The ten-minute financial plan for World Financial Planning Day

07 October 2026

Alex Beavis, Interim Director of Banking at LHV Bank:

The ten-minute financial plan: Why a quick savings and current account check-up could be worth more than a complicated budget, from Alex Beavis, Interim Director of Banking, LHV Bank

"Financial planning sounds like something that needs a spreadsheet and a free weekend. It doesn't. For most people, the biggest win is simply knowing what their money is actually earning.

The average easy-access balance earned just 1.65% in August, according to the Bank of England. With inflation running at 3.1%, someone with £10,000 tucked away is around £145 a year worse off in real terms. And many have no idea it's happening. Our own research found 53% of savers aren't confident about whether their savings rate is competitive.

Often, it's because a bonus rate has quietly ended and their money has slipped onto a much lower rate.

But it's not just savings accounts. The account most of us check most often is the one we question least: our current account. We look at the balance every few days, but rarely ask what it's earning. It's worth taking a look to see if your current account pays you a rate of interest so that when money for rent, bills and subscriptions sits there for weeks between payday and when it goes out, you'll be earning and making the most of that money.

A growing number of people run a second current account alongside their main one to separate bills from spending or to build up pots for things like holidays. It's a smart habit, and it's worth making sure the money sitting in those pots is working for you while it waits.

So, this World Financial Planning Day, take ten minutes. Log in, check the rate on every savings and current account you hold, and find out when any bonuses expire. Then set a reminder to check again in six months.

To make it even easier, why not opt for accounts that simply pay a competitive rate all year round without bonus tie-ins, temporary incentives and teasers which come with a whole raft of caveats and hoops to jump through."

Notes: LHV Bank research conducted by Censuswide of 2,000 Nat Rep UK Respondents, aged 18+ (30.06.26 - 03.07.26). Average easy-access rate from Bank of England data for August 2026 (29.09.26). Inflation figure: CPI, (16.09.26), ONS. £145 calculated as the gap between inflation (3.1%) and the average easy-access rate (1.65%) on a £10,000 balance over one year.