People quicker to borrow than save for big buys

Irish people are more conscious of the need to save than many of their European counterparts, but most feel the rising cost of living is hindering their ability to stash their cash away.

Dara Deering, EBS Head of Retail Business said: “The impact of the SSIA saving scheme can be seen in the relatively higher level of consumer understanding about savings compared to their knowledge of pensions.

“Eight in every ten people are saving regularly – a figure that is higher than anticipated and is likely to be related to the fact that habits were created through the establishment of the SSIA Scheme.

“Overall the savings ratio in Ireland at over 9% is higher than our European counterparts.

“The trend is that people will borrow for larger purchases rather than save, however 27% of those surveyed save regularly without saving for anything in particular,” he said.

According to the survey, over a quarter of people are not saving for anything in particular while a fifth said they are putting away their hard-earned cash for their children’s education.

A massive 90% agreed the cost of living had an impact on their ability to save.

A similar number felt banks and financial institutions should get rid of the jargon and make saving accounts easier to understand.

Just over half of those surveyed believed they were providing adequately for the future, but one in five said they preferred not think about it.