Martin Lewis, This Morning’s Money Saving Expert, has said millions of British citizens may be losing money – simply by keeping their money in a savings account.
£10 notes.
He was speaking on the show about how right now could be the best time to be making money by putting it in an account. But, not the 0.1% interest savings accounts offered to us so frequently.
He said: “Millions across the nation have money sitting in high street savings accounts earning diddly-squat, often at 0 .1% or less, and are scared to move it as they want safety.
“If that’s you…stop it.
“There’s currently a way you can earn over ten times that amount and it’s 100% safe.”
Another way to look at it is comparing your interest % to the current inflation percentage. If it’s any less than the inflation, you’re sadly losing money by keeping your funds in such account.
He continued: “Sadly, it’s another dire year for savers. Following the Bank of England base rate cut a few months ago to 0 .1% – the lowest in 325 year history – and as it wants people to spend more to spur on the economy, savings rates have continuously plummeted, and things don’t look set to improve.
“Yet also many people leave their savings with their own bank, or just sitting in old accounts; if that’s you, you’ll almost certainly earn nowt.
“To get a half-decent return you need to become an active, disloyal, aggressive saver, shifting from best rate to best rate. So, check what your savings pay.
“Anything earning less than the top 1 .16% easy-access rate needs moving. Don’t dally – every day is lost interest.”
There are perfectly safe ways to move your money from account to account, and it’s often easier than you think. You could even put your money into bonds and stocks, which can yield 2 figure % returns yearly, but as always with investing, there’s a chance you will lose money. But, it’s always good to know that if you’re getting a small amount of interest in your savings every year, you may actually be losing some of it due to inflation. Do your own research before making any big decisions, though.
It’s best to let a financial expert handle your money – and us here at Five Minutes Spare aren’t such experts – so be sure to make your own decisions with your own money!
(Again, we aren’t financial experts, so anything you do with your money is your decision!).
