A new survey has revealed that the overwhelming majority of Britons are missing out on interest payments by keeping their savings stashed in their homes - rather than safely stored in a savings account.
Research conducted by Cornhill Direct shows that ?4.6 billion is lying around the nation's homes, with more than three quarters of Brits admitting that their abode is also a makeshift bank account. In fact, the average Briton has ?127 hiding in their house - while eight per cent have between ?300 and ?1,000 stored away.
Perhaps the most unusual hiding place for cash was found to be a freezer. Thankfully, only one man out of the 1,500-strong sample resorted to this practise, which can presumably be seen as an attempt to create his very own Individual Savings Account, or Icer.
The most popular hiding place for cash around the home is in drawers, while keeping money in a tin is also commonplace. Pockets, cupboards and safes are all apparently viable locations for hard-earned notes, while storing money on top of wardrobes, under beds, in flower pots, under mattresses and under the floorboards were also listed in the top ten hiding places for home-based savings by squirrel-like respondents.
It should probably be noted here and now that the most sensible option would be to keep money in a savings or , yet a staggering 40 per cent of those polled believe storing money in the house should be classed as a good idea.
Reasons for doing so include a love of cash - with 13 per cent saying they like to keep a reserve fund available for emergency use, and 45 per cent citing a need to have money about the home in order that they can pay their bills - and laziness, as many Brits admit that they often can't be bothered to get to a bank.
Meanwhile, four per cent have withdrawn their cash from banks as they object to being charged for account provision - and 45 per cent believe more and more people will start to do this in response to the current financial crisis.
However, some Britons have noted that the policy is flawed - one in ten has had some of their stash go missing, while one in three disclose they do have reservations about keeping money about the house. As a result, Mark Bishop, a spokesman for Cornhill Direct, has advised: "It is never a good idea to keep large sums in the house."
