Cost of Living: Martin Lewis warns people with UK savings accounts to act now

Martin Lewis urges people with UK savings accounts to check their interest rates
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Martin Lewis, 50, is urging people to check what the interest rates are on their savings accounts in order to get the most from their money.

As the country faces the cost of living crisis and inflation at 10% and continues to rise, many people are looking to Martin Lewis CBE and his Money Saving Expert website for help and answers to their financial difficulties.

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The Money Expert discussed savings accounts this week on his Martin Lewis Podcast. He explained to co-host tv presenter Nihal Arthanayake that the public is losing out on money due to low-interest rates.

Martin said: “Most people who have got savings are earning less than 1%, the average easy-access savings account is paying just 0.75%.”

I want to show you how to stop the savings rip-off and it is indeed a rip-off for most, you should not be earning anything less than 2.5% on your savings. That is my absolute, complete bottom-out on the savings rate you should be getting.

With inflation running at over 10% at the moment, most savings aren’t savings, they are in fact ‘losings’ because in real terms the interest you’re earning even in the top accounts is far less than inflation”.

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He continued: “Now that isn’t a reason not to get the best savings interest rates, in fact, I would say it should put more of a fire up your backside because the more you earn in savings, the more you mitigate the damage of inflation on the cash that you have worked hard to store up over the years.”

 Martin Lewis poses with his CBE (Getty Images) Martin Lewis poses with his CBE (Getty Images)
Martin Lewis poses with his CBE (Getty Images)

“The vast majority of you have savings paying virtually nothing, everybody listening unless you’ve done this exercise in the last few weeks need to check now what interest you are earning on your savings. In almost all cases, unless you’re in a fix, to change savings you just withdraw the money and you put it in a new account.”

Martin shared a list of the best savings accounts on his website - Savings Accounts

The financial expert has been helping people with money problems during the cost of living crisis. Many people have praised him and have even said on social media that he is doing more for the country than the government.

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Martin founded the Money Saving Expert website in 2003 and sold it in 2012 for £87 million. However, he is still the executive chair of the company and very much involved.

You can watch The Martin Lewis Show live every Tuesday night on ITV at 8 pm or listen to The Martin Lewis Podcast on BBC sounds

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