A study by Leeds Building Society found that more than three-quarters of people in the UK were saving cash at present.

The most popular reason for savings was to create an emergency fund in case of financial difficulties, with almost half (45.8%) saving for this purpose.

The next biggest reason for saving was property related. The survey said 40.5% of people were saving towards a property deposit or to pay for house moving costs.

A quarter (25.5%) of all savers surveyed had between £1,000 and £5,000 currently saved while an additional 40% had £1,000 or less in savings.

People tended to have grand plans for saving, with more than a quarter (26%) putting aside £50 each month and a further 18% managing to save between £101 and £200 per month.

Other reasons for saving included holidays, new cars and putting cash aside for a rainy day.

Those who were unable to save complained that they did not earn enough to put money aside, were paying off past debts or faced high accommodation costs already.

“We were set up as a building society 140 years ago by people who chose to save, so they would be able to buy the homes they wanted,” said Jaedon Green, Leeds Building Society’s director of products.

“Our founders prized the virtues of thrift and prudence – in an age of quick and easy credit nowadays, it’s interesting that people are still prepared to put money aside and wait to buy the things which matter most to them.

“There’s a lot of satisfaction in watching your savings grow until you can make the big purchase you’ve been planning – whether that’s children’s pocket money towards a computer game, teenagers saving for their first car, or building up the deposit for a new home.”