On average, people in London save the most each month, and also believe that they should be saving the most.

The big priority for Londoners is saving for a house deposit. Over a fifth (21%) are saving for their own property, far higher than the national average of 14%.

Dining out is seemingly a priority in the capital – only 38% of Londoners are willing to cut down on meals out. Meanwhile, in Scotland, 46% would forego restaurants to maximise savings. People from Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh all agreed that savings were relatively or very important. In fact, Yorkshire folk seem to place less importance on savings overall.

In the East of England, you’ll find the highest average emergency fund at over £5,000. This makes sense: 48% of respondents from the region said they rarely or never dipped into their savings. People from Norwich and Cambridge also gave themselves relatively high scores for their understanding of different savings methods.  

Nationwide, a considerable 60% don’t have a savings goal, with people from Worcester seemingly least likely to set these objectives. 22% of people UK-wide believe nothing is impacting their ability to put money away.

Each month, UK average savings are £203.21. By and large, people tend to save monthly and check their balance weekly. More of us dip into our savings every now and then than don’t.

In terms of the ways we save, we’re happy to keep it simple. 35% of people don’t let their current account drop below a certain balance. 29% of us go manual with a spreadsheet or notepad. 18% of us use bank app budgeting tools, 13% use online tools, and 12% use round-up apps.

56% of us consider saving to be important to our financial goals. We also think we’ve got a pretty good understanding of different savings accounts and methods. We asked respondents to rate their understanding of different ways to save on a scale of 0-10 (0 being no knowledge and 10 being expert-level). On average, people scored a solid 7.4 out of 10.

And, whether we’re jetting off to the Bahamas or taking the coach to Blackpool, we love a good getaway. In fact, saving for a holiday is often our main motivation for putting money away. We’re least likely to give up holidays and leisure activities to save more. We’re also keen to keep hold of our streaming subscriptions and cosmetics.

Social media challenges like ‘no impulse buys’ proved popular – but less so with older savers. While 18-24s are looking to TikTok, more senior savers trust money gurus like Martin Lewis for tips. We also tend to turn to our family to discuss finances.

However, not everyone is saving. Almost 40% of us don’t budget at all and 53% don’t have a savings goal. Some 8% of us don’t have any savings, a quarter have less than £400 in their emergency fund. 13% don’t have an emergency fund. 

It’s also clear that our savings habits affect more than our bank balance. Almost a quarter of respondents said the amount they have in their savings account is impacting their mental health.

The age bracket of 35-44 has the highest percentage (24%) of individuals saving between £200-£500 a month. What’s more, they’re also the largest group saving more than £500. They have the highest average savings amount of any age group surveyed.

Typically, you might expect older groups to save more, due to higher average salaries. Some 12% don’t have savings at all, and 13% don’t have an emergency fund.

Respondents in the 45-54 age bracket are mostly likely to cite the increased cost of groceries and energy as their main barriers to savings. They favour notepads and Excel sheets to keep track of their finances, and are most likely to give up meals out to make up the shortfall. Along with 18-24s, they’re also the group most worried about not reaching their savings goals.