Keeping your money secure is something financial institutions take very seriously – but is the risk to your savings safety net much closer to home than you think?

Kial Luke, branch cluster manager at the Saffron Building Society, looks at how you can protect your funds from an unexpected raider.

Splurging on impulse purchases is a costly British habit – and it’s hitting savings hard.

According to new research, more than £40bn is spent on spur-of-the-moment buys in a year, with 200 million impulse purchases in July alone. Worryingly, 16% per cent of people say they don’t have any savings as a result.

With 88 per cent of UK adults admitting they’ve fallen victim to impulse buying temptation, it’s a common problem.

And if your current account is squeezed, it’s all too easy to dip into your savings. So how can you avoid being left without a financial cushion?

The first step is to make it a little more difficult to dip into that precious savings pot. Even in these days of open banking, having a separate savings provider can put important distance between your current account and your savings, giving you pause before you plunder your emergency fund.

There are other advantages to keeping a degree of separation, too.

Keeping your savings somewhere other than with your current account provider means you can choose an offering that suits you, rather than just settling for whatever savings product your bank has available, usually because it’s the easiest option.

If you value face-to-face contact, you can choose someone with a branch network – we’re proud to still be on your local high street - or perhaps you’d like a fuller range of savings options.

Maybe your savings needs are more complex? That can be overwhelming and you might want extra support.

Our Financial Wellbeing Review has been developed to help you review your financial situation, see where your opportunities to save might be and what accounts might suit you.

It also acts as a useful prompt to mindfully consider your savings. But, as we all learned as toddlers, looking and touching are two very different things!

So, splitting your cash between financial providers is one way of separating your finances but there are other useful ways to help you keep hold of your savings.

Discrete accounts for individual savings goals can make managing your money much easier – and more satisfying, too.

Different accounts put boundaries in place to prevent savings for one thing being raided for another; if everything is in one place, it’s easy to lose sight of your plans for those funds and, for example, spend your 2025 summer holiday savings at Christmas.

A separate pot for each keeps your savings efforts focused; it’s particularly useful to split out emergency funds and goal-orientated savings, whether that’s for a big purchase like a holiday or putting money to one side for a child’s – or a teenager’s – education.

You can also choose the best savings product for each of those individual goals: instant access for emergency funds; a two-year fixed option for future (but not distant) plans – perhaps you’re preparing for a big anniversary celebration in a couple of years; or bonds for those longer-term goals such as a helping the next generation onto on to the housing ladder in five or 10 years.

If you’re unsure what would be best for you, reach out to us in-branch or by phone, and we’ll help you build the right savings plan for your needs.

Right now, though, there are many people who’ll be thinking their household purse is just too stretched already to even think about savings. And that’s understandable.

But even putting away a few pounds here and there can make such a difference, and in ways you likely wouldn’t expect.

An academic study earlier this year showed that tucking away small sums of money on a regular basis boosts happiness and relaxation; Bristol University research found that regular savers on a low income achieve life satisfaction levels on a par with wealthier non-savers – they have higher mental wellbeing scores, are more satisfied with their life overall, more optimistic about the future, and sleep better at night.

If you needed proof that saving is good for you, there it is!