Residents in the south west have the second-lowest savings in the United Kingdom, according to new research.

Money.co.uk calculated how much money residents should have saved for emergencies - based on the average costs of rent, childcare, council tax and monthly expenditure - in order to determine an ‘emergency savings fund’ amount for each UK region.

The research found that people living in the south west are recommended to have £25,401.80 saved - behind only London and the south east. On average, money.co.uk say, south west residents have an average of £7,140 saved: meaning a family with children are just over £18,000 short of the recommended emergency fund.

Only those living in Northern Ireland were found to have lower average savings whilst the south west’s ‘savings deficit’ of 72% was the highest in the country.

Salman Haqqi, finance expert at money.co.uk, said: “Britain is currently in the middle of a cost of living crisis, meaning that having a little extra tucked away in the bank is more crucial than ever to help a growing number of Brits get through to the end of the month.

“Consequently, a growing savings account is hard to come by, and most people will struggle to have huge numbers sitting around in bank accounts with low interest rates. Nevertheless, having a safety net in the case of emergencies such as job loss could save your life in the future. "

 

To find out more visit https://www.money.co.uk/savings/setting-a-goal