Less than a quarter of people feel confident saving money

A NEW SURVEY has revealed a declining rate of confidence in saving money.

The Nationwide UK (Ireland)/ESRI Savings Index fell to 88 points in November, after a buoyant few months saw it climb as high as 115.

The index measures whether people think that the current period is a good time to save and whether they believe government policy is encouraging saving.

The survey found that just 23 per cent of people believe that now is a good time to save.

That is the lowest score recorded since the index started in January 2010. This has been particularly prevalent among the over 50 age group with just 19 per cent saying now was a good time to save compared with 31 per cent last month.

Despite the negative sentiment, when asked about their preferred use for any spare money available, 39 per cent of people say they would save their spare cash.

Nationwide UK (Ireland) say that the increase in DIRT in October’s Budget has led to a decline in confidence.

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