PEOPLE AGED UNDER 50 have a more positive attitude towards saving, a new survey has shown.
Although economic concerns haven’t waned, people seem to be using them as an opportunity to put some pennies aside for a rainy day.
The Nationwide UK (Ireland)/ESRI Savings Index increased by 25 points in May, with saving among the under 50s one of the key drivers of the increase.
The percentage of people aged under 50 who save money regularly jumped to 40 per cent in May from 33 per cent in April while there was a 3 percentage point increase in those saving regularly in the over 50s category.
The proportion of people who think that now is a good time to save increased by 7 percentage points to 35 per cent in May. This increase was also most apparent amongst the under 50s with a 10 percentage point rise since April.
The Savings Index research showed that 44 per cent of people are saving for “unexpected expenses”, while 12 per cent of people are saving for education or training and holidays.
And of the people who save occasionally or regularly, most of them – 30 per cent – save between €51 and €100 euro a month.
Brendan Synnott, Managing Director of Nationwide UK (Ireland) said;
The Savings index is now at its highest level since we launched in January 2010. This month’s data suggests recent economic events have influenced consumers into adopting new more conservative behaviours towards spending and saving.
He added that a greater emphasis is now being placed on saving for the unexpected, while people are spending less on discretionary items.
This trend is more apparent in the under 50s who are more likely to have larger household expenses including mortgages, education and indeed fear of their income falling.
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