National Savings Week: ‘Soft saving’ trend growing in the UK, new Loqbox data reveals

Marking National Savings Week, Loqbox, the UK’s leading credit-building business, has unveiled exclusive research that sheds light on the evolving savings habits across the country. This study reveals a significant shift in how younger generations are approaching their finances, prioritising present-day comfort and well-being over traditional long-term savings.

The survey, conducted in partnership with Censuswide, and involving 1,000 UK respondents highlights the growing trend of ‘soft saving’ – where people allocate funds to enhance their immediate lifestyle, instead of securing their financial future. This new approach, particularly prevalent amongst younger demographics, could signal a future with fewer financial safety nets.

Other key findings include:

• The biggest short-term priority for women is to build an emergency fund, compared to booking or paying for a holiday for men.
• Women are more likely to want to buy a home and pay off existing debt, while men are more likely to prepare for retirement or pay for a vehicle than women.
• Young people between 18-24 are most interested in buying a home, paying for a vehicle, and paying for a holiday, while most age groups cited building an emergency fund and paying off existing debt as their priorities. 
• Those aged 35-44 are most interested in building their credit score, while people between 25-34 cited building their credit score as the biggest priority after buying a home.  
• In the long-term, women are more interested in buying a home than men, while males are more interested in preparing for retirement.
• Buying a home ranks as the biggest long-term priority for those aged 18-24 and 25-34, while those in older groups cite preparing for retirement as their biggest long term priority. 

The research also found that women are more likely to save more money and budget each month compared to men, and are far more likely to cut back spending on unnecessary expenses. However, more males are more likely to plan to invest their money and spend their existing savings.

Tom Eyre, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Loqbox, commented: “As the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact UK households, our proprietary data unveils some interesting attitudes towards savings. For example, the soft saving trend, which is borne out by several US studies, clearly shows that many Gen Zers choose to have a better quality of life today than extra money in the bank for financial security tomorrow. As this year’s National Savings Week gets underway, this is the ideal time to highlight the benefits of saving, and to help people achieve financial resilience by building an emergency savings buffer.”

An annual campaign led by the Building Societies Association, UK Savings Week (UKSW) 2024 runs from 9 – 15 September, and is focused on building positive savings habits. The BSA launched UKSW in 2022 in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis, when people had to pay attention to their finances more than ever before. The campaign has since grown and partners with a large variety of organisations to spread the message.

Gregor Mowat, Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Loqbox, added: “The overarching goal of this week is to help one million more people become regular savers by 2030, as well as to help people shop around and reduce 0% balances by £50 billion. This mission very much aligns with ours at Loqbox. We are committed to empowering people on their journey to a richer life and helping them to foster a happier, healthier relationship with money, which includes building a healthy savings account to achieve financial goals and be prepared for unexpected emergencies. 70% of our members have confirmed that they feel better about their financial situation after using Loqbox, and 88% who track their credit score have seen improvements.”

The release of these figures follows another recent Loqbox survey, which found that budget-conscious UK holiday-goers opted to dip into their savings to fund this year’s summer travel plans. 

Together, the insights from Loqbox’s extensive research highlights how the evolving financial challenges faced by people in the UK are impacting savings, and emphasises the need for robust financial planning as the economic crisis continues. It also underscores the increasing significance of tools like Loqbox for helping people build their understanding of how the financial system works, so they can manage money with confidence.

For more information, visit www.loqbox.com.