Save like a Scotsman and make £3,786!

The myth of the prudent Scot has turned out to be true after all...

Well, wouldn’t you know. For years I’ve dismissed the idea that Scots are, ahem, careful with their money as a tired old stereotype designed to make the English feel warm-hearted and generous by comparison.

I assumed that deep down, the Scots were as profligate as the rest of us, and I was confirmed in my belief when Scottish Prime Minister Gordon Brown went on a spending spree with the nation’s money.

But I was wrong. The myth of the prudent Scot turns out to be true after all.

Great Scots!

Scots invest 53% more than the UK average, according to new research from Fair Investment Company. Yes, they really do. This doesn’t in any way suggest they are mean, oh no, but it does indicate that they are prudent, and thoughtful, and forward-looking. And know that a penny saved, is a penny earned. And many a mickle makes a muckle. Whatever a mickle is.

Or a muckle, for that matter.

Kilt-edged securities

So now we know what Scotsmen keep up their kilts. Tax-efficient ISA savings plans, wisely spread across a diversified blend of stocks, cash, bonds and property. That will certainly keep them warm in their old age.

The average Scottish investor has £10,757 tucked under their sporran, according to the research. That’s £3,736 more than the UK average, which is £7,021.

Where there’s muckle there’s brass

I put it down to all those mickles and muckles. This is a Scottish phrase, but it is also widely used in the north of England, and as it happens, northerners are Britain’s savings supremos.

Beer money

The second big surprise is that people in London and the south-east save well below the UK average, despite their fancy wages. In London, the average investor has just £6,546, and in the south-east, just £5,561.That is 20% below the national average. They clearly know little about mickles and muckles.

I know the beer is cheaper in Yorkshire and Humber, and so is property, but it can’t be the only explanation. This suggests the willingness to invest isn’t just a matter of money, it is also a matter of attitude. You don’t have to be rich to be my girl, Prince sang, and you don’t have to be rich to take out an ISA either.

In fact, you only need to be 16 years old to save in a cash ISA, and 18 to invest in stocks and shares as well. You can invest from just a few pounds a month, although it helps if you can tuck away a bit more.

The planned Junior ISA will hopefully encourage more children to start saving earlier, and make up for the loss of the child trust fund. I bet they prove popular north of the border.

And a big hit in Yorkshire and Humber.

Bean counters

Some of you will berate me for suggesting everybody can save, and rightly so, because this clearly isn’t the case. Some are scrabbling for every penny, just to make ends meet. For them, saving is a pipe dream.

But plenty of people who can save, don’t save. I’ve got friends on fairly good salaries who haven’t saved a bean. Others earning much less money have planted their spare cash in a decent savings account, and ended up with a hill of beans. It wasn’t riches, but it gave them security and modest pride, and saw them through life’s little emergencies, such as an unexpected car repair bill, or bust washing machine.

Saving rocks!

The boom years saw fashion swing against saving, which was seen as uncool and old hat. Saving sucked, spending rocked. Enjoy it now, people said, you might get run over by a bus tomorrow.

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But how many people do you know who were actually run over by a bus? Personally, I can’t think of a single one. But plenty of my friends wish they had saved more of their cash in the good times.

Nearly one in three Britons have less than £249 in savings, barely enough to survive just five days out of work, according to recent research from HSBC. This means they haven’t got the money to pay their mortgage, rent or other bills if they fall ill or lose their job.

Too many people have spent their windfall from rock bottom base rates, rather than preparing themselves for the day when rates finally rise, as they inevitably will.

They could regret this later.

The Scottish question

Maybe there is another reason the Scots can save. They get free university tuition fees, free prescriptions, and state-funded personal and nursing care when they get old (partly subsided by generous English and Welsh taxpayers), so maybe they can afford it.

Or maybe the Scots are simple more canny than the rest of us? Well, apart from those living in Yorkshire and Humber.