Teenagers "clued up" about savings

Despite their 'spend today and worry tomorrow' reputation, many teenagers have a positive attitude when it comes to saving money, new research shows.



The survey of young people for the Personal Finance Education Group (pfeg) revealed that if they were given £50, 52 per cent said that they would spend half of it and save half of it, compared to 30 per cent who would spend it all.

Many teenagers showed an interest in learning how to make the most of their money, with 54 per cent wanting to learn more about saving.

Meanwhile, 62 per cent said that they would like to learn more about investing and 51 per cent would like to gain further knowledge of how to control their spending.

However, it was not all good news, as teenagers displayed a less responsible attitude towards borrowing, with 23 per cent stating that an overdraft would let you spend more than you earned every month and 19 per cent saying that a credit card would allow you to buy things you couldn't normally afford.

Wendy van den Hende, chief executive of pfeg, said: "Whilst we are pleased to see that today's young people are relatively clued up on the mechanics of spending and saving money, it's also alarming to note how seamlessly they appear to be drifting towards an adulthood of debt.

"We owe it to our young people to ensure that they have the financial acumen to deal with the responsibilities of being an adult. That's why personal finance education is absolutely vital in schools."

Scots 'make best savers'

People from Glasgow and Edinburgh are the best savers in the UK, according to the results of a new survey.

The average Glasgow resident has savings totalling £15,000, while 15 per cent of Edinburgh residents have at least £30,000 in their savings account, the research from Chelsea Building Society revealed.

About one in ten Edinburgh people save £500 every month and a third of them say that they are excellent savers.

When it comes to being in the know about their savings, Sheffield residents are in the lead, with 58 per cent knowing the interest rate offered by their savings account.

Chelsea Building Society said that the worst city for saving was found to be Leeds, with 14 per cent of people claiming that they never save and a third having only £50 in their savings account.

"People take very different approaches to saving and it's interesting to see the different trends in different parts of the country," said Vicki O'Connell, spokesperson for Chelsea Building Society.

Recent research from Birmingham Midshires revealed that 39 per cent of Britons who received bonuses managed to put some or all of them into savings.

Insurances Limited “The UK may well see a savings revival as interest rates climb. Online savings accounts tend to offer great rates but you do need to look at the small print i.e. the rate after the initial incentive period.”

Landlord Mortgages “We have found that Landlord’s in Scotland tend to have good sized deposit for their Buy To Let investments. Rental yields in Glasgow and Edinburgh are still above the UK average even though they fell in the last quarter. I am sure more money will leave the traditional savings account and enter the Bricks and Mortar realm.”

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