"Most only have £500 of savings ",says Lloyds boss ,really ?

[moon man]

BBC link
This seems ridiculously low tbh .are things really this bad ? i follow nearly new cars in my old Skoda ,see queues at airports for foreign holidays ,surely they have more buffer money than this ?

The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account.

 

[azazl187]

That exactly what I have in my ISA.....

 

[arknor]

why would you keep money in a bank or savings account when they pay so little interest ? there's no incentive to any more

 

[Kenai]

This is exactly the behaviour low interest rates encourage - saving is worthless, buying and borrowing is cheap, so spend what you've got as fast as you can get it.

 

[iamtheoneneo]

Aren't a lot of people living paycheck to paycheck..I know I used to.

If your stuck in a low wage job its impossible for you to save any meaningful amount.

Plus can we also realise that they don't want you to save. They want you to have as much credit as possible to prop up the sinking economy.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

BBC link
This seems ridiculously low tbh .are things really this bad ? i follow nearly new cars in my old Skoda ,see queues at airports for foreign holidays ,surely they have more buffer money than this ?

The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account.

Those new cars are leased/on PCP schemes and the foreign holidays are purchased on credit cards.

Statistics Archive - The Money Charity

 

[mid_gen]

I have a lot more than that put away, but it's not sat in my current or savings account, that would be bloody daft. Not a particularly useful data point on it's own tbh.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if a majority of households have less than £500 in accessible savings though.

 

[moon man]

I would feel very vulnerable with a small buffer like that ,then again when i had 6 months on sick i couldnt get any top up benefits as i had excess savings ,maybe its the way to do things ,fall back on the benefits

 

[Quartz]

This seems ridiculously low tbh .are things really this bad ?

Why would you not be using your money profitably? Surely you put your savings money into investments or your pension or your children's pensions? If you need money beyond your float money then you can sell off your investments.

 

[Zatoichi.uK]

Anyone can get made redundant at any time so the idea of being a month away from real financial difficulties, especially once you have kids is not a place I'd want to be.

 

[moon man]

Why would you not be using your money profitably? Surely you put your savings money into investments or your pension or your children's pensions? If you need money beyond your float money then you can sell off your investments.

I do isa and pension but pretty shocked that the amount is so pitiful ,isn't being able to survive 6 months without income a good starting point ?

 

[goldy6660]

I don't bother with savings accounts really but use ns&I instead so no interest but the smallest chance of a win.

 

[PlacidCasual]

Most sensible people will want a float of instantly accessible cash for the unforseen. I have tried to keep 2 or 3 months outgoings. My float will soon be a lot smaller than that because I'm spending on home improvements. But I'm lucky many people don't have the money to save in the frst place and the idea of investments is just a dream for millions of people.

Savings isn't always about an investment but just having that ready moneyput to one side in case the car breaks or you need a new boiler or any of the other little things that come up. Better that than putting them on the never never.

 

[Quartz]

Anyone can get made redundant at any time so the idea of being a month away from real financial difficulties, especially once you have kids is not a place I'd want to be.

Agreed, but many forms of investments are quickly fungible. And using a credit card gives you time to cash in that investment.

I do isa and pension but pretty shocked that the amount is so pitiful ,isn't being able to survive 6 months without income a good starting point ?

With inflation looming having a high cash reserve is a luxury. Say you have £20k in the bank. With inflation at 10%, you're losing £2k every year. So you invest it.

 

[Kenai]

isn't being able to survive 6 months without income a good starting point ?

It is but this is only driven by your own desire to support yourself and your current standard of living.

For anyone even remotely comfortable with the idea of falling back onto benefits if the crap hit the fan, why protect yourself when you don't have to and can live the high life whilst the going is good? There's little incentive to do so beyond personal desire to manage risk.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

Anyone can get made redundant at any time so the idea of being a month away from real financial difficulties, especially once you have kids is not a place I'd want to be.

Or be taken seriously ill.

How many people who have a mortgage have taken out payment insurance?

How many people take out payment protection plans for car payments and credit cards?

I have no data, but I suspect a good percentage of borrowers have zero protection in place and are one month’s missed payment away from being deep in the brown and smelly stuff.

 

[Terminal_Boy]

Most sensible people will want a float of instantly accessible cash for the unforseen. I have tried to keep 2 or 3 months outgoings. My float will soon be a lot smaller than that because I'm spending on home improvements. But I'm lucky many people don't have the money to save in the frst place and the idea of investments is just a dream for millions of people.

Savings isn't always about an investment but just having that ready moneyput to one side in case the car breaks or you need a new boiler or any of the other little things that come up. Better that than putting them on the never never.

Being that sensible these days makes you rarer than a unicycling Mongolian albino with a Harvard law degree.

 

[Destination]

BBC link
This seems ridiculously low tbh .are things really this bad ? i follow nearly new cars in my old Skoda ,see queues at airports for foreign holidays ,surely they have more buffer money than this ?

The head of the UK's biggest high street bank told the BBC: "80% of individuals and UK customers and families have less than £500 pounds worth of savings in their current account and their savings account.

Not surprised, we don't save, we spend, given past 2 years a holiday is slmost essential for some.

 

[Uther]

I do isa and pension but pretty shocked that the amount is so pitiful ,isn't being able to survive 6 months without income a good starting point ?

Ask someone on minimum wage who is facing fuel costs of £2 a litre to get to work, their food shop going up 20% and a £3000 plus yearly energy bill how much they can save a month...

 

[lookitsjonno]

I have a wife and 3 kids... So yes