Has lockdown left you with more money to save or struggling?

This is Money Podcast

This is Money

Business News, Business, Investing, News

4.1 • 650 Ratings

🗓️ 26 June 2020

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In an unpredicted turn of events, the coronavirus lockdown has been good for some when it comes to their bank balances.

People collectively tucked away £30billion in savings accounts in March and April, around three times as much as the two months previous - with this credited to surplus cash and moving money to safety.

A large slab of that went into easy-access accounts despite plunging rates. Meanwhile, we cleared a record amount of personal debt, according to Bank of England figures.

The ONS says households are spending £183 less a week, but while some might be lucky to salt that away, many wouldn't come anywhere near it.

Lockdown saving is not a universal picture. Many are facing up to lost income or losing their jobs entirely. In this podcast, editor Simon Lambert, assistant editor Lee Boyce and host Georgie Frost take a look at the figures.

Much of the money stashed away at big banks pays 0.1 per cent or less, meaning collectively, billions of lost interest – where are rates heading?

National Savings and Investments currently has a few best buy accounts, how long can it prop up the market and are we turning our backs on stocks and shares Isas?
Meanwhile, the IMF says the crisis will wipe £10trillion off the global economy: what's happened to the V-shaped recovery?

With pubs and shops slowly reopening, will Britons head back and spend their cash to help the economy?

Simon talks about investing like Warren Buffett and what opportunities are out the post-lockdown world.

With the heatwave that has smothered Britain this week, we take a look at how much it costs to run items that are designed to cool us down, and those trendy garden gadgets.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to This is Money. I'm Georgie Frost and alongside editor Simon Lambert. And me today is
0:04.6	assistant editor Lee Boyce. And we're saving more, spending less, paying off more personal debt.
0:10.2	Anyone would think lockdown has been universally brilliant for our finances. Alas, though, as always,
0:15.5	it's a picture of haves and have nots. Will the recovery be the same? The IMF have said that their dire predictions for the
0:22.8	state of the global economy were wrong a few weeks ago. It could be a heck of a lot worse than that.
0:29.1	Is that why we've been choosing to keep our cash close during lockdown as billions more than usual
0:34.2	is poured into easy access accounts despite the shoddy rates.
0:39.8	But for goodness sakes, forget loyalty.
0:44.7	Savers sticking with high street banking giants are missing out on billions in interest.
0:48.9	Meanwhile, if you're still investing, Simon explores where the opportunities can be found.
0:52.3	And the great hot tub debate continues.
0:54.9	Don't be getting. Stay up to date with all the latest breaking money news.
1:01.8	Just go to this ismoney.com.uk or download the app. But first, as the coronavirus pandemic unfolded, the stock market gyrated and Britain locked down. Willie got busy, shoveling our cash into
1:09.2	easy access accounts during March and April, savers piled over 300% or over £8 billion more than we did at the same time last year.
1:18.6	Now, we already know a large chunk went to Marcus. It had to pull the account as a result.
1:23.0	Despite rates being rubbish, you can certainly get something better, though, than what you're likely to be on now if you haven't moved your savings recently because a third of savers have their money languishing in easy access accounts paying 0.1% or less, which works out at a whopping 176 billion. So Lee, let's talk about savings.
1:45.5	Firstly, why we're shoveling so much money into easy access?
1:49.8	Is this new money that we're putting in there or are we moving it from elsewhere?
1:53.5	George, it's a bit of a mix, I would suggest, of where this money is coming from.
1:58.5	So 11 billion pounds went in between March and April.
2:03.6	That is way higher than usual. And I see easy access accounts as a kind of bread and butter account.
2:10.6	It's where people head to if they are first looking to save. But it's also where people look to go just to safeguard cash,
	...

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