The results of a recent survey suggest that saving is not very high up the agenda for many people, with ISAs in particular being affected.

Guy Simmonds, Nationwide's marketing controller for investments, highlighted that only a third of people are putting money into their ISA accounts and using their maximum allowance.

"Why they are not saving could be [down to] a whole host of reasons from not having a disposable income because of the current economic climate, to not trusting banks or building societies with their money," he suggested.

Mr Simmonds found that older generations generally save more than their younger counterparts, who tend to spend more than they set aside.

In light of recent findings, there is a need for people to be better educated in financial issues, he stressed, which the government should provide provisions for.

He continued: "We're very keen to help those customers to understand the options available to them and we welcome them to come into some of our branches and we'll take them through the options available."

The expert called on consumers to think about putting even a little bit of money into an account on a regular basis, as even this "will build up into a nice nest egg over time".

Making use of an annual ISA allowance will ensure that money can be saved up without being taxed, Mr Simmonds added.

Latest research from Barclays shows that 42 per cent of consumers are unaware that new limits kick in for ISAs as of April 6th 2010.

In addition to this, almost three-quarters do not know how much they can invest into a cash ISA from the new tax year.