How Brits are bringing home £1.3bn of bacon and stashing it in piggy banks, glass jars and “on the side”
Brits are stashing more than £1bn in piggy banks, glass jars and "on the side", according to a new study.
Virgin Money research suggests millions of UK adults currently use piggy banks. “On the side” stashes were the most preferred, with 16 per cent of those surveyed using this storage facility.
Glass jars (12 per cent), large bottles (seven per cent) and bags (seven per cent) were also popular.
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And Virgin Money estimates that a total of £1.3bn is “languishing” in British homes.
The research also suggests that children are better at making use of their savings than their parents.
Some 53 per cent of parents surveyed said they actively encourage their children to save and 23 per cent said their offspring have more money deposited in Isas and savings accounts than they do.
“Piggybanks are a great starting point for children learning the basics of saving money, but there is a clear opportunity for adults to gather their stockpiles together and make their money work harder for them,” said Zack Hocking, savings director at Virgin Money.
“Whether it is under the mattress, in a bottle, or in a sock drawer, that money could be contributing towards their savings goals.”
Men were found to save more money at home than women – £53.8 versus £31.3 – but female piggy bank savers outweigh males (25 per cent versus 15 per cent).
Reasons for keeping money at home included wanting to be able to see it (29 per cent), use for everyday items (16 per cent) and access (14 per cent).
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Beyond cash at home, the research found people have more than £7,000 on average in current accounts and poorly-performing savings accounts and Isas.
Some 27 per cent are happy with the interest rate they are earning, 29 per cent weren't, 28 per cent didn't know the rate and 17 per cent said they were not earning any interest.
Participants in the survey said they would need to earn an average £120 in interest a year to be persuaded to move their money.