Progressive Building Society encourages local people to start saving

Progressive Building Society has launched its second annual Northern Ireland Savings Week, an initiative which aims to raise awareness across Northern Ireland of the benefits and importance of saving on a regular basis.

Research into savings habits conducted by Progressive, found that 72%* of people here do not save because they do not think they can afford to. This year’s campaign is aimed at creating further awareness of the impact that saving can have with various tools available online to show how costs can be reduced, whether that be in food, utilities, or even clothing.

Progressive, has planned a programme of various savings–related hints and tips for the public throughout the week, highlighting the benefits of saving, how to make your money go further, and engaging with local personalities and influencers to find out how they turn their pennies into pounds.

Having provided savings and mortgages to customers from all walks of life across Northern Ireland since it was founded in 1914, Progressive is keen to reach all age groups and backgrounds to emphasise the benefits of saving.  Another key element of the initiative is the NI Savings Week schools’ competition.  Pupils in local primary schools will be given the opportunity to redesign the Savings Week logo and share their savings goals.

Commenting on NI Savings Week, Darina Armstrong, Progressive Building Society Chief Executive said, “At Progressive, we have always been passionate about saving, and want to instil its benefits in our Members, and all people across Northern Ireland. By developing NI Savings Week, which is now into its second year, we have highlighted our commitment to raising awareness about the importance of saving, and our desire to create a cultural shift here in Northern Ireland.  We want to educate people that saving every month could make a huge difference to their lives and those of their families in the long run.

Darina continued, “Through dedicating a whole week to providing tools and information highlighting the importance of saving, we feel that we have a real opportunity to encourage local people to change their savings habits for the better. At Progressive, we pride ourselves on creating products that meet the needs of our customers and taking time to nurture and educate people on the importance of saving, and to make savings possible to those who feel it is out of reach.”

Scott Kennerley, Director of Financial Services at The Consumer Council, which is supporting the initiative, commented: “We welcome this campaign to promote the importance of saving. Our own Consumer Insights Survey 2019 found that fewer than 6 in 10 households have ‘money saved for a rainy day’. It can be difficult to save when household finances are already tight so we are delighted to contribute some of our practical money–saving guides and tools to the NI Savings Week online resource page. Of course, we champion consumer rights all year round and I would urge consumers to visit our website regularly for money saving tips and tools”.

For further information on all elements of Savings Week, as well as to find out about the range of savings accounts available at Progressive, please visit www.theprogressive.com/northern-ireland-savings-week

 *All figures are from YouGov Plc.  Total sample size was 500 adults from Northern Ireland. Fieldwork was undertaken between 2nd and 8th August 2018.  The figures have been weighted and are representative of all NI adults (aged 18+).