Saving a 'brilliant habit to develop'

Consumers recognise the importance of setting money aside, though only half have developed the “brilliant habit” of saving.

An expert has pointed out that developing a savings habit as early as possible is essential, as it will help establish good practice as people start earning more.

Richard Brown of Moneynet.co.uk said: “A regular savings habit is a brilliant habit, even if it is only £10 to £20 a month.”

He admitted that putting that much money aside would not result in a fortune, but suggested that saving what you can “gets you in the habit for when you are in a position of earning more money”.

Figures from Nationwide revealed that 75% of people recognise the importance of saving but that only 50% do it regularly, and three fifths of people saving think they do not save enough.

And the current economic climate has people gloomy about their savings future. A third said they would not be saving enough in six months time and nearly half said now was a bad time to save.