A new research commissioned by Gocompare.com reported that more British people are opting to stash their pounds in a coin jar instead of a bank or savings account. The difference is drastic, with 33 million (69 percent) keeping savings in coin jar, and 21 million (44 percent) storing their monthly cash into a financial institution.
It is the 18-to-24-year-old consumers who are settling for the DIY-style savings, with over three quarters of the respondents admitting to using this method. Not only is the majority saving coins at home, but the survey revealed that the estimated total in the nation’s jars is over 1.3 billion pounds. The average amount in each jar is 38.35 pounds, with 9 percent containing over 100 pounds.
What is the reason for the nostalgic saving system? Almost half (49 percent of Brits) reported in the survey that they do it because they don’t like to carry the weight in their pockets or purses, while another 45 percent really believed it was a good strategy for saving. Moreover, 13 percent confessed that low interest rates turned them away from savings accounts; 23 percent use the coins to treat themselves; and 11 percent put the money away for a future investment.
Jeremy Cryer from Gocompare.com commented to Finextra, stating, “Coin jars are clearly a convenient way of storing nuisance loose change from pockets or purses, but for many people they are also a way of saving small amounts of cash. Our survey shows that they are being used as an alternative to traditional easy access savings accounts to save significant amounts of cash, often for a specific purpose.”
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