, they prefer to be spoon fed.

Another reason there is less going on now is that the banking crisis has died down. That brought a lot of worried people to the board wanting to discuss what to do. Now it's a bit duller - not that that's a bad thing!

natman

Primrose wrote: »

Also, I suspect that many people come on here wanting easy answers without being prepared to do any homework themselves first, even if they are inexperienced savers. (Is this yet another symptom of the Nanny State where everybody wants somebody else to provide all the answers and solutions?). How often do we see posts like "What can I do with £20K, £30K? etc." I think we all have a responsibility to try and educate ourselves about how best to handle our finances bearing in mind our personal circumstances, i.e. how ISAs benefit taxpayers, funding a pension scheme, long & short term savings, saving versus paying off debt, etc. There's a lot of information out there if people will take the time to understand how everything works. I don't confess to knowing all the answers and will ask for advice when I need it but relying on somebody else to provide answerswhich may not necessarily be best suited to your personal situation is no substitute for knowing enough to navigate your own way through the financial system.

I really agree with you, some people dont seem to carry out any investigation at all.
I posted something a couple of weeks ago about £5,000, i wanted to save after it matures but I highlighted that I had looked at certain options, and wanted peoples opinions. I did get peoples opinions, which was great.

Going back to people not doing their homework, even the main savings tab at the top is at least a starting point for most people. Perhaps people are going to comparison sites and muddling through themselves!!!

With less banks, and less weird savings ( ICELAND , NIGERIA INDIA ETC ETC ) I think most try and keep money in this country now following the hurt of 2008 with savings accounts.

Masomnia

I think the Icesave/Kauthing debacle scared a lot of people off, perfectly good suggestions, but in hindsight it caused a lot of issues. People may be a bit more wary of giving 'advice' now.

I agree with the others, the 'I have £x, what should I do?' threads do get a bit tiresome. What do people expect? I've never seen one of them answered conclusively with advice, and quite right too.

Arthurian

All the exciting new deals have vanished. That's why there's less to talk about.