East Midlands children ‘best at saving’

Children in the east Midlands are achieving the highest savings balances in relation to pocket money received, new figures have revealed.

Research from Halifax found those living in this area have an average of £1,038 in savings, despite receiving £231.92 in pocket money every year.

The highest savings balances belong to children living in Greater London, who have an average of £1,379 in the bank, while those living in Scotland have only £853 saved – despite receiving £426.40 a year in pocket money.

Head of savings at Halifax Ken Stannard described the figures as “heartening”.

“It is important to encourage a good savings habit at an early age and explain the need of financial planning for the future,” he remarked, advice that parents looking to encourage their children to remain debt free may wish to pass on.

Alliance & Leicester recently published figures indicating that the credit crunch has resulted in many people cutting back on their spending and beginning to save, with the younger generation showing a keenness to reduce their outgoings.

By Tom Musk