• According to new research by Yorkshire Building Society people in England top the home nations at setting and achieving long-term savings goals
  • Figures also reveal that UK adults are planning on spending their savings on holidays, home improvements and clothes in the next 12 months
  • The research forms part of Yorkshire Building Society ambition to help 1.8m more people to save by 2024


New figures released today (1 July) ahead of England’s quarter-final clash with Ukraine on Saturday (3 July) highlight that it is not just England’s keeper Jordan Pickford that is good at saving goals, with more than half (51%)[i]  of adults in England saying they know how to set long-term financial savings goals and achieve them.

person holding football
 

The figures show adults in England top the savings goals group for the home nations with bottom place going to Wales with just over a third (35%) of adults, 43% of over-18s in Scotland in third place and 45% of adults in Northern Ireland claiming second spot in having the knowledge to set long-term financial savings goals and achieve them.

Tina Hughes, director of savings at Yorkshire Building Society said:

As our research shows it’s great that more than half of people in England feel comfortable setting long-term saving goals but this also means a sizeable number of people don’t feel like they can achieve them.

As the country has been settling down to watch The Three Lions saving and hitting goals now is a great time for people to start thinking about their own short and long-term financial goals.

The Office for Budget Responsibility has estimated that Britons will have collectively stashed away £180bn due to the pandemic.

The research by Yorkshire Building Society also revealed that nearly four in ten (37%) UK adults plan to spend some of their short-term savings on a holiday in the next 12 months, nearly three in ten (27%) will spend them on home improvements and almost a fifth (19%) will spend them on clothes, as pent up savings start feeding the opened up UK economy.

Tina continued:

One thing about saving money is that it’s never too soon or late to start. The first step is to think about your financial goals, what do you want to do and when. Whether you're thinking about saving up for something special within the next few months, or you're looking further ahead and planning for your future – we're here to help you think about the savings options that are available to you.

Thinking ahead, even by just a few months, can help to alert you to any events that you may want to have some money put aside for. Things like Christmas, holidays or travelling to watch your football team that simply cost more than a normal day or week would.

Of course, your goals will differ, depending on your age and situation, too. By thinking ahead, you'll start to see that some of your goals will be short-term and some long-term and that each will need a different saving or investment strategy.

The Society surveyed people across the country as part of its ongoing campaign to improve financial resilience – with a goal of getting an additional 1.8 million non-savers to start putting money away by 2024.

Yorkshire Building Society has a range of support tools available online for people wanting to build their financial resilience and set short and long-term savings goals or take practical steps to saving more.

For more information visit www.ybs.co.uk.

 

[i] Yorkshire Building Society Financial Resilience survey: The research was carried out online by Opinium. All surveys were conducted between 7th May 2021 and 11th May 2021 and the sample comprised 2,000 UK adults.

All information correct at time of publication.

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