 With inflation at 10.1%, the same amount of cash earning the same interest would still be worth £105 after 12 months, but would only buy you £94.90 of stuff in the real world. But that doesn't mean savers should lose heart. Any spare cash you have during the cost of living crisis still needs to be kept somewhere. It makes sense to keep it in a savings deal that's right for you, earning at least some interest. One in three (29%) of us say we are dipping into our savings more than six months ago, according to investing firm Fidelity this week. But one in six (15%) are saving more - because they're worried they'll need an emergency fund of cash. When picking a savings account, make sure the bank or building society is covered by the Financial Service Compensation Scheme (FSCS) which protects up to £85,000 of your money if a provider goes bust. The personal savings allowance - how much you can earn tax-free each year - is £1,000 for basic-rate taxpayers. Best easy-access savings accounts Easy-access savings accounts allow you to w){kind=link}
Savers are in luck, as banks and building societies are paying consumers decent rates after years of lukewarm returns – but some of the deals have strings attached
Savers can finally earn a decent rate on any spare cash they have after years of low returns.
Banks and savings providers are putting up these rates because the Bank of England is steadily hiking interest rates.
The base rate – now 2.25% compared to 0.1% a year ago – is factored in to the interest paid to savers.
Rising base rate means savers can now get savings deals paying up to 5.12%.