What is your savings type?

Saving money is simple in theory – spend less than you earn and put the difference somewhere safe. In practice, the gap between the theory and the behaviour is where most financial plans break down. And the reason for the gap varies from person to person.

The person who has never started saving is not in the same position as the person who saves inconsistently. The person who has a large savings balance but no idea what it is for has a different problem from the person who saves purposefully toward named goals. Understanding your specific pattern – rather than a generic description of “being bad at saving” – is the starting point for changing it.

This quiz identifies which of the four saving types most closely matches your behaviour and provides actions tailored to the specific barriers and opportunities of that type.

The four saving types

The Goal-Saver saves with purpose. There are named pots, specific targets, standing orders that run on payday, and periodic reviews to ensure the plan is still working. This is the target state for most people – and the risk is not underperformance but complacency. The savings rate that was right two years ago may not be right today.

The Hoarder has savings – often a meaningful balance – but without labels or targets. An undifferentiated pile of savings cannot tell you whether it is enough for any given purpose. Everything sits in one place, everything feels like it should not be touched, and the money may be earning less than it could in a better account or wrapper.

The Inconsistent knows how to save — they have done it. The problem is that saving is a decision made each month, and some months it goes the other way. The fix is not discipline; it is removing the monthly decision entirely through automation before the money is visible.

The Non-Starter has not yet built the habit. This is not a character flaw – it is the absence of a structure that makes saving happen automatically. The starting point is the smallest possible standing order, on payday, into a separate account. The amount can increase over time; the habit is what matters first.

Why saving type matters for financial advice

The Inconsistent and the Non-Starter need the same advice (automate the saving, remove the monthly decision), but for different reasons. The Hoarder does not need to be told to save more – they need to reorganise what they already have. The Goal-Saver does not need a new habit – they need a periodic check that the existing habits are still calibrated correctly.

Generic advice to “save more” is useful only for the Non-Starter and the Inconsistent. For the Hoarder, it is unnecessary. For the Goal-Saver, it may actually be wrong – the priority might be to invest rather than save, or to use what is already saved more intelligently.

Frequently asked questions

Is being a Hoarder a bad thing? Having savings is genuinely good – far better than having no buffer at all. The Hoarder’s problem is not the savings themselves but the absence of purpose and structure around them. An undifferentiated savings balance cannot tell you whether you are on track for any goal. The fix is labelling and organising, not starting from scratch.

What is the best account for saving? For emergency funds: an easy-access savings account or cash ISA at a competitive rate, clearly separate from spending. For a house deposit: a Lifetime ISA (if eligible) plus a high-rate cash ISA for amounts above the LISA limit. For long-term saving beyond five years: a stocks and shares ISA for the growth potential. The ISA vs savings account post covers this in more detail.

How much should I be saving? A commonly cited target is 20% of take-home pay, split among a pension, an ISA, and an emergency fund. The right figure depends on age, existing savings, and goals. Even 5% is meaningfully better than zero, and the habit of saving (the structure) is more important than the rate initially. The rate can increase; the habit, once established, tends to persist.

What if I save well in some areas but not others? The quiz measures saving as a general pattern. It is common to save well in one area (for example, into a pension through auto-enrolment) but inconsistently in others (for example, an ISA that is rarely funded). The breakdown of your results across all four types on the results page gives a more nuanced picture than the primary result alone.

How does the saving type relate to the money personality? The money personality quiz identifies the underlying psychological pattern; the saving type quiz identifies the specific behavioural manifestation of that pattern in the context of saving. An Avoider in the money personality quiz often appears as a Non-Starter or Inconsistent in the saving quiz. A Planner often appears as a Goal-Saver. Taking both quizzes gives a more complete picture.

Related quizzes and tools

• What’s your money personality? — the underlying pattern behind your saving type
• What should your next money move be? — where saving fits in the overall priority order
• ISA calculator — project what consistent savings produce over time
• Compound interest calculator — the mathematical case for starting now
• Emergency fund post — the first saving structure for most types
• ISA vs savings account — where to put the savings once the habit is established