Is it time to get into a savings habit?

At MCU, we are very proud to have been supporting you, our members, for over 30 years, providing you with a safe and ethical place to save and somewhere to access affordable loans when you need one.

We firmly believe in the importance of getting into the habit of saving money regularly. Having some savings put aside to fall back on in an emergency or to pay for life events like weddings, home repairs or upgrading your car will help you to feel more financially resilient.

Research has shown that millions of people in the UK have less than £100 in savings and would face real difficulties if they received an unexpected bill. Even having to pay for school uniforms at the start of a new term can cause a headache if you have no money to cover the costs and this can result in bad decisions being made to borrow money in an emergency.

We currently look after over £13 million of our members’ savings and these are completely safe as they are covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. As MCU is a member owned financial co-operative, any surplus made by us during the year is returned to you, our members in the form of an annual dividend, or used to improve the services we can offer. Over the last few years we have paid between half and one percent to our members which is much better than you would get elsewhere.

As a saver with MCU, you will also receive free life savings insurance which means that in the event of your death or permanent disability, your beneficiary will receive double your savings (terms apply).

It is amazing just how quickly a small amount adds up so why not get into the habit of saving regularly and build your savings up? It’s so easy to do! You can pay into your MCU account from your bank account, you can pay cash into a Paypoint or Post Office, you can pay in via your salary by using our BEESMART payroll service and you can also pay in from one of your benefits like Child Benefit or Tax Credit.

Another option to help persuade you to start saving regularly is to consider our very popular Christmas Savings Account. You pay into this throughout the year and can withdraw the money in November in readiness for paying for presents and other Christmas related expenditure. It’s a real help knowing that you have some money put aside to pay for such an expensive time of year.

Please try to start saving on a regular basis; knowing you have some money put aside for emergencies really can reduce feelings of stress. For more information please visit our website.