How can banks and the government help you save more?

Owain_Moneysaver

stop penalising people on benefits who try to save. The notional income from investment is so far away from actual returns it's unreal.

jimjames

It's more investing than saving but helping people understand risks and compounding returns would also help show that even small amounts over time can build up.

Another story in the paper today of a normal guy who died with over £1million from investments. It might be a slow process and not the instant gratification of buying now on a loan but long term investments really do work - worrying about how the stock market did today or even this year is irrelevant for 20 year plus timescales.

Archi_Bald

G_M wrote: »

If you can't afford to pay, don't buy. Save till you can afford it.
Get into debt, and there are (serious) consequences. I increasingly hear of people casually getting their £20/£30K debts written off via an IVA, bankrupcy or FTVA etc. The stigma and consequences of these are nothing like what they used to be.

yep, an IVA or going bankrupt seems to almost be a badge of honour for some.

G_M wrote: »

Given this change in attitude and consequence, why should people bother to save.

Simple answer for me - because you can afford a way better lifestyle with your own savings / investments than if you have to rely on benefits. You may have to give it a couple of decades but looking after yourself will eventually pay off and is an unbeatable choice.

Education is what is needed. Whilst a new generation is being educated, nobody should be accepted for a current account unless they have passed a finance test (in addition to existing checks). A bit like nobody is allowed to drive a car unless they have a valid licence.

tenuissent

"It takes the waiting out of wanting"

Who remembers this from the '70s ads for credit cards? Even as a young person then, I found it a dangerous and demeaning slogan. I am sure it led the way into debt for many people, and discouraged saving.

Herbalus

MSE_Wendy wrote: »

Email your ideas to thefutureofsavings@bba.org.uk by Fri 22 Aug and also share them below by clicking ‘quick reply’.

I almost missed this bit.

I wouldn't want the job of monitoring that email. I bet they'll get some very strange, passionate, and ill-advised ideas.

Personally, I can't see how the government or banks can influence attitudes towards saving. They aren't going to raise rates or decrease lending because it simply isn't in their interests to do so.

Imagine a bank, or any company for that matter, doing something that harms it's profits for the public good.

sax11

Should stop charging stupid amounts to accounts that go overdrawn

barclays, i'm looking at you

seeroo

Tax on savings should most definitely not be scrapped on savings as this would only benefit the rich who have high savings income. NISAs already allow you to save up to £15,000 per year tax free which is out of the reach of normal working people.

The only way to encourage saving is to educate people better and increase awareness.

Oh and higher rates wouldn't go amiss.

BillJones

Mazzie wrote: »

Because they can't afford to save! Wages are so poor that there's only just enough to live on, nothing left to save.

We are one of the richest countries in the world, with one of the highest GDPs per capita, and pretty close to the highest standard of living.

We measure well on the GINI coefficient of equality, so it is simply not true, not even close to true, to say that everyone is struggling.

There is pretty much no country in the world where you'd have a worse standard of living, had you been born to a normal working class family, and the state here provides world-class education up to age 18 to try to help you to achieve what you want afterwards.

There is always room for improvement, and we should never be complacent, but the picture you paint, of the average person's "struggle" is simply not a true one.

BillJones

sax11 wrote: »

Should stop charging stupid amounts to accounts that go overdrawn

barclays, i'm looking at you

Eh?

They should charge even more, until people learn to stop going overdrawn, and to instead save for a rainy day.

Messing up your finance so badly that you have to spend the bank's money to get by, and then blaming them for what you did, makes no sense at all.

It's people such as you that the thread is about, people who spend all that they earn, and then spend some more. We need to find ways to get you to learn to budget properly, and to live within your means, so that you can start saving.

Glen_Clark

ColdIron wrote: »

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
-Ronald Reagan

LOL just like Osborne's 'Help to Buy' by pumping up house prices