Less Than £100 in savings?

markwilkinson

Seems you might not be alone
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37504449

dealer_wins

That is scary. At 16 when I started work I immediately started to save a monthly amount!

MARTYM8`

Why bother saving in the UK when interest rates are so low and you lose eligibility for means tested benefits as well as housing benefit.

And if you get old and need care they will take it all off you and you will be no better off than those without savings who will get the same care for free.

The government wants people to get into debt to boost GDP - it seems to do everything to discourage people from saving unless its to fund a deposit for a house so you can get into debt.

So I am not surprised at this - where is the incentive to save?

Still I am a bit dubious about the figures - 56% of people in NI have less than £100 in the bank? Really?

Broken_Biscuits

It's hard to call it savings when it's £1 to £99.
Do people really put away, say, a quid a month into their savings?

Or are we really saying 16 million have no savings at all. That's more believable that people save nothing... the only positive i can take from this is that they are a long way off from taking the state pension away from us as a collective.

jimjames

Broken_Biscuits wrote: »

It's hard to call it savings when it's £1 to £99.
Do people really put away, say, a quid a month into their savings?

Or are we really saying 16 million have no savings at all. That's more believable that people save nothing... the only positive i can take from this is that they are a long way off from taking the state pension away from us as a collective.

Yes, it really means those numbers have no savings at all. The really scary numbers are for NI and Midlands, in both those areas over 50% have no savings. Shocking!

MARTYM8` wrote: »

Why bother saving in the UK when interest rates are so low and you lose eligibility for means tested benefits as well as housing benefit.

That's just not true though. Yes, if you have a high amount but having a few thousand in the bank that would be the difference between losing your home or getting into serious debt is not something that affects benefits.
Also for those sorts of amounts you can get over 5% so I really don't agree that interest rates would stop someone saving at all.

MARTYM8` wrote: »

So I am not surprised at this - where is the incentive to save?

Erm, being able to pay a bill without serious debt? New boiler? How would you pay if no savings? To tide you over if you lose your job or have illness?

This thread sums it up too
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5521954

colsten

MARTYM8` wrote: »

Why bother saving in the UK when interest rates are so low and you lose eligibility for means tested benefits as well as housing benefit.

Because you have ambition and personal pride, and because you don't want to live your entire life as a pauper, and/or on benefits?

veryintrigued

Its not the full story me thinks.

I reckon a lot of the people with 'no savings' in those dark red patches will be 'younger' people who've made it into the housing ladder in the non South areas.

Whereas I suspect lots of those in the 'more affluent' South will be older and saving (and saving) for that first house.

Just my thoughts

talexuser

MARTYM8` wrote: »

And if you get old and need care they will take it all off you and you will be no better off than those without savings who will get the same care for free.

I can say without doubt, having visited many care homes before having to place my mother in a private home, that you will not get the same level of care. The council funded homes are definitely at the bottom end of the desirability range, and are not comparable in many respects with the good homes at the higher end.

talexuser

MARTYM8` wrote: »

The government wants people to get into debt to boost GDP

They certainly want you to spend to have a recovery, and unfortunately your comment may very well be true!

LHW99

I do wonder how many of the people with less than £100 in savings do the lottery. £2 a week on a ticket would add up to more than £100 in year 1, and go on up from there.
or who buy at least one branded coffee each week when out shopping...

DiggerUK

Digger Mansions is in a comfortable financial position. For us, a hundred pounds is considered cash in hand, not a savings balance.

Turning your nose up at those who live from one pay day to the next, struggling to make ends meet is just gross. Low pay is the crime to be ended, especially with the obscene wealth displayed by some.

It must be obvious why the traffic on this thread is down to such low levels. If you really do need to ask why that is so, trust me, the answer is way too complicated for you to understand..._