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.
Interest rates on nearly all the Nationwide Building Society International Sterling savings accounts are being reduced by between 0.25 and 0.3 percent.
The international arm of the Nationwide Building Society is not cutting interest rates on their Euro or Dollar savings accounts though, these will retain their existing rates. In addition they are actually increasing the rate of interest paid on their Lifetime Guarantee Account, going up by 0.2 percent. This gives it a first year rate of 6.4 percent.
Currency based accounts can be subject to fluctuations as the exchange rates vary following economic changes, hence the cuts announced here by the Nationwide Building Society.
Egg, best known for their Egg card, has just announced a new interest rate on their savings account of 6.05 percent gross.
Requiring a minimum deposit of just GBP1 and open to both existing and new customers the Egg card savings account is expected to be very popular. It also allows free access to the money held, with no penalties or notice periods needed. After the first 12 months at the introductory rate the account reverts back to the standard variable rate, currently 4.75 percent gross.
An Egg card spokesman, discussing the savings account, said that the introductory interest rate is one of the best available for easy access accounts and, with the rate guaranteed for 12 months offers an excellent vehicle for savers.
