The Abbey National has found that over sixty percent of UK holidaymakers have used savings to finance a holiday this year, while others are using the money to pay for a holiday before it even gets to the savings account.
Over a quarter of people surveyed by the Abbey National felt that the best thing to do with the spare money they had was to use it to finance a holiday rather than put it into a savings account or other savings vehicle.
A spokesman from the Abbey National suggested taking a little bit of the money that was being allocated to holidays and use it to build up some savings. This way the person gets their holiday but also begins to build a savings fund that may well prove essential in the future.
Lloyds TSB will be striving to reunite around GBP69 million with its owners, spread over 120,000 savings accounts that are laying dormant.
The bank will be working on accounts with more than GBP100 in them and will be using a specialist search company to locate the account holders and reacquaint them with their funds. The average amount per person will be in the region of GBP575 so it is a very worthwhile exercise and one that the recipients of the money are sure to appreciate said a Lloyds TSB spokesman.
These accounts appear to have been forgotten by their owners, hence the use of the search company. Lloyds TSB would not mind account holders getting in touch with them directly though, so if you think you have a dormant Lloyds TSB savings account get in touch with them and see if there is a windfall waiting for you.
Two new offshore savings accounts have been announced by Alliance and Leicester, called the eSaver Offshore Notice 50 and eSaver Offshore Issue 2.
The issue 2 Alliance and Leicester Offshore savings account replaces the original one and now pays interest at 6.25 percent gross p.a, variable. The Notice 50 savings account is better suited to those who can keep the money in place, or at least give good notice on withdrawals. This one offers a 6.35 percent interest rate on balances of GBP25,000 and over, again gross p.a.
An Alliance and Leicester spokesman explained that it was customer demand that had brought these new savings accounts to the market. They combine excellent interest rates with flexibility and so meet customer requirements very well.