Do you know where all your savings are held?
It may sound like an odd question, but new research from the Clydesdale Bank has discovered that an estimated ten million Brits admit that they have forgotten about unused savings accounts, only to find them at a later date.
The survey also found that Brits were looking for new and unusual places to store their savings.
Unused accounts total over £6 billion
The survey from the Clydesdale Bank revealed that 21 per cent of people had discovered savings that they had forgotten about. These were most commonly held in children’s savings account, bonds and old ISAs as well as in money boxes at home. The total amount that people discovered in unused places was a staggering £6.1 billion – an average of over £600 per person.
The research found that people in Chelmsford have discovered the most in lost savings; £1,622.86 each in long-lost accounts.
Savers looking for alternative places to stash their cash
The poll of 3,000 adults nationwide also revealed that British savers were finding alternative places to hide their savings. 18 per cent of respondents admitted to keeping money in a kitchen drawer whilst 45 per cent said they still kept some savings in a childhood money box. One in ten respondents even said that they kept cash hidden underneath their mattress or bed.
A further 6.2 million Brits pass savings to friends and family for safekeeping as they do not trust themselves to look after it.
If you keep your cash at home, it means that you are missing out on valuable interest. Steve Reid, director of retail banking at Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, said: “About a third are keeping savings in their current account, missing out on interest rates, so we would always encourage people to look at ways to make their money work harder in a savings account to suit their needs.”
