5 September 2011

Do savings balances affect your quality of life?

Having a healthy savings balance is not necessarily a guarantee of having the best quality of life in the UK. New survey reveals how these two conditions are st

Having a healthy savings balance is not necessarily a guarantee of having the best quality of life in the UK, according to a new study. The survey, from Halifax, reveals how these two conditions are strongly linked in many cases, but also totally separated in many others.

The annual Halifax ‘Quality of Life' Survey compared its results to the savings market and observed that savings balances are not directly related to quality of life.

Top saving balance

For instance, while residents of Kensington and Chelsea have the highest average savings balance (£10,185 on average) in the country, the Royal Borough is well outside the top areas for quality of life, currently ranking at 80th.

Seven other areas included in Britain's top 20 for the highest savings balances also rank outside the top 50 areas with the best quality of life, including Christchurch (110) , Shetland Islands (207), Derbyshire Dales (133), Cambridge (172) and the London boroughs of Harrow (97), Barnet (150) and Westminster (168).

Top quality life

Quality of life is calculated according to some key indicators such as the labour market, the housing market, the environment, education and health.

North Wiltshire (with only £6,013 on savings), South Gloucestershire (£5,956), Bracknell Forest (£5,890) and Ashford (£5,694) are all in the top 50 areas for quality of life.

Best of both worlds

There are also cases when everything matches up nicely: a high level of savings and a high quality of life.****

Unsurprisingly, Southern England has the majority of locations where this statement is applicable.

Elmbridge has the eighth highest average savings balance in Britain (£9,262) and is the top-ranking area for quality of life.

Residents of Mole Valley (£9,806), Chiltern (£9,486), St Albans (£9,017) and Windsor/Maidenhead (£8,939) are all in the top ten regions for savings balances as well as the top 20 in terms of quality of life.

According to the research, all these areas score highly on earnings and employment rates. Their residents typically also have larger-than-average houses, are in good health and have children who achieve higher than average GCSE results.