Brits are becoming a nation of ‘YOLO’S’ – ‘You Only Live Once’ – and are saving just £300-a-year so they can have fun with the rest of their income, a study has found.
According to figures from the Royal Mint we are saving an average of just £5.70 per week – £300 per adult or £600 per household.
In contrast, 40 years ago, the average person managed to set aside around £1,500 per year according to a Lloyds Bank study.
“With the current and past economic climate, we’re not surprised to see that people are saving less. However, our research has found many people are scared to invest or don’t know enough about investing.
Chris Howard, The Royal Mint
The Royal Mint study shows many adults are now wary of investing money, with 60 per cent feeling they don’t have enough cash and a further 43 per cent worrying they would lose what they invested rather than make money. Another four in 10 simply don’t know enough about investing to do anything about it, while 25 per cent felt investments in precious metals such as gold, silver or platinum were ‘not affordable’.
The study also found one fifth of adults prefer investing in possessions rather than putting money in savings. Premium bonds, shares and home refurbishments were the most popular money-making ventures for nearly half of Brits.
Despite living for the moment, six in ten Brits regret not saving from an early age with many wishing they’d started at 16.
The Royal Mint carried out the research to support the extension of its Signature investment product, where people can invest in gold, silver or platinum.
“At The Royal Mint, we want to make investing in alternative forms simple to understand and easier to do.” Howard added.
The platform is available to anyone aged 16 or more, and the minimum investment is £20.
Gold and precious metals are one investment option. If this sounds appealing, but you would prefer to consider other alternative, tangible assets, here are our top three:
1. Invest in wind turbines through shares in a company such as Thrive Renewables
2. Invest in an IFISA (Innovative Finance ISAs) with a company such as Crowd2Fund or Abundance Investment, which is due to launch a new biomass project shortly. If you would like to find out more about IFISAs, download our handy guide here.
3. Help families in Kenya buy solar-power for their homes through the Energise Africa Azuri Technologies Bond on the Ethex platform.
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