Men are the better savers, but Britons raid too much

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

In the money battle of the sexes, it would seem that men come out on top of the savings tussle.

The Saving Britain survey from Birmingham Midshires found that when it comes to saving, men generally save more money than women; an average £412 saved by men over the last three months compared with just £127 saved by women.

However, the ongoing study into the saving habits of Britons also revealed that an average savings raid of £448 outdid the average save of £266 over the same period.

"Our latest research shows that while Brits are realising the need to save, their lack of discipline when it comes impulse luxuries and their inability to predict surprise bills has caused them to dig deep into their hard-earned savings," said Birmingham Midshires head of savings products, Richard Brown.

"Setting aside a smaller amount of money each month and leaving it untouched is a much better than saving more than what is possible and being forced to raid."

Last week, National Savings and Investments drew attention to the low numbers of parents saving for their children's future.

The results from the Birmingham Midshires survey seem to support this fact, with the best savers proving to be 16 to 19 year olds.